We’ve all visited enough websites to recognise great website content when we see it. But when you sit down to write it yourself, do you end up staring at a blank page not knowing where to start?

Follow these five key ingredients to writing engaging website copy.

1. Keep it concise

When writing their own website content, people commonly repeat themselves. They use different language to explain the same thing. Or they say the same thing in three different ways. See what we did there? Unnecessary, right?

Part of great writing is great editing. No one enjoys reading rambling copy that doesn’t give them the information they’re actually looking for. Be shrewd as you reread your content. Keep it sharp. Cut anything unnecessary and be on the lookout for any repetitive language.

2. Write with your audience in mind

You may think that your website content is about your business, but actually it’s about your target market. It’s your copy’s job to connect with your audience; to help establish emotional relationship with your brand.

You need to have a deep understanding of your audience—what drives them to make purchases and what will inspire them to become raving fans. Brand storytelling is a great way to do this.

3. Abide by the “inverted pyramid” model

Engaging website content aligns with the reader’s short attention span. The inverted pyramid model is a great way to ensure you don’t lose their interest before you’ve even kicked off.

Start with the most important messages at the top of the page. On your homepage, you want to give an overall snapshot of what you’re offering. On your services/product pages, you want to give a clear and compelling overview of what you’re describing. Then, as the reader scrolls down, you want to provide the more specific information that may help get them over the line on a sale.

It can help to consider things from a problem vs solution perspective. i.e. What problem does your target audience have? How does your offering solve that?

4. Cut the jargon

You may think that using technical language shows your audience you are highly proficient within your industry. It doesn’t. It just leaves them scratching their heads and feeling inadequate that they don’t understand what you’re saying.

Avoid jargon and use language that everyone can understand. While you don’t want to be silly about it and oversimplify your writing, keep sentences short where possible.

5. Keep your tone of voice consistent

Your website content is your brand’s voice. It’s important to consider what you’re trying to communicate to your audience and how you want your brand to come across.

Do you want to be fun and quirky? Authoritative and trustworthy? Professional yet friendly? When choosing your brand’s tone, you again need to be mindful of your target audience and write in a way that is going to best connect with them.

Once you’ve established your tone, make sure you keep it consistent across your website copy—not to mention across all the other customer touchpoints.