Copywriting for business websites: the complete guide

Copywriting is writing designed to move a reader toward a specific action, such as booking a call, buying or signing up. It covers headlines, page text, buttons, emails and ads. It differs from content writing, which mainly informs. Good copy is clear, specific and supported by evidence, because most web visitors scan before they read. Nielsen Norman Group found in 1997 that 79% of test users always scanned new pages and only 16% read word by word. Our guide to [what is copywriting](/resources/learn/copywriting/what-is-copywriting/) explains the structure of a page that persuades. If you want a place to begin, read the guide on [headline formulas](/resources/learn/copywriting/headline-formulas/) next, since the headline is the line most visitors see first.

Start with your customers' language and your headline. Interview a few recent buyers, read your reviews and support tickets, and note the exact words they use for their problem and the outcome they wanted. Then check whether your headline names what you offer and who it is for in plain words. A stranger should be able to explain your offer after five seconds. Our guide to [voice-of-customer research](/resources/learn/copywriting/voice-of-customer/) gives the steps, and the [headline guide](/resources/learn/copywriting/headline-formulas/) shows how to turn what you learn into a line. Do this before you rewrite anything. Pages written from assumption tend to describe the business, and pages written from interviews tend to describe the buyer.

No. Clear copy nearly always beats clever copy, because a first-time visitor needs to understand the offer before they can appreciate the wit. Nielsen Norman Group's 1997 research found that a concise, scannable and objective version of a site scored 124% better on usability than a promotional version, though that was a small study on one site. Its 2017 plain-language article reports that expert readers also prefer short, plain text. Use cleverness only where context already exists, and keep headlines plain. A quick check is to ask a stranger what your business does after reading the headline. If they cannot say, simplify it before you polish it.

You can make strong claims only if they are true and you can support them. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive and that advertisers need a reasonable basis for a claim before it runs. It judges the overall impression, including implied claims. Law, health and finance have tighter rules in many places. Avoid guarantees and absolute words unless you can prove them, and have a qualified reviewer check regulated claims before publishing. This is general information, not legal advice, and rules differ by country and industry. When a claim is borderline, soften it to something you can prove.

Judge by behaviour, and run tests properly. A split test needs a sample size fixed in advance. Evan Miller shows that stopping the moment a result looks significant can produce a false winner 26.1% of the time in a worst case. By his rule of thumb, detecting a conversion rise from 5% to 6% needs about 7,600 visitors per version. With less traffic, show drafts to five to ten target buyers and ask them to explain the offer back. The [headline guide](/resources/learn/copywriting/headline-formulas/) covers this in detail. Whichever method you use, change one thing at a time, so you can tell what caused any difference.