How to Make Your Website Copy Easy to Read

The key to great website copywriting is to make it as easy to read as possible. Here’s how you can do it.

When’s the last time you gave your website copy a little TLC? Or maybe you have a website in the works but the copy seems to be a pain point? I got you. Here’s a tip that is so simple but makes a world of difference.

Make your copy SCANNABLE.

Most of the people who land on your site have the attention span of a literal goldfish. If you want them to read every word that you write, you’re going to have to earn their attention. Have you seen how fast people scroll social media? That’s the consumption behavior on websites too. First, we scroll and scan… then we go back and dig deeper if we feel like it. The reader should be able to get the overall idea of how you can help them without having to read every single word. No one has time for that.

How do you make it scannable? Great question. Allow me to elaborate.

FORMATTING!

There are a variety of ways to format your website copy, and the reason is that you basically want to make the really important stuff BIG and BOLD so that your reader doesn’t miss it! 

 If you’re building your own site on Wix or Squarespace, you’re probably using a template that makes it easy to drop your copy into the design that’s already well-thought-out for you. If you’re doing it yourself or working with a designer and a developer, here are some things to consider.

Use the H1, H2, H3, and H4 settings on your website to your advantage.

You can choose the H’s in the Google doc and make it really easy for the developer. When they build the site, these are already formatted, so when they’re coded, they will be the right size and font. These are where you want to sprinkle in some keywords if possible, too 🙂

Be strategic with your white space and think about it as breathing room for the eye.

What you say is just as important as what you don’t say. There needs to be a lot of white space in your design so that the eye knows where to go. This is how you can clearly communicate the point you want to make. If it’s too overwhelming, like having way too much copy or having it all scrunched together, the reader is either going to scroll past or leave the site altogether. Yikes. We don’t want that! White space is your friend. And don’t be shy about speaking up about it with your designer/developer too. It’s important for the copy to be effective, even if it might go against their design aesthetic.

BULLET POINTS – copywriters love using bullet points and there’s a good reason for it.

Bullet points are the bomb! What a grammatical gift we’ve been given. They are easy to both write and read. So if you’re writing your own content, take inventory of your paragraphs and see if any of the information can be broken up into bullet points. BONUS TIP: these bullet points are great to repurpose on social media graphics! 

Bold or change the color of the text that elicits an emotion in the reader.

This is actually an NLP tip. The subconscious mind can pick up on words that you consciously didn’t even realize you were consuming, so use this to your advantage! Bold the words that elicit positive emotions. You want to make it really obviously crystal clear how the person will feel when they purchase your offer or product – not so much that it’s free or that they get immediate access to something. Instead of making a big deal out of the word “free,” for example, make a big deal about the life-changing benefits. More self-confidence! A happier outlook on life! …you get the idea.

Hope that helps!

And if you are looking for more support, here’s how we can work together:

Copywriting – I’ll write your website for you and make sure it’s nice and scannable 🙂

Strategy – we look at your bigger content marketing picture and come up with a plan of attack

Audit – I audit your existing website to find areas of improvement – including SEO… and then improve it 😉

CONTACT me today to see if we’d be a fit to work together. And make sure you’re following me on Instagram and TikTok for more awesome online marketing tips! Oh and join my free FB Group while you’re at it – the Soulful Entrepreneur Society.

Want to connect with other passionate female copywriters, grow your network to get new leads, improve your craft as a writer, and have a safe space to vent about clients? Join us in the Copywriting Girls Club! It’s our private girl gang on Facebook, and we would love to have you in there to share your zone of genius.