Creating content for websites
Your purpose
This playbook is designed to serve as a user-friendly resource for creating impactful website content. It covers everything from crafting compelling copy to optimizing for digital success and more. Think of this playbook as your go-to guide for building effective and consistent web content that supports the goals of your organization.
A modern website needs a clear purpose. Just as your brand has a purpose, your website should too. Without defined goals, it’s hard to create a site that resonates with your audience.
Outline your objectives upfront to guide content, messaging, and design. Consider your target audience—age, industry, occupation, and demographics—to ensure your site connects effectively.
Considerations
Ask yourself the following questions?
- Who is your target audience?
- What is the purpose of your content?
- What problems are you solving for your audience?
- What is your key message?
- What action do you want your visitors to take?
- How will your content align with your brand voice and goals?
- What keywords and SEO elements should you include?
- How can you use video and other media to enhance your content?
- How will you stand out from the competition?
- What metrics will you use to measure success?
Intended audience
The power of connection
Writing content that speaks directly to your audience is invaluable for building trust, engagement, and loyalty. When your message aligns with their needs, interests, and challenges, it creates a sense of connection and relevance.
Tailored content shows that you understand their priorities, making it easier to address pain points and provide solutions. This targeted approach not only strengthens your brand’s authority but also drives meaningful interactions and conversions, ensuring your efforts resonate with the people who matter most.
Success factors
UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE REMAINS THE TOP DRIVER OF SUCCESS, WITH 82% OF
HIGH PERFORMERS CREDITING IT AS KEY.
OTHER CRITICAL FACTORS INCLUDE CREATING HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT, LEVERAGING INDUSTRY EXPERTISE, AND ALIGNING GOALS WITH ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES.
Your toolkit
Start with the basics
Having a toolkit for webpage creation streamlines the process and ensures consistency across your content. It provides a structured approach, making it easier to organize ideas, define goals, and execute tasks efficiently. With tools for writing copy, defining webpage blocks, and optimizing for SEO, a toolkit helps you stay focused, maintain quality, and align your content with user needs. It also saves time by offering ready-made templates and resources, so you can focus on delivering an effective, engaging user experience
Resources
HubSpot's Website Planning Workbook
This guide helps with planning your website's structure and content, including sections on homepage content, forms, and error messages.
Smartsheet's Content Plan Templates
Check out this free collection of expert-tested templates available in Word, PDF, and Excel formats to help you plan and organize your content effectively.
Lugh Studio's Ultimate Guide to Content Planning and Organization
This guide outlines the necessary steps to plan and organize your content for optimal results.
Attrock's Website Content Template
This free template is designed to help you optimize content for your webpage, ensuring it aligns with your marketing goals.
What's the difference?
Webpages and landing pages each serve a distinct purpose. A webpage is part of a larger site and covers a wide range of information, while a landing page is designed with a singular focus, aiming to driver higher conversion rates through a specific action.
A webpage is any individual page on a website, typically part of a larger site with multiple pages. It can serve various purposes, such as providing general information, showcasing products, sharing blog content, or offering resources. Webpages often have multiple links to other parts of the site and may include navigation elements like menus or footers.
A landing page is a standalone page designed for a specific goal, often tied to a marketing or advertising campaign. It's focused on a single call to action (CTA), such as signing up for newsletter, downloading an e-book, or making a purchase. Unlike a general webpage, landing pages are usually minimalistic, with little to no distractions, to maximize conversions.
Quick reference
Purpose: A webpage provides general information, while a landing page focuses on a single goal or action.
Content: Webpages contain diverse content and links, whereas landing pages are typically inimalistic with one call to action.
Navigation: Webpages often include menus and links to other pages; landing pages usually have no navigation to keep visitors focused.
Conversion focus: Landing pages are optimized for conversions, while webpages aim to inform and engage visitors broadly.
Length: Webpages can be long and detailed; landing pages are typically concise and to the point.
Context: A webpage is part of a larger website, while a landing page is often used in marketing campaigns or ads.
Creating for both
Webpages
Landing pages
Landing pages
When writing for a webpage, there are several essential elements to include to ensure the content is clear, persuasive, and engaging. First, establish a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that highlights what sets your product or service apart from the competition. This should be conveyed through concise and impactful headlines and sub-headlines that immediately communicate the value to visitors.
Next, include an introductory paragraph that provides further context, drawing the reader in with more detailed information. Be sure to focus
on the benefits of your offering, not just the features, and break them down into easily digestible bullet points for clarity. To reinforce your message, add a reinforcement statement midway down the page, supporting your USP with customer testimonials or relevant success stories.
Finally, end with a closing argument that reiterates the value of your offering and encourages visitors to take action. These components, combined with strong visuals or videos, help to create a compelling webpage that resonates with your audience.
Landing pages
Landing pages
Landing pages
When creating a landing page, the goal is clear: drive conversions by getting your target audience to take action, typically by submitting contact information in exchange for valuable content. To create an effective landing page, keep it specific by focusing on one offer to avoid confusion.
Layout is key, so ensure a clean design with a bold headline, clear supporting copy, and a prominent call to action (CTA) placed above the fold. Use social proof, such as testimonials or expert quotes, to build trust and validate your message. Finally, avoid clutter by keeping the page simple, with minimal distractions like excessive images or jargon, to maintain focus on the CTA and your offer.
Content mix
A content mix on your website engages different user preferences and keeps visitors interested. combining text, images, videos, case studies, and e-books appeals to various learning styles and supports different stages of the customer journey. This diversity enhances user experience, boosts SEO, and can improve conversion rates.
Content is the driving force of the internet, offering numerous formats that help brands engage their audience, reach new markets, and deliver value. However, with so many options available, it can be challenging to decide where to focus, even with the help of AI tools for content creation and optimization.
Each content type serves a unique purpose—some attract traffic, while others focus on capturing data. To maximize your content’s potential, it’s important to approach your content strategy thoughtfully.
Top 7 content types
Blogs
Listicles
Listicles
Improved SEO: Regularly updated blogs provide fresh content for search engines to index, which can help improve your website’s visibility and search rankings.
Audience engagement: A blog allows you to connect with your audience by sharing valuable insights, tips, and stories, encouraging interaction and building trust over time.
Thought lea
Improved SEO: Regularly updated blogs provide fresh content for search engines to index, which can help improve your website’s visibility and search rankings.
Audience engagement: A blog allows you to connect with your audience by sharing valuable insights, tips, and stories, encouraging interaction and building trust over time.
Thought leadership: Providing informative and authoritative content positions your brand as an industry expert, fostering credibility and attracting potential customers.
Listicles
Listicles
Listicles
Choose and Structure Wisely: Pick a topic that resonates with your audience, define the number of list items, and ensure subheadings are numbered to match the title for clarity.
Optimize for Engagement: Include an engaging introduction and conclusion, and use relevant keywords to improve search visibility and reader retention.
Deliver Value
Choose and Structure Wisely: Pick a topic that resonates with your audience, define the number of list items, and ensure subheadings are numbered to match the title for clarity.
Optimize for Engagement: Include an engaging introduction and conclusion, and use relevant keywords to improve search visibility and reader retention.
Deliver Value: Focus on providing detailed, high-quality content for each list item to ensure your listicle is both informative and
shareable.
Ebooks
Listicles
Infographics
Focus on Solutions: Create content that addresses your audience's challenges and provides actionable solutions, minimizing promotional material for maximum value.
Design for Readability: Use chapters, subheadings, and visuals to break up text, making the ebook easy to read and visually
appealing.
Invest in Quality: Spend time crafting a comp
Focus on Solutions: Create content that addresses your audience's challenges and provides actionable solutions, minimizing promotional material for maximum value.
Design for Readability: Use chapters, subheadings, and visuals to break up text, making the ebook easy to read and visually
appealing.
Invest in Quality: Spend time crafting a compelling title, conducting thorough research, and designing a professional layout to ensure your ebook resonates with readers and stands
out.
Infographics
How-to-guides & Case studies
Infographics
Infographics are powerful tools for simplifying complex information and presenting it in an engaging, visually appealing way. To create effective infographics, start by understanding your audience and crafting a clear narrative that flows logically from "why" to "how" to "what." Keep the design simple and focused,
using consistent colors,
Infographics are powerful tools for simplifying complex information and presenting it in an engaging, visually appealing way. To create effective infographics, start by understanding your audience and crafting a clear narrative that flows logically from "why" to "how" to "what." Keep the design simple and focused,
using consistent colors, symbols, and formatting.
Incorporate compelling statistics and visuals to capture attention, and always cite credible sources to establish trust. With proper planning and attention to detail, infographics can effectively convey key messages while enhancing engagement and retention.
Video
How-to-guides & Case studies
How-to-guides & Case studies
Video content is a powerful tool for boosting engagement, improving search rankings, and captivating audiences in a text-heavy digital world. With rich combinations of visuals, sound, and animation, videos are highly shareable and account for a significant portion of web traffic.
To create effective video content, start with a clear goal,
Video content is a powerful tool for boosting engagement, improving search rankings, and captivating audiences in a text-heavy digital world. With rich combinations of visuals, sound, and animation, videos are highly shareable and account for a significant portion of web traffic.
To create effective video content, start with a clear goal, address key audience questions, and follow best practices to ensure your video
resonates and delivers value.
Focus on creating valuable content rather than ads. Keep your videos concise, ideally two to three minutes long, and include a clear call to action to guide viewers to your website or a landing page.
How-to-guides & Case studies
How-to-guides & Case studies
How-to-guides & Case studies
Craft Clear How-To Guides: Provide step-by-step instructions with visuals, concise writing, and a logical flow to help users solve problems or achieve goals while keeping them engaged.
Leverage Real-Life Case Studies: Highlight customer success stories that demonstrate how your products or services solve challenges, creating relatable and
Craft Clear How-To Guides: Provide step-by-step instructions with visuals, concise writing, and a logical flow to help users solve problems or achieve goals while keeping them engaged.
Leverage Real-Life Case Studies: Highlight customer success stories that demonstrate how your products or services solve challenges, creating relatable and impactful content.
Build Credibility and Engagement: Use how-to guides and case studies to foster trust, strengthen audience loyalty, and drive lead generation with actionable, value-driven content.
Resources
Best practice guides
- Master the art of writing a blog post, Medium.com
- Examples and ideas for writing a listicle, Hubspot.com
- How to create an ebook from start to finish, Hubspot.com
- 10 tips for a great infographic, Ebsco.com
- Video content creation, tips for creators, Foundation.com
- 9 steps to create effective how-to guides, Tango.com
- The ultimate guide to writing a case study, Ringcentral.com
By following these best practices, you can create engaging and effective content that aligns with your marketing goals.
Executing on the plan
The final stage of content creation for your website involves effectively implementing your toolkit and content types, monitoring performance, and making adjustments as necessary. In this section, we’ll highlight the importance of continuous testing, optimizing for user experience, and tracking key metrics to ensure your content stays engaging and aligns with your overall goals.
Once your content goes live, the first step in testing is to monitor its performance closely. Begin by analyzing key metrics such as page views, bounce rates, engagement, and conversions to assess how well the content resonates with your audience. Use A/B testing to compare variations of headlines, calls-to-action, and layouts to identify what performs best. This early stage of testing will help you refine your content and ensure it meets the goals outlined in your strategy.
Actionable steps
Content is king! Create a content calendar, create and share content frequently, create content for every stage of your sales funnel, create content you know your customers will love, and create content that speaks to how your product or service can solve their problem.
Check out Hotjar’s free tool, which helps optimize website content by tracking user behavior with heatmaps, recordings, and surveys.
Try this free social media content calendar template, which also supports website content management for various types like emails, blog posts, articles, and more.
While it might feel overwhelming, there are plenty of resources available to assist you. Leverage the internet, educate yourself, and recognize when it's time to seek expert help. We can help!