How to Write Your Website Copy Without Sounding Like Everyone Else
"We are a leading company committed to excellence and customer satisfaction." That sentence appears on twenty thousand websites and means nothing on any of them. Writing well isn't writing prettily: it's saying something the reader can verify.
June 9, 20226 min readIn this article
- Rule one: talk about your customer, not yourself
- Rule two: swap every adjective for a figure
- The headline: one sentence to explain everything
- Nobody reads: people scan
- The jargon that feels precise to you pushes your customer out
- Calls to action: say what happens when they press
- Testimonials: without a name they're worth nothing
- How much copy? As much as it takes to sell
- Frequently asked questions
Here's an uncomfortable experiment you can run right now: open your website, cover the logo, and ask whether that copy could sit on a competitor's site without changing a word. If the answer is yes — and it usually is — you don't have copy. You have filler shaped like copy.
The problem isn't literary talent. It's that almost everyone writes their site looking inward, describing what the company is, when the reader only wants to know whether it's any use to them. Flipping that axis fixes 80% of bad copy.
Rule one: talk about your customer, not yourself
Count how many times "we", "our company" or your business name appears on the homepage. Now count how many times "you" or the reader's problem appears. If the first number wins, there's your diagnosis.
| Written inward | Written for the customer |
|---|---|
| We are leaders in integrated logistics solutions | Your order ships the same day if it's in before 2pm |
| We employ state-of-the-art technology | You can see where your delivery is in real time, without ringing anyone |
| Our commitment is customer satisfaction | If something arrives damaged, we replace it without an argument |
Notice what changes in the right-hand column: it isn't the tone, it's that the claim can be checked. A verifiable promise convinces; an adjective doesn't. As a bonus, the concrete version is impossible for a competitor to copy, because it describes how you actually work.
Rule two: swap every adjective for a figure
Adjectives are free, which is precisely why they're worthless. Anyone can write "fast", "professional" or "tailored". Nobody can write your real number unless they have it.
- "Fast delivery" → "Within 48 hours nationwide".
- "Extensive experience" → "312 projects delivered since 2009".
- "Personal attention" → "You always speak to the same person, not a call centre".
- "Competitive prices" → "From 890 dollars, with what's included written below".
- "Quality materials" → "Certified eucalyptus, 5-year warranty".
The headline: one sentence to explain everything
The first thing people read is the only thing many of them will read. A headline saying "Welcome to our website" or "Transforming the future" throws away the one piece of guaranteed attention you have.
A headline that works answers three things at once: what you do, for whom, and why with you. It doesn't have to be clever. It has to be clear: "Bookkeeping for restaurants in Cuenca. You close the month in 3 days, not 3 weeks" beats any wordplay.
Nobody reads: people scan
The reader moves diagonally down the page looking for confirmation they're in the right place. Only if something catches do they go back up and actually read. Writing eight-line blocks with no breathing room is writing for nobody.
- Paragraphs of three or four lines maximum. White space helps legibility more than bigger type.
- Subheadings that tell the story alone. If someone reads only the h2s, they should get the offer.
- Bold on what matters, not whole sentences: a long bold passage highlights nothing.
- Lists for what's countable, prose for what's arguable. Not the other way round.
- One idea per section. Two ideas in one block means neither gets remembered.
The jargon that feels precise to you pushes your customer out
Every sector develops its internal vocabulary, and using it on the website feels rigorous. The trouble is the customer doesn't share it: they search for "my site keeps going down", not "high availability"; for "show up on Google", not "organic positioning".
Write in the customer's words and explain the technical term afterwards, if it's needed. This has an SEO effect too: people search with their vocabulary, not yours, and a site written in jargon matches no real search.
Calls to action: say what happens when they press
"Submit", "More information" and "See more" are buttons that promise nothing, which is why they get pressed so rarely. The button should complete the sentence "I want..." from inside the reader's head, and make clear what they're committing to.
Testimonials: without a name they're worth nothing
"Excellent service, highly recommended. — M.G." convinces nobody, because anyone could have written it, including you. A testimonial works when it's verifiable and specific: full name, company where relevant, a photo, and above all what problem they had and what changed.
If asking feels awkward, change the question. Instead of "could you write us a testimonial?", ask "what were you worried about before hiring us, and how did it turn out?". The answer is already the testimonial, and it sounds like a real person because it is one.
How much copy? As much as it takes to sell
The idea that "people don't read" has produced beautiful websites that explain nothing and sell nothing. The truth is simpler: nobody reads what doesn't interest them, and everybody reads what does. Someone about to spend 3,000 dollars reads every word.
The practical rule: as much copy as the customer has decisions to make. An expensive or complex service needs explanation; a food order needs a button. What never works is long copy that says nothing — that isn't length, it's padding.
Frequently asked questions
Can I write my own website copy?
Yes, and you often come out ahead: nobody knows your customers' objections better than you. The trick is to write as you'd speak to a customer sitting opposite — record yourself explaining it if that helps — and then tidy up. The mistake is trying to sound corporate, which is exactly what ruins copy.
Is it worth using AI to write the website?
It's useful for getting unstuck and for structuring, not for the final text. What it produces by default is precisely the sector average: correct, fluent and interchangeable — the very problem you're trying to solve. Use it to organise, and supply the figures, the numbers and the stories only you have.
How often should I update the copy?
Prices and concrete figures, the moment they change. Everything else, an annual review: services change, objections change, and what customers ask you changes. That last point is the best source of copy there is — whatever you get asked most should already be answered on the site.
Does copy affect SEO, or is that separate?
They're the same thing. Google works out what your page is about from what it says, and copy written in the words people actually search ranks with no trickery at all. Writing clearly and writing for SEO point the same direction; what doesn't work is repeating the keyword until the sentence stops sounding human.