Think about the last time you visited a website because you needed a repair, a price, or an appointment. You probably didn’t settle in with a cup of coffee and read every word. You looked for the part that answered your question.
Your customers do the same thing.
That doesn’t mean they don’t care. It means they’re busy, and they’re trying to decide whether your business can help.
Put the useful part where people can find it
A common website-writing mistake is spending the first several paragraphs talking about the company before explaining the service. The history may be important, but a visitor with a leaking pipe first wants to know whether you fix leaking pipes and whether you serve their town.
Lead with the answer. Explain what the service is, who it’s for, and what the customer should expect. The story of the business can come later, once the reader knows the page is relevant.
Headings should help with that. “Our Services” is harmless, but “Deck Repair and Refinishing” tells a scanning reader much more. If someone reads only the headings, they should still understand the page.
Write the way customers talk
Small businesses sometimes adopt a strange corporate voice on their websites. A contractor who would normally say, “We replace damaged deck boards” suddenly becomes a provider of “comprehensive exterior rehabilitation solutions.”
Nobody talks that way at an estimate.
Use the words customers use on the phone. Explain unfamiliar terms when they’re necessary. Shorter paragraphs help on a phone, but the goal isn’t to chop every thought into one sentence. Let related ideas stay together.
The most useful website copy usually answers everyday buying questions:
- Do you handle this kind of job?
- Do you work in my area?
- What happens after I contact you?
- What affects the price?
- Is there anything I need to do first?
- What kinds of projects aren’t a good fit?
If you can’t give an exact price, explain why. “Price depends on the size of the deck, its condition, and the type of finish” is far more helpful than “Contact us for details.”
Replace praise with proof
Words like trusted, quality, premier, and innovative appear on thousands of websites. They’re easy to write and hard for a customer to verify.
A documented process, a clear warranty, a real project example, or a response-time policy says more. Instead of telling people the company pays attention to detail, show them what that attention looks like.
Before publishing, read the page aloud. If a sentence feels unnatural when spoken, it will probably feel unnatural to a customer too.
Clear writing isn’t about making your business sound less capable. It’s about making your experience easier for customers to understand.
Related reading
What Questions Should Your Website Answer Before Someone Calls?
What Are People Actually Searching Before They Hire a Local Business?
Sources
Digital.gov: Plain language guidance
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative: Writing for Web Accessibility
If your pages make customers work too hard for an answer, ask TechDad Technology about a plain-language website copy review.