These days, more and more businesses have a Content Management System (CMS) website, or use a blogging tool such as WordPress to build their own.

Quite right too. Why should you have to pay a web professional every time you want to update something? But if you don’t know what you’re doing, you might be losing custom. Here are my top tips for effective web content.

Your home page

Don’t use a ‘splash page’ (any extra click e.g. ‘enter site’ is a chance to lose site visitors).

Please don’t start ‘Welcome to my website’

…it’s dated and unnecessary! In my view, your home page copy should be more about your customers than it is about you, so they know they’ve landed in the right place i.e.

• • DON’T write: ‘We are X, based in Y and we specialise in Z’.
• • DO write: ‘Looking for A, B or C? You’ve come to the right place!’

More than any other, your home page should answer ‘What’s In It For Me?’ from the customer’s point of view.

DOs and DON’Ts

• • DO use direct language (it makes your copy more persuasive and appealing)
• • DON’T write: ‘in order to allow the client to concentrate on their core business’
• • DO write: ‘in order to allow you to concentrate on your core business’
• • DO write as though you are talking to one person, not lots (they are reading it one at a time)
• • DON’T write ‘We work closely with our loyal customers’
• • DO write ‘If you want to work closely with friendly local experts, you’ll find our door is always open. We’re here 24/7 at the end of the phone or email ready to help you.’
• • DO write so it doesn’t go out-of-date
• • DON’T write ‘We have been in business for…  …17 years’
• • DO write ‘We have been providing wonderful widgets since 1992