As with any other project, it is important to determine your content creation goals. These will guide your direction and shape the content you create.

Ask yourself

• What do I want visitors to do on my website (call me, book online, visit my shop)?
• What questions do customers ask me most often?
• What differentiates me from my competitors?
• What would make a customer choose me over someone else?

You will need to know and understand your audience before you start creating content.

Ask yourself

• Age range and lifestyle: are they professionals, retirees, families, or young people?
• How did they find my business?: Was it through referrals, local ads, or internet searches?
• What matters most to them: price, quality, convenience, personalized service?
• How do they prefer to communicate?: phone calls, emails, text messages?

Reviewing the content you already have, either on your website or in other media. This will give you an insight into the type of content your audience tends to interact with.

This could be

• Existing brochures or flyers
• Photos of your work (check the quality; blurry photos taken with a phone won’t work)
• Client testimonials or positive feedback
• Certificates or qualifications
• Price lists or service menus

Don’t start from scratch! You probably have more content than you think; it just needs to be organized and polished.

Plan your website as you would plan the layout of a shop: place the most important information where customers will see it first.

Common pages

1. Home page: a clear explanation of what you do, for whom, and why they should choose you.
2. Services/Products: detailed descriptions and pricing information.
3. About: your history, experience, and qualifications.
4. Gallery/Portfolio: photos showing your best work.
5. Testimonials: what satisfied customers have to say about you.
6. Contact: multiple ways to get in touch with you, location, and opening hours

When it comes to content, quality usually trumps quantity. It’s better to have five excellent pages than ten mediocre ones.

Recommendations for writing content

• Writing tips:
  • Write like you’re chatting with a friend.
  • Use short sentences and paragraphs.
  • Keep the language simple and casual.
• Focus on benefits, not just features
• Include specific details like sizes and material.
• Make it easy to read:
  • Use headings and subheadings
  • Include bullet points for lists
  • Keep paragraphs short

Photos are critical as clients want to see your work before they commit.

Photo requirements

• High quality: sharp, well-lit and professional looking.
• Recent work: nothing more than 2 years old.
• Variety: show different styles, prices or seasonal work.
• Consistent style: similar lighting and composition in all photos.

If you don’t have good photos

• Hire a local photographer.
• Use your smartphone, but learn the basic rules of composition.
• Ask satisfied customers if you can photograph the finished work.
• Take photos in natural light whenever possible

Before publishing you should always check your work. It’s a good idea to ask someone else to take a look at your work and give you a clear and unbiased opinion.

To review ask yourself

• Are all contact details correct?
• Are the prices up to date?
• Is the tone consistent throughout?
• Would an outsider understand what you do?
• Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

Ask for a second opinion: ask a trusted friend or family member to review your content. They will spot things you have missed and tell you if anything is unclear.

1. Being too modest: Don’t just list what you do, explain why you are good at it. Your website is not the place for false modesty.
2. Forgetting about mobile users: More than 60% of people browse websites from their phones. Write shorter sentences and break up large blocks of text.
3. Use stock photos of other people’s work: Customers can easily spot fake photos. This instantly destroys trust. Use your own work.
4. Write for yourself instead of the client: Focus on what clients get from your services, not just what you do.
5. Hiding your prices: If your competitors show prices and you don’t, customers will assume that you are more expensive.

1. Content is your 24/7 sales assistant: make sure it represents your business correctly.
2. Quality is more important than quantity: a few excellent pages are better than many mediocre ones.
3. Use your own photos and experiences: authenticity breeds trust.
4. Write for your customers, not for yourself: focus on what they need to know.
5. Keep it up to date: outdated information destroys credibility.