5 Biggest Website Copywriting Mistakes To Avoid

Copy is such an important part of an effective website. The right copy will make your clients feel instantly connected to you and will make them want to work with you. But if your copy is unclear, overwhelming, or not specific enough, it can cost you clients. 

Let’s walk through five of the biggest website copywriting mistakes so you can be sure to avoid them. 

Here are the 5 Biggest Website Copywriting Mistakes To Avoid:

1. Large Paragraphs of Texts

This may be a hard pill to swallow, but people are not going to hang on your every word. In fact, there’s data to show that most people only skim websites. So don’t bury the lead. Don’t share your life story on your homepage. Your biggest mistake would be forcing your readers to scroll through paragraphs of information instead of getting right to the point.

Some ways to avoid large paragraphs are to use headlines, which make it easy to decipher what each section will focus on. Keep the most important information at the top of the page. Each opening sentence should summarize what the paragraph is covering. Paragraphs should be no more than a few sentences and if you have a lot of information to share, use bullet points to make the information easier to skim.

Whenever you can, remember to keep things short and sweet.

2. Focusing Too Much on Yourself 

This isn’t about you, babe. Yes, people are coming to you because they want to work with you, but that doesn’t mean they’re there to hear everything from your point of view. They’ve come to you because you are going to give them something they need, or you’re going to make their life easier. It’s up to you to paint a picture for them of what that is going to look like, so they can imagine what their life would be like working with you.

Imagine if you went to interview a photographer for an event. You want, as a client, to verify the photographer knows what they’re doing and you want to see their work. If they spent the whole time talking with you about themselves, it would be difficult to assess whether you would want to hire them! Unfortunately, knowing they have 5 siblings doesn’t really help you determine that they are the best photographer for the job. Your website isn’t going to be much different. Pepper in some insight into who you are through your voice and a few details about yourself, but focus primarily on your dream client, so they hear you calling to them!  

3. Copy That Tells and Doesn’t Show

Let me walk you through two examples of a photographer explaining their services to potential clients.

1. “I understand that coordinating outfits, planning around nap time, and hoping the dog sits on cue can be overwhelming. But don’t worry, I’ve done all this before and I’ll handle all the details and timing. I’ll make family portraits easy and fun for the whole family.”

2. “I am an experienced photographer who offers sessions for the whole family.”

Who do you feel the most connected to? Who makes you feel confident in their abilities? Who gets you? Who can you picture yourself working with? You need to paint a picture for people. They want to be able to imagine themselves in the scenario you are writing about so they can understand what it would be like to work with you.

4. Losing Yourself

Your website is an extension of you. When people land on your homepage, it may be their first impression of you. They should feel like you’re reaching out to shake their hand for the first time. Being professional doesn’t have to mean being overly formal. You can be free-spirited, relaxed, and warm and still present a polished website. The best way to do this is to make sure your website conveys your voice. 

For example, here is an excerpt from a boudoir photographer’s homepage that we worked on.

“From hair and makeup to thigh-highs and everything in between, we’ve got you covered. All you need to do is show up and my glam team will take it from there. My studio, or as I like to think of it, my home away from home, has everything we’ll need to create the luxurious vibe of your dreams.”

No one is going to book a boudoir photographer who doesn’t come across as fun and sexy. If she sounded cold and rigid, potential clients would keep clicking till they found someone who felt like the right fit. You gotta do you, but in the most professional way possible.

5. Skipping the Editing Process

Editing is so much more than catching spelling and grammar mistakes. You can’t just run spell check, copy, paste, and post. No matter how casual of a business you may run, you always want to come across as professional. Simple mistakes become distracting to potential clients. You want people to lose themselves in the world you’ve created, not find themselves acting like the grammar police.

Editing can be a grind, but the good news is that there are resources out there to help.

Some simple, but helpful editing tips.

• Take a break. There’s nothing like a fresh set of eyes to catch mistakes.
• Read your writing out loud. Slowing things down to read out loud can help you find mistakes you may have missed and will allow you to hear the flow of your writing.
• Have a friend read and edit your work. I know asking for a favor, or allowing someone to read what you’ve written can make people feel very vulnerable, but the more you do it the easier it will get. Focus on how happy you would feel to support your friend and their business. People want to help other people and are usually flattered that you have come to them.
• Try Grammarly. Grammarly is a program that reviews spelling, grammar, punctuation, and additional editing mistakes.
• Hire a copywriter to edit your work. It’s okay to need help. Not everyone is a writer and not everyone is an expert in editing. People hire you because they need your expertise. (Bonus tip – when you work with us to redo your website, we handle all your copywriting.)

Editing Checklist:

1. Have I caught all the spelling and grammar errors?

2. Did I use a variety of words or did I repeat certain phrases too much?

3. Did I stay on topic? This can be one of the hardest parts of writing, but trimming anything that you don’t need will help your reader concentrate on the most important information.

4. Is my writing organized in a way that makes the most sense? Take a step back and think about the flow of your website. Is the most important information at the top? Would any of the sentences be better placed in a different paragraph or on a different page?

5. Did I use informative headlines?

6. Did I touch on all the major points I wanted to convey?

7. Did I avoid the five biggest copywriting mistakes?

While it may be tempting to rush through building your website, remember this is your most important marketing tool. Putting the time and effort in upfront will save you in the long run and will have clients excited to work with you.

If writing your new website copy seems overwhelming, avoid it altogether and apply to work with us! We’ll handle all your copywriting and create a gorgeous new website that will have dream clients begging to work with you!