A few months ago, I launched a new website for my own business as part of a larger brand and strategy shift. I’ve done this long enough to know that it was a first pancake, but I felt good about it! The design, the functionality, the clarity, it all felt in-line with my business and ready to sell.
But now I’m a few months in, and it’s time to take a fresh look. I’m refining my services slightly and my website needs to shift accordingly. One quick glance at my own copy and I can see that I made the mistake that I warn all of my clients to avoid: I was trying hard to say everything.
If you’ve ever struggled to write about your own business, I want you to know: I get it. When it’s your own work, it’s incredibly hard to zoom out. You want to show the depth of what you do; you want to explain your process, your heart, your why. You want people to land on your website and immediately get it.
But here’s the thing: Trying to say everything usually means people hear nothing.
People don't read websites, they scan.
According to research by the Nielsen Norman Group, users read only about 20% of the text on the average web page. They scan for headlines, buttons, and keywords. If they don’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they bounce.
That stat isn’t just about user behavior, it’s about human nature. When someone visits your site, they’re asking:
- Am I in the right place?
- Can this person help me?
- What should I do next?
That’s it. That’s what your website is actually for: to answer those questions clearly and confidently.
Clarity is kindness.
It’s tempting to think that more words = more helpful. But on a website, too much copy slows people down. It creates cognitive friction. It makes your reader work harder to understand what they’re supposed to do.
Being brief doesn’t mean dumbing things down. It means organizing your content so the right ideas show up at the right time:
- A clear headline that says what you do and who you do it for
- Simple descriptions of your services or products
- Strong, intentional calls to action
Save the depth for later – for your blog, your discovery calls, your YouTube videos. Your homepage isn’t there to explain everything. It’s there to guide visitors towards the substance, to encourage them to reach out, to make them want to learn more or buy more.
Less is more (inviting).
If your website feels bloated, hard to update, or kind of exhausting to look at, that’s usually a sign that the copy is trying to do too much.
Instead of trying to tell your whole story all at once, think of your website as an invitation. It doesn’t need to be exhaustive. It just needs to be clear, trustworthy, and easy to move through.
And if you need a second set of eyes on your copy? I’m here.
