One of the most common questions I get about website copywriting is this: how much content do I need on each page?
It’s going to vary depending on the purpose of the page, how much contextual information is needed around the basic points to help people to convert, and SEO intentions for the page.
There are a lot of moving parts, so let’s get into it.
Here is what we’re going to look at:
- The importance of brevity
- When it makes sense to go long
- Consistency across page categories
- A note on repeating copy
- A quick summary/approximate guide per page type
Keeping your website copy brief
By now, you’re probably thinking that’s rich coming from me, as I waffle on for around 1,000 words a week diving into the details of how to write website copy.
But that’s the thing, different forms of copy require different means of storytelling, different formats, and different word counts. Brevity is key in website copy.
Your copy sits within the context of both the page and content design.
How your content is formatted and designed brings additional subtext and meaning to your copy. More than in any other form (except maybe ads), fewer words are needed to get your message across than you think.
Folks don’t have a huge deal of patience. So unless your website is a one pager, there is no need to have a lot of content on any given page.
And remember the importance of using the home page and index pages more as signposts than pages with lots of content.
People don’t visit your website to read. They visit for information
A hard pill to swallow as a copywriter (but one that will improve your writing ten fold) is that no one is going to read everything that you write.
Folks are heading to a website to find the information they need. And if you make that information hard to find, they’re not going to fight for it. They’re going to leave and go elsewhere.
How easy information is to find (often focused on features, benefits, pricing, and services) is often an indicator of how trustworthy a company is. First impressions really are everything.
When it makes sense for your website pages to be long
There are some exceptions to this, of course. The most obvious example is an FAQs page, which ideally will have a lot of content on it.
The key here though is to format content in a way that it is still easily digestible. Which means ensuring all of the questions are clearly and unambiguously worded.
Accordions throughout or quick links at the top of the page to each individual question/topic can be a useful way to make the information easy to navigate.
Another example is if you are condensing down a huge website. The example I used a few weeks ago, the website I wrote for totality services, started with 40-50 pages each with 2k ish words.
We condensed this down to 9 pages by grouping content into category pages. The total word count of the totality services website is now about 4.5k, down from around 70k. In this case, the longer pages make sense, but each topic or service is only granted around 200 words.
And at the top of each page are quick links down to each section which makes it easy for folks to find the info they need.
Content design and formatting consistency across page types
A hugely important part of creating a cohesive and easy to use website is consistency in content design, layout, and the volume of content. Another example from hotels here is that each room type needs to include the same information and present it in the same order.
A typical hotel room type page may be laid out (for example) like this:
- H1, subheading, button
- H2 and brief intro copy – max 50 words
- H2 – room amenities/features – bullet point list (bed size, bathroom info, room size, coffee machine, workspace, WiFi etc)
- H2 – hotel features – bullet point list (spa, gym, gardens, restaurant, etc)
- Main CTA – book
Here is an example of a hotel website I wrote a few years ago. It was one of the last projects I worked on in my agency days. This has a bit of additional “scene-setting” copy but the key information is so easy to find.
The important thing here is that all of the hotel room pages are laid out in the same way so folks can consistently find the information in the same place on each of them.
A note on repeating copy
One of the most misunderstood parts of website copy (for clients) is that copy needs to be repeated. When you’re presented with website copy in one long continuous document, it can be confusing to understand why stuff is being repeated.
Think back to week 2: sitemaps. Copy needs to work from the bottom up. This is why I start website copy with child pages (e.g. State Rooms), then index pages (Accommodation), and write the homepage last.
Because index pages work as signposts, they often need to feature snippets of copy from (or summaries of) their child pages. And the homepage will often feature snippets of copy from the index pages. It ensures continuity and consistency throughout the website.
It’s also our responsibility as copywriters to ensure our clients understand this before we write the copy. And it’s always worth adding a note when we share the first draft that this is something they should expect.
A quick example summary of approximate word counts
Please do not take this as gospel, it is just an idea to help you understand that most web pages need less copy than you would expect. This may not apply to your specific web project and that is perfectly fine.
- Homepage – 200-300 words
- Index page – 200-300 words
- Services page – 250-500 words
- Product page (B2B) – 250-500 words
- About page – 250-400 words
- FAQs – 1000+ words
- Contact/conversion page – 100 words
More than just about any other type of content, web copy is ALWAYS quality over quantity. Brevity is beautiful on a website.
You deserve a website you can be proud of. Want to know how I can get you there? Have a look at my website copywriting packages.
This article is based on my 12 week website copywriting course, Demystifying Website Copy. Which you can access for just £5.
