Copywriting, Branding, or Web Design? What Comes First?
Raise your hand if you’ve ever gone down an internet rabbit hole or 3 doing your due diligence in research of something you were interested in. That’s me! I definitely have. I’m the kind of person who will absolutely obsess over all the details of something before pulling the trigger and taking any action.
Honestly it was the same story when I started researching how to build a website. There were so many articles saying to come up with your branding first - before anything else. But then I would stumble onto a copywriting thread and become convinced that’s what I should be focused on. And web design? Where? Web design who? I had no time to even contemplate any of that because I was stuck in the mud with so many other things.
Sound familiar? (It’s ok if you raise your hand and admit this is you too - I won’t tell!) Analysis Paralysis is all too real and all too common (at least for me!)
Well today I’m giving you a definitive answer on how to order these tasks to make things as easy as possible on yourself!
Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
Copywriting
You’ve probably heard this term before, and likely even often enough that you take for granted what it means. But if you stop and think about it can you succinctly define copywriting? Let me give you a little hint:
Copywriting is just a fancy term for words trying to sell you something.
Copywriting is literally everywhere you look - from social media to online ads to email marketing. And let’s not forget about those sneaky product placement deals that go down in your favorite shows (yes! even that is copywriting!).
But for our purposes let’s define it a little more clearly. Copywriting for your website is indeed all the words that will go on your website, and is therefore very important.
Your copy is your tool to get visitors to do what you want them to. Good copy will keep visitors engaged and taking action - whether that’s clicking a link to your sales page, viewing your portfolio, subscribing to your newsletter, or something else. You want to capture your visitors’ attention and direct it where you want. If that sounds a little too much like manipulation, just consider all the ads you’ve ever seen. Each and every one of them was trying to manipulate you into buying a product or watching a show - doing the thing they wanted you to.
Good ads draw you in, make you laugh, connect with you in some way. Copywriting is the same. You want to engage with your audience and be able to form a connection.
Copywriting is important because it helps you direct your audience’s attention, but also because it can help your website get found on the internet.
We all know how vast and seemingly endless the internet is, which is why it’s crucial to do some research and pepper in your SEO keywords into your copy at every available opportunity.
Don’t get me wrong though - you can absolutely have too much of a good thing. Have you ever seen a product listed on Amazon with a crazy long and weird title? Something like “Bullet Dotted Journal Kit with Gift Box, Journaling Supplies Set, Journal for Women, Small Notebook, 192 Numbered Pages A5 Notebook, Colored Pens, Stickers, Stencils, Washi Tapes, Small Envelopes”? Yeah… that’s too many keywords packed in there!
Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately…) Google has learned to recognize this type of keyword-jamming behavior and does not reward it! So definitely do your research and find the most popular keywords that you want to be found for, but don’t smoosh them all together in one sentence and call it a day.Write naturally - like how a regular human would talk - and sprinkle in those keywords like you’re seasoning your favorite dish. This will help you rank higher in Google searches and attract more organic traffic to your site. And that’s something we can all be excited about!
So in my opinion copywriting is the very first step you should start with. It will likely be the most time consuming part of your journey, so best to get it out of the way as soon as possible.
While you’re writing your copy you should also consider how you want your website to flow. Will you have an About page? Would you rather have your Services page listed before or after your Blog in the navigation?
Another reason to write your copy before doing anything else is that it’s sooo easy to get caught up designing your graphics and pulling together your pictures that it consumes all your time and you get stuck arranging and rearranging your visuals. But guess what?
Even the most beautiful looking website will attract exactly zero people if it has no words!
When I work with clients I coach them through this whole process and we slow down so they can be intentional with their words and what message they want to convey. Beautiful graphics will complement your copy - not supercede it.
Interested in learning more about my process? Check out this blog post!
Branding
“A brand is simply a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer”
- Paul Feldwick
When you think about branding, what comes to mind? Is it picking out colors, fonts, and logos? While those things are indeed a part of branding, there’s so much more to it! As the quote above suggests, branding comes down to what you want to be known for. Branding is a means of identifying your business and differentiating it from others. It includes things that are both tangible AND intangible (logos, themes, colors, customer service, business cards, etc.)
Both are important to consider when planning your business, but to be honest you’ll probably find it easier to consider the tangible things first.
This is where a good graphic designer can come in handy. You can communicate the feeling you want your logo to have and your designer can mockup a few variations for you to choose from. They can also recommend color schemes and good font pairings as well. Your logo will be the face of your business, in some respects, so it’s important to choose one that represents your business well.
I recommend doing your branding as the second step in the website-building process, but you could switch it to be first. I like doing it after copywriting because branding can often be shaped by your copy. Going through the process of writing everything down will remind you what you love about your business, and the feeling you want people to have when working with you.
Branding can sound nebulous and scary, but it doesn’t have to be! Start with the basics - pick out your colors and logo and go from there. Keep in mind how you want to be perceived by others and build your brand around that.
If that seems daunting, think about it this way: when you meet a new person you talk, ask questions, listen to their stories, and get to know them. It’s the same for businesses.
Your brand is your story and how you connect with people. It helps you build the know, like, trust factor with your audience. People have to get to know you before they can like you. Once they like you, they can begin to trust you.
Branding facilitates connection.
Really let your personality and values shine through here. There’s nothing worse than building a brand that’s inauthentic and fabricated. Your customers will inevitably find out and in our current cancel culture you will be heavily penalized.
Don’t stretch the truth on any of your claims - just be honest. People will respect you for it, and trust you more. Look at Airbnb. Their brand is built around their customers. Without customers (both hosts and guests) there would be no product. Airbnb itself doesn’t actually sell anything, but instead provides a platform for people to post and book properties to rent.
Granted, the company has expanded its offerings to include experiences and places to eat, besides just places to stay. But the customer is still at the center of the brand.
You can see it in their marketing as well. Airbnb has an entire section of their website dedicated to showcasing their hosts. Potential guests and even other hosts can ask questions and get a feel for what the host is like.
This people-first approach helps customers to see that hosts are normal people just like them, and can even put them at ease. It also helps the company promote traveling “authentically,” since with tips from hosts you can visit a new city and feel like a local.
Branding is an important step in building your business, so definitely take some time and consider what you want to be known for, as well as how you want to look.
Web Design
In my opinion, web design should always be the last step in your process. Visuals and aesthetics are much easier to create around existing thoughts and ideas (written into your copy!) than to create a design out of thin air.Now, I’m not saying it’s impossible for a designer to build a beautiful website without ever seeing your copy. It’s definitely possible! But it will be much easier to build a site that reflects your brand and personality after reading through your copy.
If you’re using a designer to build your website you should definitely have a conversation with them so they can be sure to build something that aligns with your personality, values, and is is line with what you had in mind aesthetically.
If you’re ready to work with a web designer check out my Portfolio and Services pages!
I’d love to help with your project!
If you’ve already settled on a logo, theme, or colors your designer can easily incorporate that into the site. If you haven’t picked these out, that’s ok too! Just be sure to let your designer know which stage you’re at.
If you’re planning to DIY your website I would recommend using the 60-30-10 color rule to keep it simple. I first learned about this design trick from Paige Brunton (check out her article on choosing colors for a website here!)
Basically you’re using color to direct your visitors’ attention where you want it. By having 2 main colors (your 60% color and 30% color) you save that last one to be the most eye-catching and attention-grabbing.
If you’re new to design, Paige recommends starting out with some shade of white for your 60% color, and playing around with another neutral for your 30% color. But feel free to experiment with what feels right for you. Just make sure your 10% color really pops and stands out against your other two.
As you go along you might feel like incorporating more colors here and there, and that’s ok! Just make sure it’s not too much and in too many places. You don’t want your website to feel too chaotic and flashy, otherwise it will be difficult to direct your visitors’ attention where you want it.