It's a common mistake that even more experienced copywriters make. When you write web texts, who do you think of? Can you imagine your potential customer reading your text? And are you wondering what will convince him/her to click? That's what most copywriters do. He considers his visitors to be people who like to read. So they write their text like a print magazine.
But that's wrong. Totally wrong. Because web text is different from printed text. Web text is scanned. Or just seen through. Not read.
The article was revised and updated in May 2026.
photo source: unsplash.com
Why should you care about the text on your website?
Writing text for websites is an area of web design that is often overlooked at the beginning of a web project. However, it is equally, if not more, important than the web design itself. If you have e.g. brilliant design but with little text relevant to the visitor, chances are your visitor won't spend too much time on the website to appreciate your design.
As Bill Gates said “content is king”. Add well-written text to a well-designed design and you're closer to your goal. Visitors to your website are looking for information or products. They make quick decisions without much thought. So, how do you convince them even if they don't read your text?
-
you must first know who you are writing for
Personas, target group, customers, call them what you want, the most important thing is that you know who it is. A common problem is that websites try to be everything to everyone. But it doesn't work that way. Define at least 3-4 personas, each of which will have defined:
a) demographics:
- gender,
- age,
- marital status,
- education,
- income.
b) geography:
- country,
- region,
- town or village?
- big city?
c) psychographics:
- personal characteristics,
- interests,
- what does he like
- what doesn't he like
- opinions
- lifestyle,
- where they get their information from
- anything you think is relevant.
The better you know your target customer, the better your texts will be. You will literally put yourself in his role and you will know if he understands your text correctly or if you have to rewrite it.
-
mind that they are in a hurry
Your website visitors are in a hurry. As written, they are looking for information or a product. They ask 2 questions:
- Does your website offer what they are looking for?
- Can they find it easily?
Your potential customers don't want to browse your website for several minutes to find the product they want. They need to find it easily. They quickly decide whether your website is useful or not. So if it looks complicated with too many options, they just click the red X and move on.
After loading, users will view your website and quickly decide whether they are in the right place or not. They don't know for sure. They just want to make a quick decision. So how do you sell your message to them?
-
put your most important information first
Writing for the web is something completely different than writing an essay or paper. The essay begins by explaining what you are going to discuss. You will then describe an overall overview of your literature. Next follows a discussion and ends with a conclusion. The most important part is the conclusion at the end of the essay.
On the website you have to do the opposite, your conclusion must go to the beginning. Let's say you're looking for a leather armchair. When you arrive at the home page, you want to see the armchairs. Subsequently, you want to see the search field so that you can find out what leather armchairs they have on offer.
The information that is most important to your visitor is often a simple function that you offer or perform. After they understand, they may want to know more details. And then they may want to know more detailed information.
It is a method inverted pyramid. In newspaper articles, the most important information is listed at the beginning, followed by details. It is enough if you read the first paragraph and find out what it is actually about.
The same goes for the web. You want customers to understand the point of what you do or what you can do for them.
-
don't try to sound too clever or creative
It is rare on the web that the reader hangs on every word you write. He doesn't have time for that. He is in a hurry because he knows that there are several others besides your website that can fulfill his requirements, so he doesn't need to waste his time with you.
The simplest statements work best. Complicated phrases make people think. And asking people to think on the web doesn't work because they're in a hurry and don't have time to think. So keep your text as simple as possible.
Write your lyrics so that even a 12-year-old can understand them, because they are so easy to remember. And be careful with jokes unless you're absolutely sure people will get them.
-
write for scanning people
How many people read websites today? Almost no one. Research suggests that only 16% of people reads web texts on pages word for word. Most people scan.
How can you write for such people? Check if:
- your headlines communicate who you are
- your images and photos are consistent with your message,
- your subheadings summarize your key points,
- bullet points really shorten the expression.
Your website visitors are looking for information or products. Make sure they understand your most important information just by looking at the web.
-
use familiar words
Imagine you are looking for cheap flights for a vacation. Enter in the search engine:
- low cost flights,
- cheap flights
After b. No one is searching using the phrase "low cost flights".
People search through familiar words. Many times it happens that we try to sound better. We try to beautify what we do and we want to sound special. However, your web visitors are not looking for beautiful words, they are looking for familiar words because they are already used to it.
-
write for lazy people
People don't want to spend too much time reading your text. So try to make your text easier to read by:
- short paragraphs with no more than 4 sentences,
- using short sentences – 12 on average,
- skip unnecessary words
- avoid jargon and gibberish,
- avoid passive tense,
- avoid unnecessary repetition,
- address visitors directly by using the word "you",
- by shortening your text.
How short should your text be? A well-known method is to get rid of half the words on each page and then get rid of half of what is left. It may sound too demanding, but it's worth a try. Set a challenge and keep your text as short as possible.
-
expect people to come to your site anywhere
The book is read chapter by chapter. Imagine if they started reading randomly. They would start by reading the last chapter, continue in the middle, or move to the beginning. This is how it works on the web. Most visitors will not start reading on your website. They can start with any of your subsites.
What does this mean for your text? Each page or subpage should:
- be easy to scan,
- clearly establish where people are and what your site is about
- have a clear call to action so that people know where to go next, whether it's to read the next article, subscribe to your newsletter, read the product description or testimonial or add the product to the cart.
Don't rely on navigation to tell people what to do next. Use a button or link to guide people to the next step. On every page.
-
be easily accessible to people
How will you help potential customers find you? You need to provide them with useful information. This is how SEO works. Customize it with:
- by answering questions that potential customers might ask,
- by discussing a key topic on each subpage,
- by including links to relevant pages of your website or other websites
- by using phrases and words that your potential customers might search for.
For a simple summary, be helpful.
Writing for People vs. writing for robots
Web designers make sure to write the website code in a way that is semi-optimized for SEO. Certain parts will be invisible to normal visitors, such as some source code tags (title, keywords, descriptions, etc.). These should be placed from the start and ideally should be editable along with the content that is on the page.
As long as you know HTML code, you will be able to edit it yourself. Currently, however, most websites are built on CMS systems, among which WordPress is the most important. We described its advantages in the article why WordPress is best for your business blog. Here you can edit individual SEO elements yourself using plugins.
Google uses the so-called robots. When the robot visits your site, it records the visible text and links on your site. According to the words it finds here, it will find out what your page is about and start indexing it in the database. If, for example, you sell leather armchairs in Bratislava, the user will see your page in the search after searching for the phrase "leather armchairs Bratislava".
However, this is a very simplified explanation. There are many factors that play a role in the search. However, some general tips are:
- search phrase – think about what users might type into Google to find you.
- using phrases in your content - make sure that the search phrase is used in the headlines and content of your page. It is a good idea to repeat the phrase on individual pages, but do not overdo it, otherwise it will look artificial and unnatural.
- using meta tags - add the phrase to each page's title, description and keywords.
- use the links – add links to your page content pointing to other subpages. This will force the bot to go through each subpage of your website.
However, if you have to decide between text for people or text for search, always choose people. It is also recommended by Google itself and, above all, conversions are made by your customers and not by SEO robots.
photo source: unsplash.com
-
Create a visual impression
Web text and web design should go hand in hand. You can't write your words, compose your sentences, and create your bullet points without knowing how your page will look. The visual impression of your website affects the readability of your text and affects whether visitors quickly understand who you are and what you do.
You can improve your visuals as follows:
- nahraďte text fotografiami alebo videami,
- pouvažujte o rôznych veľkostiach fontu, myslite na to, že ľudia skenujú veľký text ako prvý,
- zdôraznite referencie zákazníkov alebo expertov pre zvýšenie kredibility,
- pohrajte sa so zvýrazňovaním, tučným písmom, VEĽKÝM TEXTOM alebo kurzívou,
- rozložte veľký nadpis na nadpis s podnadpismi,
- zmeňte paragrafy na odrážky,
- odstráňte neporiadok zväčšením medzier medzi jednotlivými textami.
The truth about writing persuasive web texts
Writing simple and useful text for the web is difficult.
Don't treat your visitors as academics who like to read complicated texts. Don't be wordy. And don't show off your extensive vocabulary.
Instead, keep everything as simple as possible. Don't try to be everything to everyone. You have to know who you are and what you do. If your location is clear, it's much easier to stand out and be found. If your message is clear, it is easier to be persuasive.
Be clear. Be specific. Be simple.
photo source: unsplash.com, cover photo source: unsplash.com
Sources:
https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/writing-for-the-web-vs-print/
https://attitudedesign.co.uk/2010/a-guide-to-writing-text-for-your-website
https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/writing-for-the-web.html
