With these changing times and in conversation with people across all industries, I’ve been asked a number of different questions about all things copy. Last time, I discussed three reasons why a blog is beneficial for business owners. This time, I want to discuss three things you should consider before you launch your website.

#1 - Plan your pages

I know this seems obvious, that if you're launching a website you've actually planned something, but I mean take it one step further. Plan the pages that you want your visitors to navigate to and put them in your menu bar, easy to see, access and click. As we are all living in a world where we carry mini-computers around in our pockets in the form of our smartphones, we are lazy. We demand to see the information we want immediately, with as little effort as possible.

On your homepage say who you are, what you do and how you can help your clients. Put as much information as you can, and make sure you put a call to action on the page. If you have a lot of information, use sub-pages underneath each main page on the menu navigation. It's tempting to just put one cover-all page, but resist the urge, it will look cluttered, but if you have sub-pages, these also act as headings.

#2 - Check your links

No matter what you're linking to on your website, double and triple check the links you use are correct. If you created a new page on your website, then changed the URL to add or remove dashes, this can mess up the link. I've done it myself when I've duplicated, changed the URL in the page but forgot to change other links on the site to reflect that. It's easily done but can result in error 404 and people navigating away.

While you're checking your links, make sure that links to external websites open in a new tab or window. You want people to stay on your website as long as possible, so any third party sites should open in a new tab, not bring your visitor directly there. It's bad for website retention and can be frustrating for visitors who then have to actively click back to get back to where they were. Remember: we're all lazy, make it easy for us. 

#3 - Be consistent

This is particularly important if you're adding new content to an existing website or updating content you have. You need to be consistent, so do you use "I", "we" or "the team"? Pick one and make sure you stick with it. The same applies to using first or third person, are you speaking as you, or as the brand. So, for instance, I (Michelle) am writing to you now but Specky Scribbler is the brand and we provide content. 

The only exception could be on your about page, where you might decide to speak directly to the reader as the CEO or founder of the company. I did that on the Specky Scribbler about page. This consistency makes a huge difference to how you come across on your website, and if you can't afford a copywriter at the moment, ask a friend or someone else to have a look over your site as a favour. While you're asking them to look over the site, they'll have fresh eyes and might spot typos that you didn't notice. Typos make you look unprofessional, so write your page copy into a Google or Word document first and run a spell check on it. Or better yet, install the free version of Grammarly and let it run through your pages. 

Conclusion

Make sure you have a properly thought-out plan for your pages and content, double-check all your links to internal and external pages work. This includes click-through links on images and mailto: fields in your emails. Then, be consistent; consistency is the extra step to having a really professional looking website. And, above all else, make sure there are no typos in your website copy, it looks sloppy and like you were in a hurry to get everything done. Take those extra few minutes to get your copy solid and then publish the page!

I hope this has helped you get the basics covered for your site, but if you want, you can get in touch for a free consultation.