Website Copywriting: A Starter Guide for Non-Copywriters

Website copy's importance is often underappreciated. Web design and copy go hand in hand. One without the other falls flat. Design grabs attention, while copy holds it. Design is the style, and copy is the substance. High-quality website copy is often the difference between winning a customer or losing them to a competitor.

In this article, we'll explore what website copy is, why it matters, and how to write it well.

What is website copy?

Website copy refers to everything written on your website. It plays a crucial role in communicating with potential customers. Every heading, link, image caption, and paragraph make up your website copy. Yet many websites treat it as an afterthought. For a small business website, your copy is the main way to share your values, story, and what sets you apart.

Website copy vs content writing: What's the difference?

Before going further, let's clarify the difference between copywriting and content writing.

Copywriting refers to the words on your core website pages, including your homepage, about page, contact page, and landing pages. Content writing appears in blog posts, newsletters, case studies, and educational resources.

Copywriting persuades users to become customers. It differs from content writing, which provides value and builds user trust. You can think of content writing as how you attract users and copywriting as the tool you use to convert them.

How important is website copy?

If your website is a tool for attracting new customers, having quality website copy is essential. When people discover your business online, they don't know who you are. Your job is to gain their trust and win their business. Your website copy is your pitch. It tells potential customers who you are, what you do, and why you are a great choice. When you're not there to sell your business in person, your website copy does the talking.

What makes website copy good?

Like a sports team can underperform and win, a website with average copy can still make sales. You can't control the results, so focus on the craft.

The copy has a clear and consistent brand voice. Your brand voice uses word choice, sentence structure and tone to mould how you sound to users. For example, a B2B service business would use a more professional and authoritative voice than a vintage clothing seller who would use something less formal and more playful.
The copy is concise and information-dense. Website users tend to skim read, so good copy must be easy to read and packed with relevant information.
You provide explicit instructions for the customer journey. Don't expect users to "know what you mean". Be as clear as possible. The goal of your website copy is to guide people through the user journey.

One of the best explanations I've read comes from Copywrong to Copywriter, a fantastic, practical guide to copywriting. It frames good copy as a balance between strategy (what the copy tries to achieve) and voice (how it sounds while doing it).

Does your copy change on different pages?

Good copywriting always considers what the page is for and what it needs to do. As always, it comes down to strategy and purpose: each page serves a different goal. Take your About page. It provides a deeper look into your values, purpose, and the people behind the brand. Compare that to a landing page. The goal here is to guide someone toward a decision or action. The goals for these two pages are different, so should your copy be. Think storytelling and connection vs. clarity and persuasion.

Common mistakes in website copywriting

You don't need to be a professional copywriter to write high-quality copy. That said, I see the same mistakes crop up all the time. These mistakes are easy to avoid if you know how to spot them.

Avoid overusing generic and bland terminology. Take my website as an example. Instead of unimaginative and empty phrases like "high-quality service at an affordable price", talk specifically about what sets your service apart and makes it valuable to your customer.
Avoid overly technical jargon and hard-to-understand language. Use language your customers understand. They don't need to know the fundamental details of your work. People use jargon to try and impress people. It doesn't. It obfuscates your point. Clear and transparent language shows people you know your stuff and have nothing to hide.
Stop writing about yourself so much. Your copy should focus on your customer, their problem, and how you solve it. Your goal is not to impress users into buying from you. You want to reassure them so they believe you are the right choice.
Don't ignore people's concerns and objections. People trust businesses that acknowledge their concerns, not avoid them. Are they worried it's too expensive? Unsure if it's right for them? Lean into these questions and show how you address their concerns.

Your website copy is how you talk to your customers while not physically present. As a rule of thumb, if your website copy does not sound like you, it probably misses the mark.

How to write website copy

Copywriting may feel daunting, but it's never been more accessible. It's all about learning the basics and putting them into practice.

My advice? Start by writing it yourself. Don't worry about the quality at first. It's more important to get some words down. The best writing advice I ever received was "Write hot, edit cold". In other words, start writing and don't stop to edit until the end. When you write, write freely without judgment. The "quality" of your writing comes from the edit, not the first draft. When you edit, edit critically and objectively.

I came to copywriting late. That means I learned to write copy in the age of Grammarly, Hemingway, and ChatGPT. They each form a core part of my writing process. I still "write hot", but I use these tools to help edit and stay true to my goals. Grammarly helps me with grammar and flow. Hemingway keeps my copy simple and easy to read. ChatGPT helps me stay on-brand. With tools like these, writing copy is more achievable than ever.

Using AI in website copywriting

To the purists, using AI for copywriting is near sacrilege. To the rest of us, it's one of the most powerful tools available. Large language models, like ChatGPT and Claude, were created to write. It is their primary function. It makes sense to use them to help improve your own. While tempting to pass our writing duties to AI, you should remain the principal copywriter. Your customers want to hear from you, not ChatGPT. To have an honest and transparent copy, you must stay at the heart of it. AI works best as an editor, not a writer.

If you decide to have ChatGPT write your copy, here's my advice: remove the em (—) dashes. ChatGPT is the only one who uses them. It's a dead giveaway.

Writing website copy for SEO

Good website copy shouldn't just sound good. It needs to help people find you. That means writing in a way that helps your site rank higher on Google (and other search engines). To do this, you must weave relevant keywords into your copy. The trick is making those keywords feel like a natural part of the sentence. Search engines penalise websites that try to play the system by "keyword stuffing". Keep your keywords in mind as you write. If they fit naturally, great. If not, don't force them. You can add them in during the edit. ChatGPT can be helpful here. It will take your draft and keywords and integrate them more smoothly.

Should I hire a copywriter? Or, do it myself?

If you've read this and still don't feel inspired to write your website copy, that's okay. There are plenty of skilled copywriters who'd be happy to help. As with any buying decision, it comes down to whether the benefits of hiring someone outweigh doing it yourself.

With low-cost AI tools, you can offload much of the burden of copywriting without hiring a copywriter. There is still some input on your part, but significantly less. My advice would be to start there. You can always find a human copywriter later on to help you.