Getting The Most From Your Website Content

Once you have answered your questions, addressed in my previous article you are ready to compose your content, namely: what kind of people do you want to attract to your website, what are the benefits of your product or service, why should your prospective customer buy from your and what actions do you want them to take once they have read your website?


Here are a few guiding principles you should consider while composing your content and before you submit the content to your website:
1. Make sure your content is easy to read. Most people will not read huge complicated paragraphs of text online as it is all too easy to click on to another website or another page so it is vital to keep your information simple, and to break it up into bite sized chunks.

Some guidelines for the length of your content:
Headings: 8 words approximately

Sentences: 15-20 words

Paragraphs: 40-70 words

Page: 250– 200 words
2. Break up the text wherever possible. Provide a summary of your information by clearly communicating the direction of your discussion. Use informative headings and subheadings with paragraphs of four to five lines that supports them. You only have a few seconds to grab your visitor’s attention and most will simply scan for the information they are seeking, s here is how you can keep their attention:
o Use bulleted or numbered lists, boldface or coloured font to emphasise the points you wish to make.
o Include links at the end of your paragraph or within the text to direct visitors to other pages of your site for more in-depth information.
3. Write from a point of ‘You’. The most powerful word in the English language is ‘you’. As hard as it may be to swallow, let me be the first to break it to you that the people reading your website are not interested in you or your business – they are interested in themselves, and how you can help them. So your content must be written from their perspective, not yours, and must answer the question they will be asking themselves – ‘what’s in it for me?’
Your content is almost ready, just a few tweaks to make and you can go live publishing your masterpiece. Next week I cover a few more topics to help you write successful content for your website, so keep a watch out!