Your layout is very important in website copy, because you want your website copy to look inviting, refreshing to the eyes and easy to read. In short, you want your prospect to stop what they’re doing and take note of your message.

If they see a layout with tiny margins, no indentations, no breaks in the text, no white space, and no subheadings…if they see a page of nothing but densely-packed words, do you think they’ll be tempted to read it?

Highly unlikely I would have thought.

If you do have ample white space and generous margins, short sentences, short paragraphs, subheadings, and an italicized or underlined word here and there for emphasis, it will certainly look more inviting to read.

When reading your copy, some prospects will start at the beginning and read word for word. Some will read the headline and maybe the lead, then read the conclusion at the end of the copy, then start from the beginning.

And some readers will scan through your letter, noticing the various subheadings strategically positioned by you throughout your copy, then decide if it’s worth their time to read the entire thing. Some may never read the entire letter, but order anyway.

You must write for all of them. Interesting and compelling long website copy for the studious reader, and short paragraphs and sentences, white space, and subheadings for the skimmer.

Subheadings are the smaller headlines sprinkled throughout your copy that highlight salient points.

Like this.

When coming up with your headline, some of the headlines that didn’t make the cut can make great subheadings. A good subheading forces your prospect to keep reading, threading them along from start to finish throughout your copy, while also providing the glue necessary to keep skimmers skimming.

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