How to write website content when you're not a writer

You don't need to be a writer to create good website content. You need to know your customers, what they want to find out and how to say it in simple language. This guide, for freelancers and local business owners in Spain who keep putting off the job, covers how to plan your pages, what each page should say, how online writing differs and how to get it done in an hour a week.

What makes good website content?

Website content that works tells the right people what you do, where you do it and how to reach you, quickly and in terms they understand. It's written for your customers, not for you, and it's easy to read on a phone. Five things set it apart:

• Useful: it answers the questions customers ask you every week.
• Specific: it names your services, your area and how you price a job.
• Easy to scan: short paragraphs, headings and lists.
• Easy to act on: every section leads to the next step.
• Yours: it sounds like you, not like a template copied from another site.

Google's own guidance on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content says the same thing: aim to help people, not to chase rankings. It suggests a few questions to check each draft against. Would a reader leave feeling they've learned enough? Is it complete and accurate? Was it created or reviewed by someone who knows the subject well?

On that last point, you have the edge: no template can understand your trade as you do.

Start with your readers and the questions they ask

Before you write anything, picture who will visit your site and what they're trying to do, such as a family in Alicante looking for someone to fix a leaking roof. Then write down the questions customers ask you on the phone or on WhatsApp: How much will it cost? Do you cover my area? Do you speak English?

Your content plan should be based on those questions, and the answers are the information to publish. Next, do a little research into how they phrase things:

• Type your service and town into Google and note the suggestions: they hint at the phrases customers are likely to use (see how to choose local keywords).
• Read your reviews and messages: customers often describe the problem (“the boiler keeps cutting out”), not the trade terms.

Plan your pages before you start writing

Keep it simple: start with five essentials.

1. Homepage: what you do, for whom and where.
2. A page for each type of job, or one with a section for each.
3. About page: who you are and why people can trust you.
4. How to reach you: every way to get in touch, your hours and the areas you cover.
5. Legal texts: a legal notice, a privacy policy and a cookie policy, which a business website in Spain needs.

For each one, note who it's for, what it answers and what the reader should do next. That plan gives you a simple structure, making the writing much easier. Our checklist of the elements every freelancer's website must have shows what might be missing.

What should each page say?

Each page should do one job: answer what the reader came for and lead to one clear next step.

Homepage: what you do, for whom and where

Your homepage must show visitors at once that they're in the right place. Compare “Welcome to our website” with “Emergency plumber in Elche: leaks, blocked drains and boilers”. Below the headline, include a brief summary of what you do with links to the full descriptions, proof to support what you say, such as photos of your jobs or your Google reviews, and a button to call or send a WhatsApp message. A clean design helps, but your content does the selling.

Service pages: the problem, the result and how you work

To plan each service description, use a simple three-part formula:

1. The problem: your customer's situation, as they would describe it.
2. The result: what changes once the job is done. Talk about the benefit to the customer, not just the features: “hot water again today” means more than “boiler repair”.
3. How you work: the steps, how long the job is expected to take and what's included.

Prices are important to many visitors: add them where possible, or explain how you quote.

About page: why people can trust you

Visitors go there to decide whether to trust you with the job. Tell them who you are, your experience, your qualifications and the languages you speak. A photo of you adds a human touch: visitors see the person they'll deal with, and it's part of your personal brand.

Contact page: make it easy to reach you

Include your phone number, a WhatsApp button (see how to set up WhatsApp Business), a simple form, a complete list of the towns you cover and your working hours.

How is writing for the web different?

Online, many users skim for the information they need instead of reading every word, often on a phone. With well-planned web content, that information is easy to find and quick to take in.

The GOV.UK style guide, which the British government follows, asks writers to use plain English, and several British councils publish similar guidance. These free resources are aimed at council and government staff, but the advice works just as well for a plumber in Elche.

Put the most important information first

Start each section with the answer, then add the details in order of importance. Someone who stops reading after the first lines should still know what you offer and where. Visitors often land straight on an inner page from Google, so it should make sense on its own.

Keep sentences short and paragraphs brief

Long sentences are hard to follow on a phone. Aim for one idea per sentence and one topic per paragraph, and break up any block longer than a few lines. Use the active voice (“we install boilers”, not “boilers are installed”) and talk to the reader as “you”. Brief text isn't lazy: it's easier to read.

Use headings, subheadings and bullet points

Headings act as signposts: they help people scan and easily find the part that interests them, and Google uses them to understand how your content is organised. Use one heading at the top, then section titles phrased the way a customer would ask (for example, “How much does a boiler service cost?”). Make each heading descriptive and concise: “Boiler repairs and servicing” says more than “What we do”. When you list things, use bullet points. Keep the formatting as simple as possible.

Choose plain language over jargon

Write as you would explain the job to a customer in front of you, in a conversational tone. Avoid specialist vocabulary; if you need a technical term, explain it. Simple wording is quicker for everyone, experts included. GOV.UK even keeps a list of words to avoid, such as “facilitate” and “leverage”, because they're vague.

Vague, general claims don't build trust, because any business could make them; specific facts do. And if many of your customers are British or Irish, British spellings (colour, organise) will feel natural.

Help search engines understand your content

Google analyses your content to decide which searches it answers: that is how new customers find you. You don't need complex keyword research: three habits cover the basics.

• Match what people type. Google's published guidelines recommend that you use words your customers would use when looking for a business like yours and put them where they stand out. In practice, name your service and town in the title, the main heading and the first lines: “electrician in Valencia”, not just “electrical services”. Mention the terms your customers use where they fit naturally, but don't repeat the same word in every line.
• Give each page its own title and description. The title is the headline users click in Google's results, for example “Emergency plumber in Elche | Your business name”; the meta description is the summary that may appear below it.
• Add internal links. Link from your homepage to each service and from articles to related topics, with descriptive link text that says where it leads (“boiler repairs in Elche”) rather than “click here”.

Remember that you're writing for humans first: a search engine is just one more reader. Every website we build includes basic SEO, with page titles and texts that mention your service and area. To go further, see how to rank your website on Google as a local business.

Make your content accessible

Content that everyone can use and understand, including anyone who relies on a screen reader (software that reads the screen aloud), is better for every user. A few simple habits for better accessibility:

• When adding images, describe each one in its alt text (“plumber repairing a boiler in Elche”), so screen readers and Google know what they show.
• Use your editor's built-in styles (H2, H3) rather than just bold type, keep them in a logical order and don't skip levels, so screen reader users can identify and jump between sections.
• Make links say where they go.
• Don't put important information, such as prices, only inside images.
• Make sure the text size is comfortable and the design has enough contrast.
• Make sure there's a “Skip to main content” shortcut at the top, so anyone using a keyboard can jump past the menu.

Finish with a clear call to action

Show visitors clearly what to do next, in a short phrase they can act on, such as:

• “Send us a WhatsApp with a photo of the problem”
• “Call now for a quote in Alicante”

Put it at the end of each section and, for mobile users, on a button that stays visible. A single action works best: several options at once can make visitors hesitate.

Dictate first, tidy up later

If content writing feels difficult, talk rather than type. Explaining your job out loud often comes more naturally, and the result sounds like you.

1. Pick one section and list the questions it must answer.
2. Open a note on your phone and tap the microphone key: iPhone and Android keyboards usually support dictation.
3. Answer each question out loud, as if a customer had asked it, without worrying about every word.
4. Tidy up the transcript: cut repetitions, split sentences that run on and break it into sections.
5. Read it aloud to ensure it sounds natural.

Use AI as an assistant, not as the author

AI tools such as ChatGPT can get you started, but they don't know your business, your prices or your town. Use them to polish your draft, not to produce your web content from scratch. They're handy for:

• turning your dictated notes into a first draft with sections;
• making an explanation simpler;
• correcting typos and clumsy phrasing.

Content generated from nothing tends to be generic and can contain mistakes or invented details, so verify every fact and rework it in your own style and voice. Your own examples are what make it interesting. For more ideas, see our article on AI tools for freelancers.

Google doesn't object to using AI as such: its guidance looks at whether what you publish is helpful, reliable and made for your customers. Using automation mainly to manipulate rankings, however, breaks its spam policies.

Proofread your content and keep it up to date

Once you write a first draft, it helps to let it rest for a day: clumsy sentences stand out on a second look. Ask a friend who doesn't know your trade for feedback: can they explain what you do and how to reach you? A checker such as LanguageTool can catch spelling and grammar mistakes. Then look at the whole site on your phone.

When your site is online, keep it current: out-of-date prices or opening hours make visitors doubt everything else. Review your content every few months so that visitors find up-to-date information, and keep your prices, hours and phone number consistent with your Google Business Profile. Changing the date alone isn't an update, and Google's guidance even warns against refreshing the date without improving anything.

With a WebAutonomos plan, one change per month is included after launch, so you can simply send us the update. You can also reuse the same material on social media, in a Facebook post, on LinkedIn or in a YouTube video, with links back to your site.

Your action plan: one hour a week

Block one hour a week for creating new material, at a time that suits you best: 30 minutes dictating, 20 minutes editing and 10 minutes publishing.

1. Week 1: list your readers and their questions.
2. Week 2: draft your homepage.
3. Week 3: draft your service pages.
4. Week 4: finish the about section and the ways to reach you, then proofread.
5. After that: keep adding one new piece of content a week, such as an article or an updated price list.

Keep the habit for six months and you'll have around 24 new articles or updates, each answering one more question, which can help more customers find you online over time.

If you'd rather delegate your website content

If writing really isn't for you, hand it over. When WebAutonomos builds your website, we prepare the texts from your real information, such as your Google Business Profile and your photos. It costs €15/month with no setup fee and no commitment, or €349 as a one-off payment, and you see a free demo in less than 24 hours, before paying anything.

For regular new content, WebAutonomos Local SEO costs €15/month and includes 4 blog articles a month, a focus on local keywords and a monthly report. You can buy it with or without a WebAutonomos website (see our guide for freelancers who want to be found locally).

Good content doesn't need writing talent. It needs to serve its readers, answer their questions simply and make the next step obvious. Start with one page this week and improve it a little at a time: honest content written in your own voice is worth more than a perfect version that never gets published.