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When designing (or redesigning) a custom website, there’s no denying that copywriting and design are going to be the two elements at the forefront of your mind during the creative process – but what really means more in the long run of your website’s success to gain traffic and enhance leads?
Lucky for you, we already broke it down.
What to expect from the design
It’s no secret that the main focus of website design is to accurately represent your brand’s message and image. You want to target your clients’ current and potential goals and desires – but how do you truly execute those ideas? Here are a few of our methods:
- Find the middle ground between your aesthetic, and the overall purpose of your brand
- This can’t be achieved without truly understanding your brand
- Embrace minimalism – trying to incorporate too much in a single space will turn users away
- Create a design that speaks for itself, so your copy can focus on the product
- Tease brand design ideas by using shapes, lines, and colors that represent your overall tone
What to expect from copywriting
Although it may seem like a no-brainer, website copywriting is something that only some can do with the proper knowledge of on-site copywriting. While it’s true you want to focus your copywriting on the product(s) you’re looking to promote or sell, there’s more to it than just, “Here’s our product and what it can do.”
Here are a few of our methods:
- Keep the main focus on your products and services
- That’s what brought them there in the first place, right?
- Stick to one objective
- Bouncing around from topic to topic across your page is going to come off as scattered and unorganized
- Begin with benefits, close with features
- Research to get the best understanding of your topic
- It’s easier to break down the basics for clients and consumers when you have a full understanding
- Don’t abandon emotion for logic
- Combine both ideas into one compelling copy set
What brings the most conversions?
Data has shown that while a well-designed website is appealing to consumers, copywriting is what is really going to bring your work home and result in higher conversion rates. So, while you should never skimp on your website design, your copy should be the driving force.
Why you may ask? Website copywriting is where you’re going to be able to heighten your SEO capabilities. Don’t worry – we’ve got another blog that breaks it all down for you.
What comes first?
It’s not an uncommon practice to design a website first, and use that design to fill and create your copy. At the same time, it’s not at all uncommon to see the inverse of this process as well, which begs the question – is one more effective than the other? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each process.
Copy-First
When you choose the copy-first approach, you’re able to ultimately shape your website around your brand’s message, tone, and highlights, rather than having to write those copy points around a certain design space. Knowing what copy needs to be allocated during the design process will create a much more cohesive feel to your website. While there are many upsides to this process, there are some who see this as a downside in the overall creative process as it can add in some extra time that you may or may not have to allocate.
This isn’t to say that you can’t still create a high-conversion, visually appealing website by not following this process, whether it be for saving time or simply because it’s not the way your project management works.
Design-First
Looking in the opposite direction toward choosing a design-first approach, this process is often picked over its competitor due to its time-saving abilities. Rather than crafting around previously written copy lines, this process gives your design team full creative authority to design a stunning website that embodies exactly what your brand is about.
A downside of this process is that it can prevent you and your creative team from being able to design your website around what you’re wanting to express most in your copywriting, and would instead have to add in your copy later.
An easy way around this process would be to have your copywriter and design team work together in the creation of your site to ensure the proper areas would be included in the most efficient way for both departments.
So… is copywriting or design more important?
In terms of measuring conversions, copywriting will always be king over design when SEO strategies are correctly implemented. Luckily, we’re kind of experts in the matter.
However, this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t put the same amount of time and effort into your designs, as an attractive website will always be seen as a plus to clients, and can add a level of enjoyment when scrolling through all your (equally amazing) copy lines.
Before you go
Don’t forget, we’re experts when it comes to crafting marketing strategies that drive leasing results and building high-ranking SEO-friendly custom websites! Need help? Reach out to a CSM or any of our team members to get started on taking your marketing and SEO to the next level, see an increase in traffic, and watch the leads roll in.
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