Copy and photos for your website: what you need

A new website is often seen as a technical job, but technology is rarely the problem. Most delays come from the content: the copy and photos that still need to be supplied. Anyone who thinks about this in advance can halve the lead time, and ends up with a website that fits the business better. The question "what do I need to provide?" is less work than it seems, as long as you start in the right place.

Copy: write the way you speak

The easiest way to write copy is to imagine a customer sitting opposite you. What would you tell them if they asked what you do? That explanation, in plain words and without jargon, is usually already half of your homepage. Write it down the way you would say it first, and only edit yourself afterwards. Copy that sounds like a brochure reads like advertising; copy that sounds like a person builds trust.

One core message per page

Decide what the main message of each page is. On the services page, that is what you deliver and why someone should choose you; on the contact page, it is how to reach you and what to expect. Remove anything that does not support that message. Short pages with one clear story work better than long pages juggling three stories at once.

Do not start with the homepage

The homepage is the hardest page, so write it last. Start with the services page or the page about your business: that is where you write down the words you will reuse on the homepage. Many entrepreneurs find that the homepage then takes half an hour, instead of three evenings spent staring at a blank screen.

What to put in writing at minimum

• A short introduction to your business: who you are, what you do and who you do it for
• For each service: what the customer gets out of it and how the process works
• Your service area and how people can reach you
• A few concrete examples of projects or assignments
• If relevant: prices or a "from" starting point

Photos: your own images always win

Stock photos are recognisable, and that is exactly what makes them less convincing. Real photos of your work, your team and your workplace build more trust than the most polished stock image, because visitors can see that the business matches what is on screen. They do not have to be professional: a recent smartphone is usually good enough, as long as you avoid a few common pitfalls.

Which photos to take

• Yourself or your team — for the about page and as a trust signal at the top of the site
• The work itself — especially while you are doing it, not just the final result
• Details — materials, finishes or tools that show craftsmanship
• Before and after — for work with a result you can compare, such as renovations or gardens

Keeping photos usable

Use daylight and pay attention to the background: a messy workshop can look realistic, but a bin in the middle of the frame puts people off. Shoot in landscape format for wide sections, and keep a few portrait versions for cards and mobile displays. Save the original files; compressed copies from an app are too blurry for a large screen.

A practical order

1. 1Write down the ten questions customers ask most often
2. 2Draft a few sentences for each page, without aiming for perfection
3. 3Collect or take the photos that match that copy
4. 4Check that everything reflects your business as it is today, not as it was three years ago

Follow this order and you will notice that copy and photos reinforce each other instead of competing: the photos give direction to what you write, and vice versa.

What if you do not have the time?

Many entrepreneurs simply do not have the knowledge written down anywhere, and that is normal. In our process, copy and images are a fixed part of the project: you supply what you have, and anything missing is filled in together with you. Even then, it is worth deciding in advance which pages your website needs: that structure gives direction to every conversation about content.