Why You Need to Update Your Copy with Your Website Design

A website, at its core, without copy, is just an arrangement of images and colors. And while those visual assets may carry an emotional resonance, they don’t provide value to your audience. 

This is why it is so important to revisit your copy when you update your website. Well-written copy not only is a critical component to creating a valuable website, but it also impacts your site’s SEO performance – Which is critical; a well-written site that no one can find is ineffective. 



When you are redesigning your website or migrating to a new content management system (CMS), it is a prime opportunity to reassess your copy to make sure that it is effective at meeting your website objectives and providing value to your customers. If you have gone longer than three years without revamping your website copy, you are overdue for an audit. 

Your copy should evolve with your business. 

Website copy is not permanent. It needs to be a living, breathing embodiment of your brand. It is possible that since you last updated your website copy, your services have changed, or perhaps your customers’ challenges and needs have shifted. 

As you redesign your website, an audit of the content on your current site should be your first step. Audit your webpages to make sure they are not only up to date on your offerings, but also your understanding of modern day problems, audiences, and technology. 

Your copy should reflect your latest brand persona. 

With a website update, you have the opportunity to revamp or evolve your brand persona, including logos, color schemes, and general website design. This is to future-proof your brand so that it stays relevant in the years to come. If this is the case, you need to ensure the voice and tone of your copy is consistent with your brand persona to avoid a disjointed and confusing message for the user. 

Take McDonald’s for example: In January of 2016, they rebranded due to a decrease in sales. They took the world-renowned brand from cafeteria fast-food to modern minimalism with a change in design. But that wasn’t enough to convey a new persona. Their messaging also needed to change in voice and tone. They wanted to make clear to their customers that their food was fresh, modern, and familiar. Simple verbiage reflected supposedly simple ingredients. It needed to be young and fun while also appearing more upscale than their competitors. They were only able to achieve this by reapproaching their copy in conjunction with the visual refresh. Even at a glance, this change is very apparent on their new websites. As a result, sales increased and they continue to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world - between their content and the french fries, anyway. 

Copy needs to adapt to changes in the market. 

We won’t sugarcoat it; what may have worked for your website three to five years ago may no longer be effective or even relevant – just think about how quickly USB drives became obsolete. This can easily happen with content on your website. When it comes to content relevance, these changes are likely due to a shift in the market as well as search engine algorithm changes. However, it could also be from things like lack of interest in your product or a competitor providing something so groundbreaking that you must correct the course to keep pace. Or maybe Google once again changed how it determines the value of your pages. 

You may need to hire experts to gather new data about your audiences, and then allow professional strategists and copywriters to take that data and transform it into content that drives conversions. Asking questions like what is lacking in your product or how your audience feels when they interact with your brand may lead to copy that positively impacts your bottom line. 

Copy needs to be refreshed with new information and links. 

Any agency that offers a website refresh without considering SEO should raise a huge red flag. SEO should be one of the driving forces behind the language you use. This means revisiting the copy of each webpage and performing an SEO audit, refreshing the page with new, search-optimized information, and updating outbound links. These are crucial components to stay relevant in the eyes of all-powerful search engines. 

Your website’s visibility on search engines can make or break your business. After all, how can you sell your product or service if your audience can’t find your site? Furthermore, how can you attract new, qualified customers? 

Rewriting your website copy informed by SEO principles will increase your search engine rankings, thereby helping with visibility and growth, because the right words in the right places give search engines more value signals than an aesthetically pleasing website design. 

It’s time to improve what was once written on a smaller budget. 

If you haven’t updated your copy since your site was first launched, you were likely working with a smaller budget, which may have resulted in lower quality content that doesn’t convert. 

If you have the budget to revamp your website, part of your budget should be set aside for hiring or outsourcing an experienced copywriter and strategist to audit and rewrite each webpage. This will not only help increase your domain authority, it will also establish trust and credibility with your audience. Nothing turns a customer off faster than typos or superfluous content. However, a professional copywriter knows how to eliminate previous errors while rewriting content with your business objectives and brand voice in mind. 

Does your AEM implementation partner offer content strategy and copywriting services? 

We do. We’re Hoodoo.