How to prepare website content: a page-by-page guide
Website content is prepared before the design, one page at a time. For each page you first write down the single question it answers, who is asking it and the next step you want the visitor to take. The text, the evidence and the images are then gathered around that skeleton. The person who knows the subject best supplies the raw material; one editor owns the wording and keeps it consistent. Content should exist at least in draft before the design is signed off.
This piece follows on from pages every business website needs. That article covers which pages you need. Here we cover how to fill them, who should write what and in which order.
Why does content come before design?
Content comes first because the length and shape of the text decide the layout of the page. A three-sentence service summary and a twelve-step process do not fit the same box. A design built around placeholder text either breaks when the real copy arrives or forces the copy to be trimmed to fit.
The second reason is time. The most common delay in a website project is waiting for copy. Design and development can run in parallel, but the launch date is set by the last page of text. We break this down stage by stage in how long does a website take?.
Our recommendation is to start design with real text wherever possible. Even a rough draft gives headings and paragraphs their true length, and that steers the design decisions in the right direction.
How do you plan the content of a page?
You plan a page by filling in a short “page brief” before anyone writes a word. The brief says, in six lines, why the page exists. Skip it and the page tries to say everything whilst answering nothing properly.
This is the brief we recommend for every page:
| Field | Question | Example (a service page) |
|---|---|---|
| Single question | Which question does this page answer? | “Can this firm handle our office move?” |
| Reader | Who is asking it? | An office manager or the owner |
| Key message | If the reader remembers one sentence, which one? | “We move you over a weekend, without stopping work.” |
| Evidence | What supports that message? | Process steps, completed jobs, certifications |
| Next step | What should the reader do at the end? | Request a site survey |
| Owner and date | Who writes it, and by when? | Operations lead, week two |
Once the brief exists, writing becomes easier. The writer knows what to include and what to leave out. The person signing off judges the text against the brief — “does it answer the question?” rather than “do I like it?”
What goes on each page?
The copy on each type of page follows from that page’s single job. The list below focuses on how the text is built rather than what the page contains; the pages themselves are covered in our pages article.
Home page
The home page opens by saying what you do in one sentence. Writing that sentence is often the hardest task of the whole project, and it shapes every other page. A useful test: if the sentence would still be true on a competitor’s site, it does not describe you well enough. The rest of the home page is short summaries that lead to other pages.
About
The about page is an introduction. Say when and why you started, how you work and who you work with, using concrete facts. “A dynamic, customer-focused team” says nothing. The year you were founded, the specialisms in the team, the way you work and real photographs say a great deal.
Service pages
A service page opens with the client’s question. The first paragraph says who the service is for and which problem it solves. Then come the steps, what is and is not included, what you need from the client and the questions people ask about that service. The best source is your own sales conversations: note the questions you are asked for a week.
Work and case studies
A case study is written as context, work done and outcome. A measured result is given with the way it was measured. Get written permission for client names, logos and images. If permission is not possible, an anonymous case — sector and type of job — can still be written.
FAQs
FAQ copy is built from questions people have actually asked. The answer comes in the first sentence and the detail afterwards. That shape gives readers, search engines and AI answers a passage they can quote directly; we cover this in visibility in AI search.
Contact and legal pages
The contact page is short but complete: which channels you use, what happens after the form is sent and how soon you reply. Legal notices belong to the content plan too, and are prepared with your legal adviser. Any site whose form collects personal data needs them — in the UK and EU that means GDPR notices; in Türkiye, the equivalent under its data protection law (KVKK).
Who writes the content?
The person who knows the subject best writes the raw version; an editor or copywriter shapes it into one voice. The sales or operations team knows the detail of a service. The founder tells the about story best. Legal text comes from your adviser.
A common mistake is handing all the copy to one person to write “when they have a moment”. That person is usually the busiest in the building, and the text waits for weeks. It works better to split the job and give every page an owner and a date.
| Task | Who takes it on? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Raw knowledge | The team member who knows the subject | Bullet notes are enough |
| Writing and editing | A copywriter or a single editor | Consistent tone and terms come from here |
| Fact check | The subject owner | Technical and numerical facts are always checked |
| Legal text | Legal adviser | In regulated fields such as health or law, advertising rules are reviewed too |
| Photography | A photographer or the team | Real places and real people are preferred |
| Final sign-off | One decision-maker | Many approvers stretch the timeline |
If you would rather not write the copy yourselves, you still need to own the raw knowledge and the fact check. An outsider cannot know your business as well as you do; their job is to make what you know readable.
Which rules should the writing follow?
Content should give the reader short, verifiable answers to their questions. Google’s guidance on helpful, reliable, people-first content arrives at the same place: who made the content, how and why should be clear to the reader. The rules we recommend:
- The first sentence is the answer. Each section opens with the answer to its heading.
- Facts beat adjectives. Instead of “experienced”, say how many years and which jobs.
- One paragraph, one idea. Long paragraphs look like a wall on a phone.
- Headings are questions or plain statements. A visitor should find what they need by scanning them.
- Terms stay consistent. Do not say “appointment” on one page and “booking” on the next.
- Claims can be backed up. If you quote a number, an award or a client, have the source or the permission to hand.
- Images get alt text. Visitors using screen readers, and search engines, understand an image through it.
When should the content be ready?
Content should be in draft before the design is signed off and final before development finishes. A rough timeline:
- The sitemap is agreed. The list of pages is fixed.
- A brief is written for each page. Single question, reader, key message, evidence, next step, owner.
- Drafts arrive for the priority pages. Home and service pages first — design starts with these.
- Photography is planned. The shoot is booked once you know which images each page needs.
- Drafts arrive for the remaining pages. About, FAQs, contact, legal.
- Fact and legal checks are done.
- Final edit and sign-off. The copy goes into the site and is read once more in place.
Putting a date against each of these steps is the simplest way to keep the longest stage of the project under control.
What happens to the content on your current site?
Existing content is reviewed before it moves to the new site. Each page gets one of three decisions: keep as is, update, or remove. If pages that receive search traffic are changing address, the old addresses must redirect to the new ones, or the visibility built up over years can be lost. We cover this in redesigning a website without losing SEO.
Frequently asked questions
Should we write our website copy ourselves?
You should supply the raw knowledge, because you know your business best. The writing and editing can be left to a copywriter or the web team. The best results come when your knowledge meets an editor’s hand.
Can design start before the content is ready?
It can, if the sitemap and page briefs are ready. But a design built on placeholder text tends to change once the real copy arrives. Starting with at least a draft of the priority pages means fewer rounds of rework.
How much text should a page have?
Enough to answer the page’s question. A contact page is done in a few lines; a service page, with its process, scope and FAQs, runs longer. Length is not a target — every paragraph should answer something the reader is asking.
Can we write the copy with AI?
It can help with a first draft, but the fact check and the final word should be yours. AI does not know the facts of your business and can state wrong information with confidence. Google also expects it to be clear to readers how content was produced.
If you would like to work out your sitemap and page briefs together, have a look at how we approach web design, at SEO and maintenance for keeping content in shape after launch, or simply write to us. We reply within two working days.