Website Copywriting Format Do’s and Don’ts

(when providing text to designers)

There is nothing worse for a designer than to open up a Word document, with letters swimming everywhere and no clear direction, format or structure to the copy that has been provided. It is likened to building a jigsaw puzzle, without an image to look at.  Designers spend hours trying to decipher different styles and formats – sometimes with no luck. This wastes valuable time, because the whole design concept is built on the flow of copy and structuring information in a way that will make sense to the ideal target audience. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when sending copy through to designers:

1). Always give a clear indication of the amount of pages you want. 

This might be subject to change, but it will give a good idea for the designer of how you would like information to be grouped together and what is important for you to mention.

2). Navigation bar: 

Indicate the amount of links that you would like to show under each page name in the navigation bar. 

3). Each page needs to be divided into sections (this is also applicable for marketing material).

 Typically each page consists out of a 

• Page Name (usually the same title as the navigation bar name and links),
• a page title (usually at the top of page if different from page name), 
• Sections (the page is divided into different sections)
• A heading for each section
• Content (paragraphs) for each section
• A preferred image for each section
• And links for each section

Here is an example of a website copy format template that you can follow to get the quickest response from designers:

Website Copy Format Template

(make this you own, change the wording + add sections.)

Amount of pages: Give an indication of the names and number of pages

Navigation Bar: Links

1. Page name … (example home)
2. Page name … (example about us)
3. Page name … (example services)

Link 1: Websites

Link 2: Applications

Link 3: Graphic Design 

1. Page name … (example contact us)

(Example Image)

Indicate when the pages start and end with either a stripe or comment:

1. Page name
   1. Page title if different to the page name
   2. Section 1
      1. Heading 1
         1. Content
         2. Images
         3. Links (actions)
   3. Section 2
      1. Heading 1
         1. Content
         2. Images
         3. Links (actions)

________________________________________________________________________

1. Page name
   1. Page title if different to the page name
   2. Section 1
      1. Heading 1
         1. Content
         2. Images
         3. Links (actions)

_______________________________________________________________________

1. Section 2
   1. Heading 1
      1. Content
      2. Images
      3. Links (actions)

(Example Image)

If you keep with this copy template format, designers will understand the initial brief much better and also be able to give recommendations on flow, structured information and images. 

Question

What is your approach to wire-framing? leave a comment below.

Links:

• https://expresswriters.com/website-copywriting-the-rights-and-wrongs/