The design is ready, the colors look good, the pages are in place. But inside each page it says "Text goes here". The designer is waiting for words from you, and you do not know who should write them. Weeks pass and the site cannot go live.
This is very familiar. Many business owners who commission a new site get stuck at exactly this point. In this article I answer the question of who should write your website text, what information should be collected from you, what a good service description looks like and how late text stretches a project.
Three options: you, the designer or a copywriter
Each has strengths and weaknesses.
| Who writes it? | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| The business owner | Knows the work best, uses real sentences | Short of time, may slip into jargon |
| The designer | Writes short text that fits the page layout | Does not know your business as you do; writing may not be their main job |
| A copywriter | Fluent, readable, persuasive | May produce generic text if not given information from you |
The healthiest route is usually a mix: you provide the facts, the writer shapes them, and you make the final call. You know your work best, but turning that knowledge into readable text is a separate skill. If only you write, it tends to come out too long or too dry. If only an outsider writes, your own voice gets lost.
Agree in writing at the start of the project who takes on this job. "I will do the text" followed by not finding the time is the most common cause of delay on a website.
Information that must come from you
Whoever writes, the right facts have to come from you. Expect the writer to ask things like:
- Exactly which services do you offer? Which do you not offer?
- Who are your customers? What do they ask most often?
- What sets you apart from competitors? (An honest, concrete answer, not "quality service".)
- Which towns and districts do you serve?
- When a customer looks for you or contacts you, what words do they use?
- Opening hours, address, phone number, how to book?
- Do you have qualifications, training or memberships?
- What should a customer know up front? (Timing, preparation, things to watch for.)
You can collect the answers with a voice message. A few minutes of talking, recorded, is often better raw material than a text written from scratch.
What a good service description looks like
Good text is not fancy. It is clear. A checklist:
- The first sentence says what you do. For example, "I repair plumbing in and around Brighton", a real sentence that can be checked.
- It uses the customer's words. If customers type "teeth whitening", the page should use that phrase. Leave out your internal jargon.
- It is concrete. Instead of "fast and high quality", explain how the process works and what the first step is.
- It answers questions. It covers "how long, what do I need, how do I start?"
- It shows the next step. The end of the page says call, write or book.
- It is honest. It gives no guarantee where none can be given and does not exaggerate results.
- It is short and easy to scan. Headings, short paragraphs and a list or two make it easier to read.
Here is a test: give the text to a relative who does not know your business. Ask, "What does this business do?" If they cannot answer in one sentence, the text is not ready.
Why is copying from another site a problem?
When writing feels hard, "taking inspiration" from a competitor's site is tempting. But it has several serious drawbacks:
- If Google sees the same text in two places, it may not give both the same weight. Your page could fall behind.
- It can create a copyright problem. Using someone else's work without permission can lead to a warning or worse. Ask a lawyer for the legal detail.
- The information may not fit your business. A competitor's service, timing and terms may differ from yours, and you end up making the wrong promise.
- Trust suffers. If a customer sees the same sentences on two sites, they will not know which to believe.
There is a difference between getting ideas and copying. Looking at competitors to see which questions they answer is normal. Taking their sentences is not. Write the truth about your own work in your own words.
Why does late text delay the whole project?
On a website project, text often arrives last, yet it decides the launch date. The reason: the designer shapes the pages around the words. Without text, a page stays an empty frame. When text comes late:
- The page layout changes again, because the text turns out longer or shorter than expected.
- Photos, headings and buttons cannot be placed.
- Testing and fixing get pushed to the end, and haste brings mistakes.
- The launch date slips, and meanwhile your old site, or having no site, costs you.
To deliver text early:
- Decide in the first meeting who does the text.
- Put the deadline in the calendar and talk openly about what moves if it is missed.
- Do not wait for perfect text. A first draft is a starting point you can correct.
- Finish the core pages first: home, about and contact. The others can follow.
- Give feedback through one person. Different opinions from five people can stretch the work by weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have the text prepared with artificial intelligence?
It can help with a draft, but you still have to supply the facts. Check details such as services, timing and terms yourself. Publishing wrong information without noticing does harm.
Is a blog post the same as a service page?
No. A service page answers "what do I do and how do I work?" A blog post answers one question on a customer's mind in detail. Service pages should come first.
I do not want to write. Can I just give information?
Yes. You can answer questions through voice messages or short notes. The writer shapes the text and you read and approve the final version.
Can I change the text later?
Yes. Text can be updated after the site goes live. Waiting for perfect text before launching is the most expensive way to delay.
Conclusion
Deciding who writes the text is one of the most important choices in the first weeks of a website. Give the facts yourself, hand the shaping to someone who writes well, keep the final decision and take the deadline seriously. If you would like to plan the text process of your site from the start, you can reach me through my website design page.