Building a New Website for Your Small Business? Start with a Copywriter First

So you’re the owner of a small business – congratulations! It’s your pride and joy, and you’re probably thinking about marketing and starting your website. 

Perhaps you go to Upwork or Fiverr to find a freelance web developer who can help you build your website, because getting one done from a fancy marketing agency here in Perth is out of the question. As a small business, cash flow is crucial, and freelancers are certainly capable. 

Sounds good, right? Well – yes for now, no for the long run. 

Website copywriting should always be done first before web development, and not by a web developer. In this article, I’ll explain why copywriting is necessary to help your business find its voice online, stand out, and ensure that you’re getting the most value out of your investment. 

TL;DR (Summary): There are over 100,000 websites being created each day. If you’re thinking of building a new website for your small business, a copywriter can help you stand out and define your personal story. What made you start the business?
What is your motivation behind it? Why did you become what you are? 

If you ever want a chance of reaching your customers, showcasing your story is necessary. SEO is also necessary. Having all this built into your website from the start is a better investment because it makes sure your website isn’t just lying around as a placeholder on the internet (which is what most websites are these days)

Why Should Website Copywriting Be Done First?

As a copywriter, I see many small business owners make either one of these two mistakes when building their website: 

1. Their website sounds like every other website on the internet
2. Their website has zero SEO-friendly copy 

Let’s look at each of these in detail.

Mistake 1: In your haste, you build a website with generic copy

This is a problem because there is nothing that differentiates you from your competitors. Consider this copy found on an accountant’s page. 

“We are a team of trusted accountants that provides professional business bookkeeping services that ensure high quality and customer satisfaction guaranteed” 

While there’s nothing ‘unprofessional’ about the writing, it sounds like the same words found on many other accounting firms’ websites. Why should someone pick YOU as their bookkeeper? 

So then consider this tweaked copy instead.

“As an accountant, I understand the frustration that comes with managing your business books. My goal is to guide you through this process while ensuring that your compliance is up to date. As a business owner myself, I know how important it is to receive quality work – and this is my promise to you.” 

See the difference when you become personal? Buying is an emotional sport, and we all want to buy from someone we trust. The revised version puts the focus back on you, and it also highlights your customers’ pain points and how you can solve them.

Mistake 2: Your website is built with zero SEO best practices 

As a website copywriter, I always say that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is best done when you’re building your website. 

Building a website and then asking someone to “SEO it” later isn’t the end of the world, but it does cause you to spend more money and time than necessary. Your website should have metadata, SEO-friendly copy, and all the technical features (i.e., fast loading speeds, small image sizes) that ensure Google can easily pick it up and rank it.

A good conversation to have with your web developer is this: Are they setting up your website with SEO-friendly infrastructure? Or are they just building a pretty website? 

I will caveat here by saying that SEO is a long-term game, and even with the best infrastructure, you’ll need to update your website with regular content to get yourself ranking on Google. 

However, even with hundreds of blogs, you can still struggle to rank without the right website framework and setup from the start. 

Why is Storytelling Important in Small Business Websites? 

Here’s a hard pill to swallow: Customers don’t want to know about your business experience or years. They want to know how you can help them with their problems. 

If you look online, the best websites are often centred on the company’s story. No one really wants to hear about your experienced staff, multiple awards, or educational background. Instead, they want to hear about you personally –  What made you start the business? What is your motivation behind it? Why did you become what you are? 

And more importantly: How can your product or services solve their needs? How has it solved the needs of other people? 

Finding the answer to these questions is hard, but they are necessary if you ever want to get that customer. Only a copywriter or a branding consultant can guide you through this and help you find your personal story – we all have one. 

Web Developer vs Web Copywriter: What’s the Difference?

Website developers are excellent at building websites that look good and have a functional design. Meanwhile, website copywriters transform your ideas into persuasive copy that keeps people engaged. Both are important, and they work hand in hand to provide you with the best digital home possible for your small business. 

Here’s a table with a gist of the differences between website developers and website copywriters

Web developers are excellent coders, but their key strengths are not in writing persuasive copy. Just as a copywriter isn’t a coder. 

In my experience, your website has the best chance of success with these 4 key people: a copywriter, an SEO specialist, a web developer, and a graphic designer. That way, you’ll have a website that looks good, sounds original, and has the right SEO set up to get you noticed on search engines. 

Website Building for Small Business: A Step-By-Step Approach

So, how does one get started with building their small business website? Here’s a step-by-step on who you work with and how:

Step 1: Define your story and messaging with a copywriter

Have a chat with a website copywriter to build your brand tone, messaging, and your unique selling points. If you have an idea of what pages you’d like to have on your website, then great! Otherwise, a copywriter (like me) can also help you understand what pages you need on your website. 

Step 2: Plan your keywords with an SEO specialist 

A website without SEO is like shouting into a void. So you should work with an SEO specialist who will tell you which keywords your customers are searching for, and which keywords to target for each page on your website. With these keywords, your copywriter will then write your website with SEO-friendly messaging. 

Step 3: Beautify your website with a designer or web developer

Now that your content is done, it’s time to send it to a graphic designer, who will create a layout of each page (on desktop and mobile). Many business owners choose to go straight to a website developer and skip the graphic designer, who can also use their skills to create a good-looking website. 

But if you’re particular about aesthetics, I’d recommend getting a graphic designer to design your website’s layout and sending it to the website developer for reference. 

In summary

Your website will be a long-term investment in your business. While it may be tempting to take shortcuts and go straight to a developer, you’ll be left wondering what the purpose of your website is when it doesn’t get any visits in the end.

Like any investment, you should think about doing it properly with the right tone and best SEO practices, so you have a site that can attract and capture customers – even when you’re sleeping. 

If you’re a business wanting to start a website, or refresh your existing one, let’s have a chat. I collaborate with SEO specialists, web designers, and web developers to ensure your website has the best chance of success. Contact me to learn more about my website copywriting service. 

FAQs: Website Copywriting & Small Business Websites

1. Why should I start with website copywriting before web design?

Because a copywriter can help you identify your brand tone and help you say what you want to say in your own words. Starting with copywriting also helps you capitalise on SEO best practices (i.e. making sure your website has the right keywords that can target your consumers when they search for your product/service)

2. What’s the difference between web copywriting and website design?

Website copywriting is the words that go into your website, while website design is the layout, plus look and feel of your website. Typically, a copywriter will work with a designer to plan the layout and how the words fit into the page. 

3. How does website copywriting help small businesses stand out online?

Website copywriting helps you capture your audience’s attention with attractive copy on your website, and it also outlines your ‘why’ to your customers. Without copywriting, many small business websites look generic and similar to one another – this doesn’t differentiate you from your competitors. 

4. Can’t my web developer just write my copy for me?

Not recommended! Your website developer would likely simply copy a generic template from a similar business website and paste it onto your site. Nothing to highlight your business speciality, or the person behind the business. Selling is an emotional sport, and you won’t get new customers by blending in or sounding like a robot, particularly in a crowded digital space. 

5. How much website copywriting do I really need for a new site?

It depends on your business type and what products or services you offer. For example, if you’re a dentist, I’d recommend having a website page with original copywriting for each of your services at least.