Why your website copy isn't working (and how to fix it)

Most website copy doesn't fail because the writing is "bad." It fails because it’s looking in the mirror. Lots of organisations use their websites to talk exclusively about their history, their services and their unique approach, but the person reading is often there for a very specific reason. If your copy doesn’t acknowledge their problem, they won't stick around to find out how good you are at what you actually do.

The biggest hurdle with website copy is often a lack of clarity. Your homepage should make it immediately obvious what you do and who it's for, rather than burying that information half a dozen clicks away under several paragraphs of fluff. The same goes for your navigation – if your menu is full of "clever" labels or internal jargon, people will immediately get lost and leave. Call things what they are and make it easy for a busy person to move around your site without having to guess where a link might lead.

Good copy shouldn’t just sit there; it should be helpful. Simple, plain-English calls to action make a huge difference – tell people what you want them to do next in a way that's easy to understand. And, crucially, make sure your tone is consistent throughout. If you sound like a lawyer on one page and a best friend on the next, it can feel jarring to your visitors. A steady tone of voice, based on what your organisation values and how it speaks, makes the whole site more reliable.

Studio Till website

We recently worked with animation company Studio Till to punch up the copy across their entire website. Their existing content was serviceable, but the site contained far too much densely-packed information for people to sift through. We made everything much more streamlined, merging extraneous sections and making paragraphs shorter and punchier. Headings that once sounded generic became more engaging, and more on brand. Hero copy summed up their mission in an instant. When a website works, you don’t really notice the words – it just feels like an easy, helpful interaction. You understand what's on offer and what to do next without having to overthink it. If your site feels a bit clunky or confusing, it’s usually worth taking things back to basics. We help organisations find clarity, whether that’s figuring out their tone of voice or writing the actual words that make their site make sense. Get in touch to find out more.