It never fails. The blank stares. The awkward silence. The head-scratching and thinking-face expressions as the client ponders how to answer questions about messaging, copy, and content.
Because you see, the number one, biggest thing I see clients struggle with on their web design & development project is getting their content created.
Because creating and crafting high-quality content is really freaking hard.
Most times they’re perfectly ok with following creative direction and matching what they want to a designer’s recommendations.
The look and feel of the site is a lot easier to communicate.
They almost always know what the basic features they want, the colors they want, and the example sites that inspire them.
But when it comes to content and how to communicate the message on their new website it’s like coming to a complete and sudden stop, like they crashed into a wall.
Because the content on the page is what makes the magic happen.
But don’t be mistaken – content is not just copy. Content is images and photography too.
It comes as quite a shock to some that the images they took on their iPhone aren’t good enough to sell their business online.
Creating content for your web pages
I’ve heard it said many times and can echo this sentiment from my own personal experience:
Writers don’t love to write, but they do love having written.
It’s true.
It’s why I call my copywriting friends wordsmiths – because crafting and creating inspiring, informative copy that connects and moves people is an art and as well as a science.
And that goes for just about any kind of copy – whether it’s ad copy for Facebook ads, or page content on your website.
So what about your website?
If you’re not one who loves to wrestle with words and phrases then it’s probably time to look at hiring a writer.
The visual design approach to a website is definitely important, but nothing is more important than the words on the page.
Great content and great copy is a highly specialized skill.
Consider the most persuasive pages you’ve encountered when you’ve been excited about an offer, or inspired by a story.
Those pages are very meticulously planned and the words chosen are very carefully crafted to help site visitors engage.
Figuring out how much a copywriter is going to cost, is like figuring out “how long is a piece of string” according to my friend and copywriter, Aaron Wrixon. However, we can get in the ballpark.
If you’re looking to put that extra bit of polish on the copy for your site you can look at somewhere between $50 to $200+ per hour depending on the writer you choose to work with and the goal they’re helping you achieve.
Images are content
Content doesn’t mean just copy though. A vital piece of any quality website is the images that you use on the site.
Using high-quality, professional images on your website is an absolute requirement for a website that’s right.
Thankfully, we have a lot of choices. There are a variety of stock photography sites where you can get images for free use. There are also several stock libraries where you can get high-quality images.
My favorite free resources are Unsplash, and Pexels. I’m also a subscriber to Adobe Stock as part of Creative Suite which is also great resource.
There are more, and you can find a huge selection of great stock photo options at this link from Buffer.
Here’s the deal:
You can find stock images that are free and you can also find them costing up to several hundred dollars per shot depending on the source you use.
Make sense?
Sometimes though, stock photography just doesn’t do the trick, and that’s when you’ll need to look at hiring a photographer.
A photographer, like any other specialty, can run from $25 per hour up to several hundred.
The key thing to understand when you’re talking with potential photographers is how the images are licensed and who owns them at the conclusion of your relationship there.
Next Steps
So, does that make sense?
Getting your content on your site is a lot of work, but it’s worth the time and effort.
And it’s always a good idea to have a guide, or a checklist to make sure you’re not missing any of the vital steps. That’s why I created the Ultimate WordPress Start-Up Guide.
I built this guide so that you would have all the things you need to start a new website project with WordPress right at your fingertips.
This guide will allow lead you down a path that covers it all in an easy-to-understand way so that your new website is a success from day one.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the crucial steps in getting your new website project online by following the steps in this guide.