Your Website Content + Copy Checklist
Struggling to figure out what content to include on your website? You’re not alone! Whether you're building a new site or revamping an existing one, having a clear content plan is essential. This checklist will guide you through the key elements every high-converting website needs—from compelling headlines and engaging copy to effective call-to-actions and SEO best practices. It’s time to make your website not just look good, but work hard for your business. Ready to transform your site’s content into a conversion powerhouse? Let’s dive in!
Use the following outline as a guide for your website copy – copy & paste what you need into a new Google Doc and share it with your web designer.
Copy Matters
Why? Because Google crawls the words on your site, not the images. Because the right message can lead, inspire, and form a deep connection very quickly. Because too much of the wrong copy can confuse people. Before they realize its significance, copy is something many businesses think they can just make up on the fly. If you want your site to truly perform we recommend investing in a professional copywriter who understands your market/arena (we can put you in touch with one, let us know). It’s important to have your copy nailed down before the web-design process begins. Changes & modifications can always be made once your copy is laid out on the site – we’re happy to provide insight & feedback based on how the text impacts user-interface, user-experience, and the overall design.
Tagline • compelling headline
A strong tagline that stands out and conveys why your audience should use your product or service. This is one of THE most important elements in setting your product/service apart from other people in your industry. Sure, you technically do/make the same thing, but there’s a difference in HOW you do it and WHO you do it for. Take a stand! WHO are you trying to reach/sell to? (If the answer is 'everyone', start over.) If you’ve purchased our Brand Development Workbook, in it we cover how to create the perfect tagline and set yourself apart.
Navigation • primary
These are the primary links (pages) on your site - what we like to call the main navigation. You will (typically) find these links at the top of the page, above the fold, on every website. These should include the key elements of your site, e.g. About, Services, Blog, Contact, etc… These important links allow the end-user (your audience) easy access to exactly what he or she is looking for. The more concise and clear cut you make these links for your audience, the more likely they are to find what they’re looking for. Less is more here. You want your navigation to be simple and intuitive. If you need more than 5-6 navigation links with multiple dropdown menus, it’s time to narrow down your content. An average website visitor spends less than 60 seconds on a site, if your navigation is too difficult to decode or figure out, the viewer is likely to give up and find another site that’s easier to navigate (aka supporting a business that’s not yours).
Navigation • secondary
The secondary navigation can be found anywhere on the site, but typically in the footer navigation. Your secondary navigation is used for auxiliary content. Such as: Frequently Asked Questions, Press, Shipping & Returns, Privacy Policy, Term & Conditions, etc. Please provide all copy for your Secondary Navigation pages.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Privacy Policies vs. Terms & Conditions
How To Write Terms & Conditions
Create An Effective FAQ Page
CALL TO ACTION (CTA)
Separate from the Primary & Secondary Navigation are Call-To-Action buttons/links. Visualize your ideal visitor/customer - What action do you want your visitors to take when they first land on your site? What would you want them to do before they leave? Do you want them to register for an event, sign-up for a free trial, subscribe to your newsletter, place an order, learn more about a product or service? Incorporating clear and effective Call-To-Actions throughout the site stands out from the other content & links on the homepage.
Pages (examples)
ABOUT / STORY / BIO / MISSION
“When someone comes to your site for the first time, they're likely to hit 'about' or 'bio'. Why? Because they want a human, a story and reassurance.” - Seth Godin
It’s probably the first page potential customers read and, hopefully, it helps them get to know you + trust you and buy your product.
Additional Resources: Five Rules For Your About Page
If you still need help creating that perfect About Page you can recive our Nail Down Your About Page Workbook & Exercises
TEAM / CLIENTS
Who’s on your team? What’s their story / bio? Do you have high-res photos
* we can connect you with a professional photographer if needed
List of your clients, affiliates, or sponsors.
SERVICES / SKILLS / OFFERINGS
Your list of Services is likely to be very similar to others in your market.
Don’t just list out your Services, let potential customers/clients know that you do it differently: HOW you do it and WHO you do it for & WHY!
PRODUCTS / PROJECTS / PORTFOLIO
Please provide all descriptions, titles, image captions, sizes/dimensions, pricing, etc.
Please upload all images to our Shared Dropbox folder
*File names should be easy to identify & match the product/portfolio image
Products / E-commerce (see, E-COMMERCE section below)
TESTIMONIALS / REVIEWS
Do you have client testimonials or reviews?
Three high quality quotes far are better than 20 average testimonials. Quality over quantity here.
Succinct is best and more likely to be read on the web, paragraph-long testimonials are often overlooked.
The viewer shouldn’t have to comb through the review to find its value, it should hit the right in the face!
BLOG / ARTICLES / EVENTS / NEWS
If adding blog posts, a news feed, a calendar, or events is listed in our Proposal, please outline in a separate Google Doc, titled: YourBusinessName_BlogPosts_YEAR
CONTACT / GET IN TOUCH
Please list all contact information you would like included on your contact page.
If you wish to use an embedded Contact Form, please list all form questions (i.e. name, phone, email, how can I help, interested in checkboxes, etc..)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Please list all the social media accounts/handles you wish to be linked.
Squarespace Clients: you must manually login to connect your accounts
Login to Squarespace > Settings > Connected Accounts > Connect Account
Please DO NOT link to inactive or blank social media accounts!
ECOMMERCE WEBSITES
PRODUCT INFO / DETAILS
Please outline all your product titles, descriptions, variants (i.e. size, color, style, finish, material, etc), product dimensions, size charts, material details, material source, prices, etc.
Additional Resources: 9 Simple Ways To Write Product Descriptions
PRODUCT CATEGORIES
Please outline how you want your products organized
Note: Creating a logical structure for your store is key to driving sales and creating a great shopping experience.
Additional Resources:
- Organizing Your Product Catalog (creating a product tree!)
- 4 Steps To Organizing Your Product Categories
SHIPPING ZONES & RATES
Please outline how do you want your shipping costs setup & broken down
Free shipping
Flat rate - flat fee per order, plus an optional per-item fee
By weight - fees based on the total order weight
By Zone - (i.e. one rate for the U.S. & one rate for International)
Carrier Calculated - fees based on a carrier’s standard rates (i.e. FedEx, USPS)
*this option only available on Commerce Advanced Squarespace plans
RETURN POLICY
Additional Resources: 8 Steps To Create A Return Policy Your Customers Will Love
COMING SOON / COVER PAGE
Nothing’s worse than linking to a dead or non-existent website. Once you’ve purchased your domain, but before your site goes live, a temporary cover page can be used while your website is under construction. This acts as a placeholder until the actual site is ready. Viewers won’t be able to see/access what we’re working on behind the scenes. Your cover page allows you to start promoting the site ASAP, capturing email addresses to use post-launch, and building the anticipation for your website/business NOW, as opposed to after the site is done.
“You don’t promote your book after it’s been written, you promote before you even start writing!” – Seth Godin
Please include the copy and CTAs you want included on your cover page
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
SEO KEYWORDS
A list of 10-15 keywords that describe you or your business
The more specific you can get the better
We also recommend doing a bit of keyword research
Sites like wordstream.com/keywords help you find your best, most relevant keywords—keywords that will drive ongoing web traffic and conversions on your site
GOOGLE META DESCRIPTION
The short sentence / meta description (2-3 sentences) that will go below your name / link on Google.
