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The content of your website is one of the most important things to its success. You can have the best design in the world, but if the content is messy and bland, then you’ll still end up with unhappy users. So here are some suggestions to improve the content of your site and make it more interesting for your users.

Be Original

I know that it probably goes without saying, but it still gets done a lot. Refrain from plagiarizing text from other sites. Besides the obvious reasons of it being wrong, it also will most likely hurt the content of your site. Speaking to your users in someone else’s voice isn’t helping anyone. Instead, look at your organization and ask yourself what makes it different or what is unique to your users. Use that information to be more personal with your content and speak with a voice that feels closer to home for the user.

Match Your Brand

Content can even lend itself to your design and overall branding. This is all about finding a tone or style that fits you. This is going to be a way of speaking to your users that is cohesive throughout the whole of the site. Deciding on a tone is easy once you identify yourself and your users. Do you think there will be more response from a fun and easy-going way of speaking? Or maybe your content needs to be descriptive and concise? Or personable and helpful? There are plenty of ways to present your information, but deciding on the way you’re saying it can really make an impact. As an example, let’s take a look at several call to actions using different tones. Instead of saying “Contact Us” you could say:

“Questions?”

“How can we help?”

“Hit Us Up Here!”

“Drop Us A Line”

“Reach Out to Us” 

Be Clear & Follow Current Standards

Make sure that your content makes sense and follows certain standards:

• Make sure your in-text links make sense. Don’t just say “Click here” when linking somewhere. Use more descriptive words when linking like “Apply for Auto Loan”. This helps the user to know exactly where they are going and is helpful for ADA purposes.
• When using images in the content, be sure to provide alt text for the image if it has text included in it.
• Be creative, but don’t go too overboard. You want to add a tone to your content, not make it harder to understand. Use a light touch when adding personality to it and reread it to make sure everything is still easy to follow.
• Recognize when enough is enough. Sometimes too much content on a page can be daunting for your user. Get the details across without over-explaining your topic.

I know a lot of these tips may seem easy to do on the surface, but spending time cultivating the right content for your site can be a real game-changer. Add great content to a solid design and your website will make you stand out amongst your competitors. So hopefully these tips help you when creating new pages for your site!