T H E B E G I N N E R S G U I D E T OT H E B E G I N N E R S G U I D E T O

CONTENT WRITING | A beginners’ guide

The web is about instant gratification.

WRITING FOR THE WEB

Most people using it want specific information, quickly. Typically, your

website only has a matter of seconds to attract and retain a visitor.

Whilst the website design plays a major role in this process, the quality,

quantity and structure of your website’s content is equally important.

Many business owners spend thousands of dollars on the development

of a website, only to fill it with poorly written, hard-to-navigate content

which drives potential customers away at first glance.

You don’t have to be a great writer to produce great web content!

This guide covers the key steps to producing professional, well-ranked,

user-friendly website content.

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A beginners’ guide to content writing

Written and Published by Cabbage Tree Creative™

July 2011

NEW ZEALAND: ISBN 978-0-473-19277-8

www.cabbagetree.co.nz

CONTENT WRITING | A beginners’ guide

CLeAr, eNCOUrAgINg NAvIgATION

Whilst the overall navigation paths of your website will largely be decided by your web design

team, content does play an important part in user navigation. Always carefully consider the

words that you use in your navigation menus and calls to action (e.g. buttons or enquiry form

prompts). The words you use should be accurate (e.g. don’t call a menu tab ‘more information’

if it is, in fact, a booking page) as well as encouraging.

2b

Words are motivational and informative.

Sub-menu items relate to main menu title.

Top level navigation tabs are clear and unambiguous.

A gOOD eXAMPLe OF CLeAr NAvIgATION:

Use clear, accurate, unambiguous words in your menu and page titles.

Use friendly, motivational words in

your calls to action (e.g. ‘book now’,

‘enquire today’, ‘ask us…’).

Always consider your audience and

the tone of your website when creating

navigation text.

Mislead users with inaccurate menu tabs, page names or prompt text.

Use page names or menu items more than once.

Confuse the user with vague instructions.

do don’t

CONTENT WRITING | A beginners’ guide

Every website has a purpose.

DIREcT THEm TO mAkING AN AcTION

3

The following tips relate to every page of your website >

Unless your site is purely an information portal, you will be hoping to

drive your users toward making a certain action, whether that is making

a booking, contacting you, sending an enquiry or signing up to a

newsletter database.

CONTENT WRITING | A beginners’ guide

QUALITYEnsuring your content is of a high quality

is very important. Spelling mistakes,

inaccuracies or outdated information can be

very off-putting to site users. Consider having

some company-wide quality assurance

measures in place to maintain a high level

of quality across your site’s content.

TONeAlways keep the tone of the website

consistent and in line with your business

or brand. Having an inconsistent tone will

confuse and deter potential customers,

as they will struggle to relate to the voice of

your website.

If your website has different zones for

different users (e.g. a trade zone or

members’ zone), ensure the tone of each

zone is appropriate for each type of user.

4a vOICe / NArrATIONAlways consider the voice or narration of

your website content. Ask yourself who the

information is supposed to be coming from.

Is it the corporate head office of a big motel

chain? The owner of an intimate B&B? The

young, energetic team who operate an

adventure activity? Once decided, ensure

the voice is consistent throughout the site

by referring to yourself or your company in

the same way each time. Consider words like

‘we’, ‘I’, ‘the team’ and the use of first names.

Ensure it is always clear who ‘we’ or ‘I’

is referring to.

CONsIsTeNCYIt is important to ensure consistency on your

site, for the user’s sake. When referring to

a service you provide, your location or your

company name, ensure it is always the same

throughout the site. For example: don’t

refer to your location as ‘Christchurch’ on

one page, and as ‘Riccarton’ on another.

This will confuse visitors who don’t know

that Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch.

Similarly, don’t start inexplicably abbreviating

your company name half way through your

site content.