Websites: Content For Your Website

Clients always ask me what is the single most important element for a successful website. And often they want me to tell them different things, but one thing that they cannot avoid is the content. The content is probably the only thing your developer is unable to help you with. You can bring in a writer and get them to write beautiful, flowing content, but you will have to come up with the exact composition of what your business is about. The intricacy of creating content for your website is not only in the writing, but several influential factors. It is a similar exercise as when someone asks you to talk about yourself, not an easy thing to do, because you are trying not to sell yourself short, but at the same time not to come across as arrogant. 

And most clients, probably even you while reading this article think that when I talk about the content, I'm only referring to text. And you are about 20% correct. Text is the largest contributor to your website's content, but in this case I am also talking about pictures, videos, downloadable files, forms, icons, buttons and a logo. All of these are integral part of the content. And to develop and balance your content is something that you the owner of the website will have to take as a personal project. For this article, I will only address the big 4, as I call them, text, pictures, forms and icons. 

Text

99.9% of websites that I have come across have text that elaborates what the business is about and why you should choose them to be your preferred vendor. Everybody does and those who are good at attracting customers with their fancy words, win the tug-of-war. Enlyne Branding has done research on text in several platforms, and the results are astonishing. 87% of print media buyers say that they buy a particular magazine or newspaper, not because of the content, but because of the style of writing, it makes them feel like the words are directly talking to them. Further, we found that 93% of the headline stories in most print media articles are similar, and there are 2 differences, the inclination and the style of writing. 

76% of online readers and print media readers say that content they respond to is emotional and provides solutions. The whole 76% did not care whether the content was factual or well researched and only 20% cared if the content is factual and 4% were on the fence, meaning that they cared on some content and did not care on others. The are 2 factors that you need to consider when developing your text, firstly, write for your readers, meaning engage them emotionally and secondly, consider how you are going to optimize it. 

Pictures

As you are developing your content, you must accept that you will have different visitors and most of them absorb pictures better than words. When you are a freelance photographer, it is helpful to post pictures of your work rather than trying to explain in words. Try to use original pictures as much as you can, and you might want to acquire services of an illustrator if you want to use images that are drawn or composed. Even when most of your content is images/pictures, ensure that they balance and each image is able to communicate the message of your services effectively. 

Forms

Forms are part of 93% of websites globally, and they are used in different ways. Some forms you will find in the contact us page in the website, some are landing pages forms and some are used as online registration forms. And these forms have separate functions, and since their functions are different, they should never be confused as one or the other. And you should assist your users by using them as they should be, meaning that when you create forms for landing pages, make sure that it is clear at the top right before where the form starts that the user understands what they filling their details for, and similar with other forms. The common practice is that they will state that fill in your details to receive your free ebook, or fill in the form to send us your query, and so on. This form of content is also important that it is balance and well placed. 

Icons

Icons play an important role in ensuring that the navigation of the website is user friendly. They assist with the sharing and transferring of information from a current page to another page and even a separate URL. Icons have 3 important roles which are: 

1. Assist with the look and feel of the site 
2. They provide links to other pages with content
3. They enhance the look and feel of the website

The placement of your icons will determine the ease of navigation and also whether your visitors will have the patience to follow your your links. The key is to make your icons easy to understand, meaning that if you want people to email something to your business, use the envelope icon, which is known for sending mail, and the relevant social media icons, to share your content. Your visitors will automatically know what the icon is used for, unlike using foreign icons that they don't understand, and this will make them loose interest in your website. It is essential to use them correctly, but most importantly place them in the right places to make it easier for your visitors to navigate to the relevant area of interest. 

When the content of the website is properly used, it attracts more visitors to your website, you get more leads, you start converting leads into customers and they start referring friends, colleagues and family to your website and you generate more revenue. And this, is the ultimate goal for every business, to use every resource possible to generate revenue. So next time you create content for your website, consider what you are feeding your visitors, and is it going to keep them coming back to your website.