Even in the era of AI, the company’s website is business-critical for the majority of organisations.
It tells the business’s story, supports sales, reassures stakeholders and reflects the stature of the organisation.
But planning and preparing the content for a site is often fragmented, and lacks clear ownership. It’s the most common bottleneck in the process of getting a site up and running.
I help businesses overcome this by covering, as needed, each part of the journey of website content planning and writing.
This may begin with development of the initial sitemap, and goes all the way through to delivery of final, search-responsive copy.
Sometimes, clients are in full control of the structure and content plan of their site, and come to me simply to write content to their brief.
At other times, nothing of any real substance has yet been done, and before writing can begin some or all of the following need to be undertaken:
clarifying the purpose and role of the site
shaping a clear sitemap
planning what each page must achieve and the content it will need to include
By doing this work thoroughly and in sequence, each stage informs the next.
This results in content that works coherently across the whole site.
Clients usually engage me to work on site structure and content planning, ahead of the actual writing of the content, when:
they are trying to self-manage a site build or restructure, but have underestimated the complexity of the task
they are working with web developers who are unable or unwilling to do this, and expect to be presented with full content before commencing the build
The situation is usually that:
a new website needs to be created and internal panic is impeding progress
an existing website no longer reflects the business accurately
a website’s content has grown in an unplanned or inconsistent way
multiple stakeholders are contributing without a shared framework
the site needs to perform with greater commercial effectiveness
Strong websites start with good thinking. Without a clear structure:
content becomes repetitive
important messages get buried
navigation reflects internal politics rather than user needs
content works in isolation but fails in context of the whole site
Time spent on site structure and content allocation saves time, cost and friction later.
Whether I’ve been responsible for developing the sitemap and planning the site content, or have been hired simply to write the content once everything else is already in order, I:
ensure I’ve received from you all information you want me to work with
build out a schematic blocking for every page to help you and later help your developer
write clear copy for every section of each page
follow any AEO/SEO search requirements you have specified
iterate the copy with you
provide a schematic pdf copyvisual and a .docx copysheet for every page
My end-to-end planning and writing approach is especially valuable for:
complex or multi-audience sites
organisations that have outgrown their existing structure
sites where clarity and credibility are of primary concern
In many cases fewer pages, planned better, produces better results.
When I plan and/or write their site, my clients typically come away with:
a site structure that truly reflects their business
content that works as a whole, rather than as a set of individual pages
a more confident, credible web presence
The result is a site that is easier to manage and more effective in use.
If your website feels fragmented, overgrown or out of step with your organisation, some or all of the stages in my end-to-end planning and content writing workflow will solve your problem.
You can read more about each stage, and see web content writing samples below. Or get in touch to discuss your project.
I’d be pleased to discuss your project with you.
