Should Copy or Design Come First?

So you’ve reached the point where you need a new website (either your first ever or rebrand). Congratulations! Now you need to figure out which service you should invest in first, copywriting or website design? 

It’s the old chicken and the egg argument for design vs. copy first.

But really, should copy or design come first?

Honestly, copy SHOULD come first. Always. And we aren’t saying that because we’re a copywriting agency! Most web designers will agree with us.

Here’s why we’re making this bold statement.

Copy isn’t just words. Writing high converting copy involves strategy. And with that strategy comes flow. Great copy can strengthen a poorly designed website. A well-designed website won’t have the same results if the copy isn’t good.

A specific sequence creates converting copy, and if you focus on design first, you could be missing out on critical strategy opportunities with your words. And if you start with design, you restrict the strategy and flow of your copywriter.

Designers have a little more room for maneuvering the design to match the copy. Therefore they can more easily work with the flow of your copy more than a copywriter can write copy to fit within a design. 

To help drive our point home, here are three reasons why copywriting should come before web design. 

1. Your copywriter will clarify the messaging

While designers can help position a client’s brand, it’s the copywriters who are writing on behalf of the client. This means they are digging deep to hone in on a client’s brand voice. 

For example, we provide our clients with an in-depth questionnaire that gets to the core of our client’s brands. We can craft and deliver compelling copy that emulates their brand’s overall message using their answers and conducting our own thorough research into their market and industry. 

When your audience lands on your website, they shouldn’t be confused about who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Hiring a great copywriter relieves this worry because their job is to write clear and focused copy that answers these three questions. 

Having a clear message helps the designer know which words, quotes, and sections to highlight when creating the design.

2. Great copy will help your web designer create a better design

Both web designers and copywriters have tools that help them understand their clients and create a brand design or copy that reflects their goals –usually in an in-depth brand questionnaire, market research, previous client research, etc. 

But copywriting sets up a strong foundation for a client’s brand. Without engaging words and an overall goal reflected through your copy, the design will only go so far to keep websites visitors engaged and wanting to learn more. 

Copywriters use words to create a customer journey that’s easy to follow and guides people to take action. (There’s a lot more to it than that, but we’ll save that for another blog post). 

When a designer can clearly see the customer journey laid out through copy, it supports how they create the flow of your website. Plus, if the client has a unique personality, the copy should reflect that –and the designer will pick up on that and design a website that reflects this unique factor. 

3. Designers can edit the text to fit the design

Writing copy based on the design is like fitting the wrong puzzle piece into an empty puzzle space. It’s more challenging (and not very strategic) for copywriters to try and fit the copy into a specific design. That’s never going to be a good start for clients wanting to get their message across.

Design before copy inhibits the creative thinking process of copywriters, whereas incredible copy can spark a ton of ideas if you work with an innovative and talented designer.

Combining both the design and copy is more effective when your designer doesn’t have to guess how much copy goes where or which words should be highlighted to accentuate the message. 

Design and copywriting collaboration

Copywriters and designers who work together on client projects can have the most impressive results for their creative collaboration. We’ve had some incredible collaborative projects between Black Diamond Copy Co and Karima Creative, and our clients literally LOVE our work. 

Here are a few you can check out the live sites and testimonials for:

Wil + Faye Interior Design

Eliana Goldstein Coaching

Christian Reyes Photography

“Design can breath life into the store the copy is telling, and when done properly, great copy plus great design will always outperform great copy alone.” (HubSpot)

Essentially, copy and design need to work together to create the best experience for your customers. But most designers and other copywriters will agree that copy comes first. What do you think?