"What Do I Need to Before I Write My Website?
Let’s say you’re ready to overhaul your website copy. What do you do?
You pull up your website and a blank Google Doc, and start writing.
Right?
WROOOOONNGGG.
So what’s the problem with the blank page approach?
No strategy No plan No customer data No direction
Supreme bummer to execute
Start with strategy instead.
Your message comes from strategy.
Your copy comes from your message.
Work forward, not backward.
Want a free sample of strategy and support?
Grab your free 5-minute About page audit.
Website Rewrite/Refresh Checklist
Writing your website isn’t a matter of what words to put where.
(Okay, it is, eventually. But stick with me for a moment.)
Everything on your website needs to have a purpose behind it. Every word, every image, should have a strategy behind it.
Testimonials
This might be the single most important item on the list.
We want all the testimonials you can round up. Allllll. Even for services you don’t offer anymore. If someone wrote down how they felt about your business, we want to know.
The language is gold. The message is gold.
Start with what your customer wants, in their words.
Digital and print marketing materials
Have any other written marketing materials?
Any social media posts that really hit and helped with conversions?
What words work?
What do you love, and what doesn’t quite feel aligned?
✨ Website analytics ✨
Do you use an internal analytics program? Google Analytics? Do you have Hotjar or a similar heatmap tool installed?
Can you start?
If you don’t have access to any of this information now, that’s okay. Now’s a good time to start.
Need help?
A copywriting project doesn’t start with words. It starts with your business goals.
Get clear on your goals. Get optimized. Get going.
Start with a website copy audit, and you’ll be supported the whole way.
Questions? hello@kelleygardiner.com
—Kelley
Three Good Reasons to Write Your Own Website Copy
