Website content is probably the most viewed content today. And yet, I think it’s often written as an afterthought. Sometimes website content focuses on over-selling a business, or it doesn’t include enough information about a product. For example, a client of mine (a Portland-area dentist) told me that my home page didn’t sell my services well enough. Talk about throwing the gauntlet down!
I based my former site design and color scheme on my business cards. My client gave me points for branding myself, but he pointed out that with the emergence of tablets like the iPad, site designs should focus on simpler graphics with more information about services. The verdict is still out on that, I think, but I definitely agreed that my site needed an upgrade.
I included more information about my services, and I included a testimonial. Check out the results, and let me know what you think!
If you, or someone you know, needs website content, my initial consultation is always free. I love learning about different businesses and organizations, so contact me!
8 thoughts on “The Importance of Website Content”
I think your site needs SOME color. Also, you need a nav bar and a services link on your home page. It would be great to "hear" a bit of your writing voice in the site copy. (It's heard here.^^^)
I do a different type of copywriting, so I have a different aesthetic, but I believe you have to convey some sort of style, no matter what. This is what you have to ask yourself: If potential clients land on your site, why you and not the hundreds of thousands of other freelancers? That's the question that your site needs to answer. Great luck and good business to you!
Hi Wendie, thanks for your input. My old site had lots of color and a navbar, so I went a different direction here. As to "why me and not someone else," well, that's up to the client to decide, :-) Your comment on "voice," is certainly well taken, and I've made some adjustments there. I'm personally not a fan of including huge blocks of text on home pages, though. Anyway, thank you!
Hey MRM — how come this blog and your website are two separate sites? It'd be less jarring to have them all on one site. I think clients wouldn't know the difference between a website and a blog. These days, they're pretty much one and the same… :)
My completely unsolicited two cents…!
Hi Mike! Thanks for your input. Y'know, you have a point about incorporating a blog into a website, and both show up with certain search terms. I've thought about doing it, but I'd probably need a developer's help to make it look seamless. Your two cents are always welcome, my friend!
I was going to go the "seamless" route with my website and blog a while back just to make things look more coordinated and to consolidate web traffic…then my web guy disappeared. Anyway, I can see a case for integrating them and for keeping them separate.
Hi Emily! I've always thought of them as separate entities. But I'll probably integrate them this year. If you need references for some web folk, let me know!
I love the addition of the testimonial and additional insight about you. I am partial to your blog design, myself. It's a bit more lively than the homepage for your freelance business. Melding might be the ticket.
My professional freelance site and blog, however, ARE completely different – because one is focused only on freelance, and the other only on fiction and photography (which have nothing to do with my freelance services).
Hi MCF! Thanks for your input, as well. I totally understand why your blog and site are separate entities, which makes perfect sense. I'm focusing this blog entirely on freelance writing/editing, so a melding is probably what I'll end up doing. Thanks for stopping by; I know you're in the midst of your novel edit!