Website Copywriting Myth Busters: Bad Advice To Ignore About Your Website

There’s a lot of wild website copywriting advice on the Internet, and plenty of examples of good and bad copywriting.

I know it. You know it. So let’s talk about it.

If you’re new to website copywriting—or new to business, looking for more information about how the frick to write your website copy so people can find you online + hire you—it’s completely normal if you’re feeling lost, having trouble finding a sense of direction, and being unsure of where to start.

There’s literally a whole entire world of information out there. You can truly find anything that you want, and then some on top of it, so how in the hell are you supposed to figure out WHICH information to trust?

I mean, I love Googling as much as the next person, but… sometimes finding too. dang. much. can be a real problem for your productivity. Especially if you have ADHD like me.

One person will tell you that you must do X, Y, and Z in order to be successful, while another is warning you to absolutely not do that thing or else your business success will go down the gutter.

Whatever is driving you to be here, know that you’re not alone in reading some funky advice and feeling a little (or a lot) confused after. I remember these days at the start of my copywriting career, all too well.

It’s giving gaslight — ahemmmm, Jake Gyllenhaal?

[If that reference made you want to take a 10-minute break to go listen to All Too Well (Taylor’s Version), be my guest. Swifties of all eras are welcome here.]

Point of the story? It’s hard out there. But lucky for you, you found me. I got you.

Before getting into what’s true and what’s bullshit, I want to give you my hottest take:

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

There are actually no rules when it comes to your website.

(Some people aren’t gonna like that one. Especially coming from a website copywriter.)

But it’s true. It is your website, and you can do whatever the hell you want with it.

This might be difficult advice for you to hear, but you actually CAN and SHOULD be completely, unapologetically, authentically yourself on your website—and I know that isn’t something that comes naturally (especially to my corporate girlies) when you’re used to being ~professional~ all the time.

Consider this your permission to ditch whatever Miss WhatsHerFace taught you about grammar in fifth grade, what Miss Whosie taught you about proper citation in ninth grade, and what Miss NoOneCares taught you about writing a proper thesis in college. 

Your website is not being graded. It’s being stalked by thousands of potential clients and customers who want to get to know you as a person.

Think about your website like a conversation, and then go back and read your current website copy. How much of it would need to change to *actually* engage people + make them feel like you’re talking TO them, rather than AT them?

There are, though, some guidelines you *probably should* follow, and formulas that increase your chances of converting a lead to a buyer / client / student / subscriber / et cetera.

& after writing hundreds and hundreds of pages of website copy… I’d say I have a pretty good handle on what those must-haves are.

Anywho, I know you’re here for the tea, so… I’ll (finally) get to it: keep reading to find out the truth behind all the lies you’ve been told about what to write on your website and some examples of good and bad copywriting.

Lie #1: “Your About Page Needs To List All Of Your Work Experience.”

Um, no. Absolutely not. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not do that. That’s what LinkedIn is for.

Think of your About page like a first date. You wouldn’t sit down across from your Hinge match and read off your CV and hope they fall in love with you — so why would you structure your About page that way?

Because yes, we are trying to get our audience to fall in love with us, and reading your resume isn’t the way to do it.

When you consider the fact that your website is essentially your reader going on a virtual first date with you, making a lasting first impression becomes more important than your resume.

Remember that a human is reading your page. Of course they are there to learn about you, but not in the way you may think.

They’ve stumbled across your page to learn what you can do for them.

So, yes, they want to know about you. Buuuut, not you specifically, your credentials, or your experiences. They want to see that your services and offerings match what they’re looking for.

And you only have a matter of seconds to grasp their attention, so you might as well just get to the point rather than wasting your time trying to come up with a punchline to hook them.

Bad copy: “I have 12 years of experience, worked at five companies, earned three certifications, and have a degree in marketing.”

Good copy: “After years of working in marketing, I realized the thing I loved most was helping small business owners turn confusing ideas into clear, compelling messaging.”

And that brings us to…

Lie #2: “You Can’t Say That, It Doesn’t Apply To Everyone.”

Um, your point…?

That’s exactly the goal — your website copy should NOT apply to everything and everyone; it should apply to your target audience.

In the good name of honesty, you want to attract the people you actually want to work with. You don’t want to talk about a bunch of things you don’t know and that you don’t like to do just because you think it will bring you an influx of clients, and the more clients you have, the more money you’ll have.

You’ll find yourself in the boat of doing something that you don’t like, wondering how the hell you got here again.

Isn’t the whole point of freelance work? To have the freedom to do what you love, or whatever?

Throw away everything you think you know about sales because we’re starting over from scratch — focus on being yourself and using your voice; the rest will fall into place.

The clients that you actually want to work with will just get you.

I can talk for hours about authenticity and being yourself, and the importance of such, most especially in the business world. 

No, you don’t need to put on a professional mask and use big and bad business jargon to prove to your audience that you’re 

1. up for the task that they’re asking for you and 
2. worth the price you’re charging

Your clients are human — they want to work with a human; it’s why they’ve come to you. If they wanted the personalization and authenticity taken out of the copywriting process, they would go the corporate route.

Instead, they’ve come to you because of who you are.

Who cares if some people don’t get your Grey’s Anatomy reference or your humor or appreciate your copy? Those people aren’t your people, so they’re not your concern.

So be you, baby; let your freak flag fly.

Lie #3: “You shouldn’t have too much copy on your website because no one will read it.”

Yes, they will.

If it’s designed well, and written well, and broken up well, they’ll read it.

Of course, you don’t just want fluff.

You don’t want to be repeating yourself, saying the same thing over and over again, just with different verbiage.

You aren’t being graded on word count here.

Your readers will get bored, and there’s nothing that looks more attractive in a moment of boredom than clicking the ‘X’ at the top of the page.

Just like that, they’re onto the next — visiting a competitor’s page who speaks their mind and says all the things that their audience is looking for.

I’ll let you in on a secret — the more you say, the higher the opportunity to give your readers what they’re looking for, and the higher your chance to find those dream clients we talk about all the time.

Some people will skim, some will read, some will hear about you by word of mouth and need to check you out for themselves, and some will read every single ounce of copy on your page from top to bottom.

All are perfectly acceptable.

No reader is the same — some people are ready to make a buying decision after reading one headline, and others will read your entire site, page by page, Home to Contact, before deciding to inquire. Both people matter.

Annnnd, while we’re on the topic of stalking your page from Home to Contact and inaccurate information…

Lie #4: “You don’t need to care about your Contact page; it’s just for an inquiry form.”

Wrong. Please care about it. I’m literally begging you.

Your Contact page is your opportunity to close the deal — it’s the last thing clients see before they decide to fill out your submission form and inquire about working with you.

It is truly a make-or-break moment.

Especially if you have a potential client on the fence that would benefit from a little extra nudge. A boring old “reach out” or “get in touch” or “contact us” may not be enough for them to take action.

(And could be enough motivation for them to minimize the page while simultaneously thinking “eh, I’ll do this another day.”)

You aren’t convincing them that submitting an inquiry is worth it right now.

Lie #5: “You have to add as many keywords as humanly possible to every single page of your website in order to rank on Google.”

I apologize for this sass in advance, but if you believe this lie… maybe consider an SEO lesson?

Keyword stuffing (aka the official name for the whole putting a ridiculous amount of “keywords” on every page and calling it SEO best practices thing) is never a good idea.

Save the stuffing for Thanksgiving.

Of course, prioritizing human experience is key. Even Miss Google can attest to that. But your copy being clear and conversion-focused is so. much. more. important.

Keywords will naturally fit in as you talk about your services. Just as I was saying earlier in this post about using all of the damn words — more words provide more opportunity to sing the sweet music that your future clients want to hear.

Buuuut, be sure that you’re not just throwing words around for the sake of more words. You want intention and meaning behind them, or else you’re going to lose that touch of human authenticity I talked about earlier.

There’s nothing worse than being talked at with words that hold absolutely no meaning whatsoever. I don’t want you coming off as sleazy and salesy, and speaking just to speak can make you seem that way.

You don’t need the fluff. But you do need the meat and potatoes.

(What’s with all these food analogies? Is anyone else hungry now? No? Just me?)

Bad copy: “Our SEO services provide SEO strategy, SEO consulting, SEO optimization, SEO audits, SEO content, and SEO services for businesses looking for SEO.” Yikes.

Good copy: “Our SEO strategy helps small businesses get found by the people already searching for what they offer.”

In sum, SEO matters. But you gotta be strategic with it, because strategy > stuffing.

Lie #6: “You have to be super professional.”

Refer back to all the things I said earlier about being genuine and human and authentic.

Humans want human connection. Especially in a time where the majority of us are working behind a computer screen and with AI at our fingertips, we gotta implement that wherever the heck we can.

People feel the most at-home when they’re talking with a friend. So do just that—communicate through your site as if you’re talking to a companion.

Someone that you’re building a relationship with and wanting to build that rapport with to strengthen a connection.

(Side note: some of my best and closest friends have been previous clients, or people that I have met through business connections. I swear, I know what I’m talking about!)

So truly, the only thing you “have” to be is yourself. Drop that f-bomb if it feels right.

If the reader is put off by what you’re saying, then they aren’t an ideal client for you anyway. Say whatever the heck you want because, at the end of the day, it’s your business and you gotta put all cards out on the table.

And that is where true success comes from—when authenticity becomes your driving force for business.

In case you forgot and need a reminder, I literally refer to myself as a Hoe For Italics on my website, and no one has ever called me unprofessional or under-qualified.

So, say what you want to say. Your TRUE ideal clients and customers will resonate with it even if it doesn’t fit the typical definition of “professional.”

The BEST Copywriting Advice…

Is right here 😉

Ignore all the bullshit on the Internet and save my blog as the one place you need to learn everything you need to know about copywriting. No gatekeeping here.

A few resources to get you started:

[Free Download] Write a killer homepage with my proven formula.

[Template] Learn how to write your website copy on your own with my Wicked Easy Web Copy Guide; a mix of templates, tutorials, and resources I’ve curated for you based on the strategies I teach in my website copywriting course (for a fraction of the price)

[Done-with-you copy] Write your site with me in this month-long workshop! You’ll learn how to write the best website copy, AND we’ll actually DO the website copywriting together on a co-working call. 

[Self-paced course] Enroll in my signature website copywriting and content marketing course, Site Series® SPRINT, to learn everything you need to know about making sure YOU have the best, most conversion-friendly website.