According to every web designer I have ever asked, the single most common cause for delay on a website design project is the time lost waiting for the client to supply the copy.
Everything starts off well: the client is enthusiastic, the deposit is paid, the number and type of pages agreed upon, and an approved design is underway. The web designer is on schedule to complete your website and feeling pretty confident about the launch date. Then a week later, the whole project comes to a grinding halt because the content is not ready. Who is responsible for supplying the copy for the website? Why, you – the client – of course.Now, instead of phoning you with the happy news that your website is ready for signing off, your web designer is still haranguing you for the late copy. Worse, he or she also has to tell you that the deadline you originally set to launch your shiny new website to the world can no longer be met – are they brave enough to add that this is actually your fault?
The simplest solution to this problem is to outsource the web copy to a professional copywriter. Then it is the copywriter’s responsibility to liaise with the client for the information needed, then to go forth and research, write and optimise the text for the site.
With a copywriter on the job, the web designer is free to get on with what they do best – the actual website design– knowing the content will be ready on time, it will have all the information the client wants on all the right pages, and will be written in an appropriate style for the web. What’s more, most of the search engine optimisation work required for the content will be done already, including links, headings and calls to action. The best copywriters will even supply the metadata if required. All the web designer has to do is drop it in, tweak it a bit to fit the layout, and activate the links and hyperlinks.
Fiona Cole is the owner and principal copywriter at BigWords NZ. For more information on getting professional web copy for your website, contact Fiona here.