Luke Moulton

As a web developer for 7 years, I project managed the development of 100′s of website and found that the most challenging aspect of almost every project was squeezing content out of clients.

Let’s face it, not everyone’s a writer, and there’s plenty of business people who struggle to come up with the goods when it comes to content. You could of course hire a copy writer to help you, but unless you have some material to start with, you’ll be wasting your time and your money.

These 6 essential information items will help you develop meaningful content for your website. They are based around a writing method for journalism called the Five W’s (and one H). It’s “the formula for getting the full story on something”. Yep, it’s the Who, What, Where, When, How and Why checklist.

So, here’s how you apply the Five W’s (and one H) to website content development:

1. WHO?
   Who are you? Who are the founders of the business? What expertise and experience do you have that makes you so good at doing what you do. Tell your potential customers about your credentials.  Behind every business there are  people, and many people want to know the your story because if they feel they know a little bit about you, then they’re more inclined to trust your. Trust is a very important aspect of business, particularly if you have a virtual business front. This info will come under the About Us section of your site and their should alsobe a succinct summary on your home page.
2. WHAT?
   What is it exactly that your do? Are you a service based business or do you sell a product? List your products/services and include as much description as you can without going overboard. This will generaly come under the Product or Services section of your site and may include an online shopping cart if you sell your good/services online?
3. WHEN?
   When are you open?  When can I call you, buy from you, ask you questions, expect service or support? So many times I come across websites that don’t include the business trading hours. Don’t make pick up the phone and call to see if you’re open at 6pm on a Thursday evening. Put this info in the Contact section of your website.
4. WHERE?
   Where are you? Where can I find you? How do I get there? It goes without saying that if you’re a physical business, you should include your address.  Ask your web developer to include a Google Map on your Contact Us Page, that way people can easily navigate their way to your business. If you’re a virtual business, at least include your address; once again, it’s a trust thing.  If I’m buying a widget I want to know where it’s being shipped from, particularly if it’s coming from Nigeria.
5. HOW?
   How do I buy from you? How will the business transaction take place?  If you sell stuff online, this will most likely be pretty obvious, but if you’re a service based business, it may not be. Let you customers know how what their payment options are and make it easy for them to transact with you by providing a couple of different methods of payment.
   
6. WHY?
   Why should I buy from you? What is your Unique Selling Proposition? If I’ve found your business online, chances are there’s 100′s of other websites that sell what you do. Convince me to buy your gear. Is yours the best quality or the cheapest? Do you provide the best service? Are you located near me so I can come into the store and wrap the widget around your head ask for assistance should I not be able to make it work properly? Do you provide a guarantee?

One final tip when you’re writing your content: Less is more.  Most people skim websites so try to keep the info breif and bold the most important bits.