Why Effective Writing is an Important Skill in Web Design

Does your website look great, but still doesn’t get any action? Discover how effective writing can make your overall web design more successful.

The internet has come a long way since the days of black screens and blocky green letters. High quality graphic design and coding have united to create amazingly flashy plugins and eye-catching gifs. Videos and images appear at the top of web search rankings. This is the place where Google rules supreme with almost half of all traffic passing through its numerous sites.

What role does effective writing play in terms of how well your website does online?

Although a website’s aesthetics are critical, the written content that goes into it is just as relevant. High-quality writing can set a website apart from the rest of the pack. In fact, compelling content can help instill users’ trust in a business.

97% of customers surveyed said that encountering bad content led them to doubt a brand’s trustworthiness.

Let’s break that down and take a look at how vital effective writing is to your web design.

If run an online store, chances are that you’ve already discovered that there is so much more to your website’s success than design alone. Effective writing is a key ingredient to all of these important website factors;

Engaging Visitors

Amazing visuals and impressive graphic design will make your site more attractive but, these elements may not always be enough to keep visitors on your page. Inviting content presented with captivating writing can help draw customers in longer. Visitors are less likely to click away if they feel compelled to learn more about your brand. You can cultivate this appeal with two simple techniques.

 

Calls to Action

A marker of great web design is that visitors are motivated to get in touch with you. While it may seem insignificant, allowing for seamless contact with your business will significantly affect your website’s success. Prospects who are interested in your product or service will seek out a way to connect. Incorporating phone numbers, emails or contact forms is essential.

Dian Griesel of Dian Griesel International reminds us that, “a website is an online call to action.”

 

For more concrete CTAs to incorporate into your creative design, check out these examples:

• To get users to share your content on social: Know someone who would love these tips? Share the article and tag a friend!
• To get users to make a purchase: Click here to get a 10% discount on (your product or service)!
• To get users to subscribe to your newsletter: Sign up for exclusive updates from (your brand) in your inbox!
• To get users to download a demo: Start your free trial of (your software or app) today to see how easy it can be to improve your content writing!

These CTAs would do best on your landing page or any of your blog posts where visitors can clearly see them. CTA’s are best to be delegated to professional if you don’t have an in-house copywriter. Companies like Essay Deluxe can consult you on the CTA’s that will suit your business best.

 

Emotional impact

Our emotions affect everything we do—from what we buy to what we read online.

It makes perfect sense that web design that factors in emotions would be more successful. Of course, the graphic design of a website is directly tied to its success, as well. Positive or negative emotions can be triggered in response to certain design elements. However, effective writing creates the tone and style of the content on a page and can have a longer lasting effect.

In fact, content that evokes an emotional response has a higher chance of going viral.

Therefore an excellent website would not be complete without content that makes users feel something. Whether it’s happiness, anger or belonging, your website’s writing should spark emotions. Your creative design should always bring out some visceral response. It’s in your brand’s best interest to highlight the emotional impact in your content as often as possible.

 

Build Credibility

In a virtual world riddled with spam and fake news, illustrating your website’s credibility means a lot to the average user. Not merely because users can navigate through the site without fear, but also because they will believe in your brand. Again, incorporating credibility into your website involves both content and graphic design. People judge a website’s credibility first of all by how it looks. Then, they judge it by the content and writing that it includes.

  

Links

Giving credit where credit is due is common writing courtesy.

Although, citing and referencing sources for the information you include can also increase your website’s credibility. Even if people don’t click on those links, including them gives your content a more confident air about it. If you are concerned about losing traffic, you can always set the link to open in a new tab. These same citations can even help you get backlinks which will boost your traffic.

 

Updated content

Nothing is quite as disheartening to readers as stumbling upon an entirely out-of-date website.

Their first thought may be that the business is out of touch which will lead them to click away. Regularly updating, or at least reviewing, your content is crucial. While it adds credibility to your website, it also improves the service you provide to your customers. Use your web design to highlight how appropriate and up-to-date your content is.

 

Spotlight your experts

Professionalism can be demonstrated by excellent creative design.

Part of that design should also include who is standing behind your site and effective writing is what provides a genuine and more personal communication interaction. Giving a human face to your writing can help cultivate readers’ trust. Incorporate mini-bios and photos into your web design to give your website that human touch. Your credibility will increase when visitors can identify your brand’s experts by name.

 

Nix those typos

We’ve all been there before. Misspellings happen, and there’s not always a way to avoid them. However, when it comes to web design, you should always run a spell-check. Typographical errors and broken links can hurt your brand’s online credibility. Your content and the functionality of your website depend on avoiding any and all errors.

 

Improve Communication

Think of your website as a collaboration of design, content, and information all working together.

When a team has several different moving parts, good communication is essential to achieving predetermined goals. Effective communication, however, requires effective writing. This writing can help hone in on your brand’s voice. Throughout your creative design, you can incorporate your brand’s voice into your content to consistently communicate with users.

 

Brand story

As mentioned before, connecting emotionally with readers helps solidify your brand’s reach.

Your brand’s story or ‘About’ section is a great place to enforce that connection. Although, before you can craft the perfect way to convey your business’s story you have to consider a few things. Impactful storytelling is a combination of a designated target audience, stellar content and impressive presentation. To correctly include those aspects into your graphic and web design you have to reflect upon your brand’s goals.

Who are you trying to reach and why?

Focusing on incorporating design elements and content that this demographic interacts with most. Then, utilize that knowledge to appeal to your digital audience by creating content that fits into that realm. Enforce your brand’s storytelling effectiveness with responsive graphic design that is mobile-ready. Keep in mind that great storytelling isn’t merely snazzy blog posts or catchy taglines, it has to be poignant.

 

 

FAQs

People are used to getting the information they need with the click of a button.

Allowing easy access to answers on your site will improve the user experience. Not only are user-friendly websites preferred, but they’re also a sign of excellent web design. Carefully thinking about how users will navigate through your website can help you develop a super functional and user-centric site. Although, the information that you incorporate to help users is crucial, as well.

Plenty of brands use a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on their websites to ease the user experience. While some argue that brands should answer customer questions as they arise, others prefer the comfort that FAQ provides. Furthermore, users are likely to search your site for a FAQ page to answer their burning questions. Consider that the best user experience is one that answers questions before they come up. Remember to include real questions from real users in your FAQ page.

 

Boost Visual Impact

Great websites are no one-man show.

A genuinely alluring site has equally brilliant visuals and writing. These two aspects should complement one another and meld into overall brilliant web design. Although, graphic design doesn’t have to be limited to how pages are set up or organized. You can embrace graphic design in the written aspects of your website, as well.

 

Hero Images

Most people feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that washes over them every day. There is a lot of content already out there on the ether. Finding a way to set your website apart visually can help users focus on your written content. A breathtaking image is a great way to catch users’ attention and help them connect emotionally. You can take this technique up a level by choosing to use hero images.

Hero images are similar to banners in that they are the first thing a user encounters on a page. They also provide a written overview of the most critical content.

Using a hero image does two things:

 

• It allows for a visual experience on a given page no matter what device users are navigating on.
• Choosing the perfect image can inspire the reader to scroll down and read on.

The content that you include in your hero image should be just right to cast an effective creative design spell.

 

Typography

A mark of effective writing is getting your reader to care right from the beginning.

Introductions are critical in your web design. The way that you visually present them can heighten their allure. Therefore, choosing the right typography for your content can help make it more successful. Good typography makes it easier for users to engage with a text, whereas bad typography puts them off.

Great typography is consistent and usually only varies in about three different font sizes. Consider using Google Fonts as it can give your site personality, as well as, improve its loading time. Always be vigilant about how easy your font is to read in terms of color and legibility. Choosing the right typography that is in line with your site’s graphic design can keep it looking polished. When your written content is presented in an attractive way, visitors will get absorbed in the writing they come in contact with.

 

To conclude

Like a happy family, excellent web design depends on the relationship between several critical parts. However, effective writing is the glue that holds all of those together. Visually enticing sites that are devoid of quality content are not successful. Creative design must come together with high caliber writing to conceive a captivating webpage. This will allow the website to feel more substantial and complete.

Furthermore, when the writing on your website is just as captivating as its design, it will have a higher impact. Your audience will want to interact with your content which will push your brand toward achieving its goals. Of course, it’s a tough act to balance. The graphic design on your site should always support the written aspects. After all, it’s your written content that will engage visitors, build credibility, improve communication an even heighten the visual impact.

Successful web design must factor in writing. All of those smaller components like hyperlinks and font size help give users a better experience. Appealing to their emotions and using CTAs to nudge users in the right direction aids their interaction with your website. Showing your human side through your brand story helps users connect to your business. Presenting your written content in a visually appealing way keeps them coming back for more.

So, don’t neglect the quality of your writing when it comes to web design. Even the smallest typo can make a big difference. Strive for written content that is equally as impressive as your visual content and graphic design. The message or messages that you wish to send to your website’s visitors can’t be successfully transmitted without excellent writing. Review your website today and see if your writing is on the same level as your visuals.