You know the work from the inside. A prospective customer may be seeing it for the first time, between other jobs, on a phone. Useful copy gives them enough information to judge whether you can help and what happens next. You do not need every detail in the opening paragraph.
Start with the question behind the page.
Choose the job the page needs to do. A service page might explain whether the work suits the customer's situation. A product page might need to clarify sizes, compatibility or what is included. Those decisions give the writing an order.
Content designer Sarah Winters describes starting with the audience's need, then choosing how best to answer it. Sometimes a comparison, diagram or short set of steps is more useful than another paragraph. Decide the format as well as the wording.
Reading behind this section: Sarah Winters, Content Design London
Bring the knowledge. Work through the writing.
Existing brochures, approved project notes and the questions you answer repeatedly can provide a useful start. Mark what is current and what needs checking. A short conversation about a real job can uncover distinctions that a blank website questionnaire misses.
Keep your own explanation separate from a customer's actual words. A competitor's review can suggest a research question, but it cannot tell us what your customers think. Claims about experience, service areas, specifications and results need a source you can stand behind.
Let the headings carry useful information.
Use headings that describe what follows. Put important conditions close to the claim they qualify. Explain an unfamiliar technical term when it helps a decision, and use the same name for the same thing throughout the page.
On a website, headings also need a meaningful structure in the page code. W3C explains how this helps people understand and navigate the content, including those using assistive technology. Making a sentence large and bold does not provide that structure by itself.
Reading behind this section: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
Check understanding before polishing the adjectives.
Read the draft for three things: what you offer, what someone needs to know before choosing it, and the next useful action. Ask someone unfamiliar with the work to explain those back. Their questions can reveal information you have assumed was obvious.
Then check facts, tone and permissions with the business. AI can help organise starting material, but a fluent draft still needs that review. Keep one approved source for service facts so the website, brochure and next revision do not drift apart.
Put it to use
A useful check for your business.
- What decision does this page help someone make?
- Which facts or conditions are still missing?
- Does the wording sound like the business?
- Is the next step clear and appropriate?
The thinking behind this guide
Sources & further reading.
Our practical interpretation, with the references below for the specific principles and further detail.
- Editing copy or designing content: what's the difference?
Starting with the audience's information need and choosing an appropriate format, rather than treating every content problem as a writing task.
- Page Structure Tutorial: Headings
Meaningful heading structure communicates organisation and supports navigation. It is one part of accessibility, rather than a complete conformance check.
