Whenever we work on copy for a client’s website (or our own), we use formatting to organize our copy and help guide the design process. This takes place in Google Docs, but it is carried over into the actual design and formatting of the website itself.
When it comes to the text as it appears on your website, there is a lot of nuance to the use of header tags (HTML components that designate different bits of copy and their importance), but you don’t have to become a web design expert to make wise use of different formatting options.
🧑🏫 The basics
Making use of header tags is an important part of SEO (search engine optimization), but you want to avoid trying to accomplish too much with them. For instance, it’s a great idea to write your copy in a way that places some of your keywords into your headings, but you won’t want to stuff your headings full of keywords. Google can recognize this tactic and your results will suffer for it. 😖
If you’re familiar with writing outlines, it can be helpful to think about header tags in a similar way. H1s will express big ideas, H2s will break those big ideas down, and so on.
H1 or Heading 1
Although formatting options and styling may vary, H1 text is typically going to be your largest and most noticeable text. 👀 If you look at the default formatting options for a Google Doc, you’ll see that Heading 1 is a very large and bold style.
You typically only want one H1 header on each page of your website, and it will typically appear in the hero section of your page. For most folks, you’ll want an H1 that contains at least one of your keywords so people who are searching for companies that offer your product(s)/service(s)/etc. will find you. Google will also recognize this header as having critical information about your website and business/organization, so don’t waste it on something trite.
Our own Home page has an H1 that reads:
WordPress websites and white-label partnerships built with your well-being in mind
Two of our most important keywords appear here: WordPress websites and white-label partnerships. These are our two primary offerings, and our ideal customers are looking for one or the other. We want Google to know that that’s what we offer so they can show us as a result to potential clients. 🤩
H2 or Heading 2
The next largest text style is typically the H2 and it will likely get used multiple times on a page. H2 is a good choice for headings that divide your page up into its major sections or for headers that express key information about your business/company.
H3 or Heading 3 and beyond
H3 is a formatting choice you can also make wide use of, either for subheaders beneath your H2 headers or as minor headers to smaller sections. If you’re breaking a larger section into smaller sections, you may end up using H4 or H5 to create smaller headers.
To keep things simple, you probably won’t want to go beyond an H5 on your website. If you have enough text that you need to divide it up that much, you probably need to pare down your copy. 🪚
Body text
The rest of your website will appear in what is called body text. This is usually an easy-to-read text style that is typically more plain than your header text. Sections that are written as blocks of text (as opposed to single sentences or phrases) will appear as body text. In Google Docs, this is simply designated as Normal text in the formatting options.
✅ Copy composition best practices
When we work with a custom website client who is composing their own copy, we ask them to write their page copy in Google Docs and use the formatting options to divide their page up and designate headers and other important information. While our design team doesn’t always follow this to a T, it’s always helpful. When I’m working with a client as their copywriter, I do the same!
For Quickstart
If you’re a Quickstart client, you’ll notice that many of the answer boxes in Content Snare have formatting options. This is because we’d like you to use them to communicate your preferences for headings, subheadings, and body text, as well as any other formatting guidance. Again, our design team doesn’t always keep everything just as you formatted it, but it goes a long way in speeding up the design process and getting your website live faster! ⚡️