Writing for the Web: Crafting Content That Connects and Converts with Kavya R

I studied English in college, it was a heady mix of media, language, culture, and many papers on postmodern theory. It trained me to look at how people communicate and why it matters. So writing wasn’t some grand leap; it just made sense.

Anything that feels deceptively simple, such as microcopy or error messages. The stuff that takes less than a few seconds to read but an hour to get right. I love writing that quietly does its job without fanfare.

It means giving users what they need, often before they even realise they need it and doing it in a voice that feels human. At its core, it’s about clarity, empathy, and being genuinely useful without making the user work for it.

Good web content is simply honest, helpful, skimmable and searchable.

First: who’s landing here, and what do they want? I dig into the user, the goal, and the journey. Then I write a few rough drafts, rewrite a lot, and then simplify them.

Start with the user. Always. If your content works for them, Google is usually smart enough to figure it out. But yes, I’ll sprinkle in some strategic keywords, structure my headings, and take care of the SEO fundamentals. 

I treat the brand voice more like a personality. I ask myself, how would this brand naturally sound in this moment, to this user? The context matters. A landing page and an in-app message shouldn’t sound identical, but they should still feel like they’re coming from the same person.

Depends on the goal. Conversions, time on page, scroll depth, sure. But also, are people getting stuck? Are users making it to the next step without friction? Are they reaching out to support with questions I thought I’d already answered? Silence, sometimes, is the biggest measure of what works.

For the CookieYes pricing update, I wrote and tested different email versions, playing with tone, layout, and messaging. We got a sense of what resonated, and despite the sensitivity of the price change, there was no negative pushback, which told us the messaging was clear and well-received.

Good old wireframes and content-first design, shaped by UX frameworks and principles. I use wireframes to map structure, Grammarly for quick clarity checks, and ChatGPT or Claude to kick things loose when I’m stuck. I also lean on behavioural frameworks to shape in-app microcopy.

I follow a bunch of UX and content blogs, but honestly, I learn the most by paying attention to good copy out in the wild, i.e. what made me click, what kept me reading, what felt effortless. I also save and revisit examples that just work.

A big one is writing from the brand’s point of view instead of the user’s. It leads to vague promises and generic claims. Another common one is trying to be clever instead of clear. If the user has to guess what you mean, you’ve already lost them.

Before you write anything, map the journey. Where’s the user coming from? What do they need here? What will help them take the next step? Nail the structure first, then layer in clarity, tone, and just enough personality to feel human.

• Start with the user – always. Write for their journey, not the brand’s agenda.
• Clarity is everything. If a user has to guess, you’ve already lost them.
• Nail the structure first, then refine the tone, clarity, and flow.
• SEO matters, but user experience comes first. When content is genuinely useful, search engines usually follow.