Website Content Writing: A Page-by-Page Guide for SMEs

Website content writing is the work of deciding what every page of your business site says, in what order, and what you want the visitor to do next. For a Nigerian SME, it is usually the difference between a website that quietly collects dust and one that brings in enquiries on WhatsApp, email and phone.

Most small business sites fail for the same reason: the words were written last, in a hurry, about the company instead of for the customer. The owner pastes in a paragraph about “excellence and passion”, adds a phone number and calls it done. Visitors leave within seconds because they cannot tell what you sell, who it is for or what to do next.

This guide walks through the four pages every SME needs, what each one must answer, and how to write it. If you are still deciding whether to write it yourself or hire help, read our guide to what ghostwriting costs in Nigeria for a sense of how professional writing is priced.

1 Start with the reader, not the company

Before you write a word, answer three questions on paper: who is the one customer you most want, what problem sent them searching, and what would make them pick you over the next business? Every page below is built from those answers.

Google’s own guidance is blunt about this. Its documentation on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content asks whether your content “clearly demonstrates first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge” and warns against content made primarily to attract search engine visits.

2 The home page: say what you do in one breath

Your home page has one job: help the right visitor decide in a few seconds to keep reading. Write these elements in order:

• A headline that names the offer and the customer. “Accounting and tax filing for Lagos small businesses” beats “Your trusted financial partner”.
• One supporting sentence on the result the customer gets.
• One main button, such as “Book a call” or “Get a quote”, repeated further down the page.
• Three to four short proof points: real client types, real numbers you can defend, real credentials. Leave out anything you cannot prove.
• A short summary of your services, each linking to its page.

Use the words your customers use. If they say “bridal makeup in Lekki”, do not write “bespoke beauty experiences”. Google also tells site owners to use words people would search for in prominent places such as the title, main heading and link text, in its Search Essentials.

3 The about page: build trust with a story

Visitors open the about page when they are close to deciding. They want to know who is behind the business and whether you are real. Cover:

• Why the business exists and who started it.
• The year it began and where you operate.
• Your approach, in plain words, and what you will not do.
• The people: names, faces, roles.
• What to do next, with a button back to services or contact.

Avoid a timeline of office moves. Tell one honest story about the problem you saw and why you decided to solve it. A story about the customer’s problem will out-perform a story about your office.

4 The services page: one problem, one page

Many SMEs put every service in a single long list. That makes it hard for visitors to find what they need, and hard for a search engine to understand what each page is about. Give each core service its own page, and for each one write:

• The problem the customer has, in their words.
• What you do, described by outcome, not by jargon.
• How it works, in three to five steps.
• Who it is for and who it is not for.
• Price signals, where you can share them. Even “starts from” or a range filters out the wrong enquiries and builds trust. If you cannot share prices, say what affects the cost.
• Frequently asked questions, drawn from the real questions your customers ask on calls and WhatsApp.

5 The contact page: remove every excuse not to call

The contact page is where intent turns into action, so make it easy. Include your business name, address or service area, phone number, WhatsApp link, email and opening hours. Add a short form with only the fields you truly need: name, contact and a message. Every extra field costs you enquiries.

Tell people what happens after they reach out: “We reply within one working day” is a promise only if you keep it. If you cannot keep it, do not write it.

6 The page most Nigerian sites forget: your privacy notice

If your site has a contact form, newsletter sign-up or any way of collecting names, emails or phone numbers, you are handling personal data. Nigeria’s Data Protection Act 2023 sets out what a data controller must tell people before collecting their information, and says this must be in a privacy policy written in a “clear, concise, transparent, intelligible, and easily accessible format”.

Link the notice in your footer and beside every form. This is a legal and trust point, not only a writing one, so treat our summary as a starting point and not legal advice.

7 Write it so people can scan it

Most visitors skim before they read. Help them:

• Use short paragraphs of one to three sentences.
• Use descriptive headings that tell the story on their own.
• Lead each page with the most important point.
• Use bullets for lists, not for arguments.
• Put your keyword in the title, main heading and opening paragraph, then write naturally. Stuffing it in hurts readability and does nothing for you.

Google’s own advice is simple: if you are ever unsure about a decision, ask whether visitors would find the content satisfying. That test works for every page above.

8 Know when to write it yourself and when to hire help

You can write a first draft yourself if you know your customers well and can explain what you do simply. Hire a writer when you are too close to the business to see what a stranger needs, when the site must sell high-value services, or when you have no time to finish it. A professional writer interviews you, studies your market, and turns what you know into pages that convert. If you are also planning a book or thought-leadership project, our guide on how to write and publish a book as a Nigerian founder shows how the same storytelling discipline applies.

Frequently Asked Questions