More and more people are using smartphones and tablets when they visit your website. The move to smaller screens has a profound impact on the role copy has on your websites. Images have become increasingly important, while the space available for text has shrunk.

People won’t sit and pore through dense paragraphs of text on their smartphones. Not only is it too hard on the eyes, but prolonged reading serves as a type of experiential disconnect – time consuming on a platform built for speed. For maximum impact, your website experience must be in alignment with visitor expectations. On a mobile device, this means a quick, simple, direct route to the information the visitor is interested in – and nothing else.

Keeping this in mind will change the way you approach creating the copy for your website.

Headlines are now more important than ever

In many cases, headlines may be the only text your web visitor reads before taking another action step, such as clicking on a product picture or watching a video. Make a point of using active language in your headlines, spelling out the benefit to the reader whenever possible. (Need an example? BuzzFeed does great headlines – sometimes so great that the actual story pales by comparison!)

Think about replacing dense paragraphs with simple, easy-to-read and digest bullet points. This will appeal to high-speed readers. Three to four words per bullet point is ideal. Use iconography to add visual punch and reinforce the messaging in your bullet points for maximum impact.

Marry copy to imagery whenever possible

This tactic is not only great for your website, it works exceptionally well on social media, where people love to share images they find compelling. Infographics provide another viable tool you can use to provide your audience with valuable content in an appealing way.

Need more help creating compelling copy for your website and social media sites? Give us a call! We’re here to help!