Chase Boulay · August 19, 2026

How to Write Your Own Website Content Without Sounding Weird

I walk into a lot of businesses in Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, all over Rhode Island. And when I start talking to an owner about building them a website, there's almost always a moment where I ask: "What would you want someone to read when they land on your site?"

The room goes quiet. Sometimes they laugh a little. Then they say something like, "I don't know, just like... who we are and what we do?"

These are people who can explain their entire business in two minutes flat. I've watched a mechanic in Warwick describe exactly what makes his shop different from the dealer down the road, in plain English, without thinking twice. But the second he has to write it down for a website, it turns into "We strive to provide excellent automotive service in a professional environment."

That sentence says nothing. And it sounds like every other shop in the state.

Here's the thing: you already know how to talk about your business. You do it every day, to customers, to friends, to whoever asks. The problem isn't that you don't have anything to say. The problem is that writing makes people feel like they need to sound official. So they reach for words that feel safe and professional, and end up sounding like a corporate pamphlet from 2009.

This guide is about getting out of that headspace and writing something people will actually read.

Record Yourself First, Write Second

Try this right now. Pull out your phone, hit record, and spend two minutes answering this question out loud: "If a friend asked you what you do and why people come to you instead of somewhere else, what would you say?"

Don't plan it. Just talk. Then play it back and write down what you said.

That transcript is your website copy. Maybe not word for word, but close. The way you talked about your business to that imaginary friend is exactly the way your website should read. It's specific, it's honest, and it sounds like a human being.

I've done this exercise with a handful of business owners and every single time, the spoken version is better than anything they'd have typed out on their own.

What to do: Record yourself explaining your business for two minutes. Transcribe it. Start with that.

Lead With What You Do and Where, Not Your History

Most small business websites open with something like: "Founded in 2011, [Business Name] has been proudly serving the community with a commitment to quality and customer satisfaction."

Nobody reads that. Nobody cares about 2011 in the first five seconds.

When someone lands on your site, they want to know one thing fast: is this the place for me? So lead with what you do and where you're located. That's it.

"We're a family-run auto shop on Reservoir Ave in Cranston. We handle everything from oil changes to full engine rebuilds, and we've been doing it since 2011."

See the difference? The founding year is still in there, but it comes after the important stuff. You've already told them what you do, where you are, and who you are before you get to the history.

Your history and your story can go on the About page. The homepage is for orientation. Get people pointed in the right direction first.

What to do: Write one sentence that says what you do and where. Put that at the top. Everything else comes after.

Corporate Speak Is Killing Your Copy

Here's something most people don't realize: the phrases that feel the most "professional" are usually the ones that communicate the least.

Look at these side by side:

Before: "We are committed to delivering superior service through a customer-centric approach that prioritizes your needs."

After: "When you call, a real person picks up. We give you a straight answer on what's wrong and what it costs before we do anything."

The first version could describe any business in any industry on earth. The second version tells you something specific and true. It builds trust. It sounds like a real person said it.

Run a test on your own copy. If you could swap your business name out and replace it with any competitor's name and the sentence still works, cut it. You want sentences that are so specific they could only belong to you.

Words to remove from your vocabulary when writing about your business: "committed to excellence," "customer satisfaction," "high quality," "dedicated team," "passionate about." None of these mean anything. Show me, don't tell me.

What to do: Find the most generic sentence on your site or in your notes and rewrite it with a specific, true detail that only applies to you.

Be Specific About What Makes You Different

This one is hard to hear but it's true: "great service" is not a differentiator. Every business in Rhode Island claims great service. It's the price of admission, not a selling point.

What actually makes you different? Get specific.

Not "we have 20 years of experience" but "I've been cutting hair in this same chair on Federal Hill for 20 years and half my clients are people whose kids I used to cut when they were ten."

Not "we use quality ingredients" but "everything on the menu is made from scratch that morning, including the bread."

Not "we offer competitive pricing" but "we'll beat any written estimate from a dealer, or we'll tell you honestly if we can't."

You know what makes you different. Your regular customers know it too. They tell you every time they come back. Write down what they say, because that's your pitch.

What to do: Ask three of your best customers why they keep coming back. Write down what they actually say. Use those words.

Use Your Actual Name

Here's something I see constantly. Someone has a one-person or two-person business, and their website reads "our team" and "we" and "our staff" like they're running a corporation with forty employees.

If your name is on the door, put your name in the copy. People buy from people, especially at the local level. A plumber in Pawtucket who says "I'm Mike and I've been doing this for fifteen years" is going to connect with someone faster than "our team of skilled professionals."

This is especially true if your business is you. Don't hide behind corporate language when the whole point is that people can call you directly, work with you directly, and hold you accountable directly. That's a feature. Advertise it.

What to do: If it's your business, use your name. At least once on the homepage. More on the About page.

Answer the Questions You Get Asked Every Day

What do people ask you before they book, before they buy, before they commit? Write those questions down. Then answer them on your website.

A nail salon in Warwick might get asked: do you take walk-ins, how long does a full set take, do you do gel or acrylic, is parking easy? Answer those on the site. That's content that actually helps someone make a decision.

A barber shop gets asked: how long is the wait, do you do fades, can I book online? Answer it.

A restaurant gets asked: do you have parking, do you take reservations, is there a kids menu? The things that actually matter on a restaurant website are almost always the things customers ask before they show up.

Your FAQ page or even just a paragraph on your homepage that addresses the top three questions you hear will do more work than a full paragraph of mission statement copy.

What to do: Write down the five questions you get asked most often. Answer them in plain language. Put it on the site.

Short Paragraphs Are Not Optional

People do not read websites the way they read books. They scan. They look for the thing that's relevant to them, and if they can't find it in the first few seconds, they leave.

Long blocks of text are a signal that says "this is going to take work." Short paragraphs say "I respect your time."

Two to four sentences per paragraph is the target. If you're hitting six or seven, split it. If a paragraph is saying two separate things, it's two paragraphs.

White space is not wasted space. It's what makes text readable on a phone screen, which is probably where most of your visitors are reading it. A site that's hard to read on mobile is costing you customers, and dense blocks of text make that worse.

What to do: Go back through what you've written and break anything longer than four sentences into two paragraphs.

A Real Before and After

Let me show you what this all looks like put together. I'll use a fictional HVAC company in Providence as the example.

Before (what most people write):

At Providence Heating and Cooling, we are dedicated to providing exceptional HVAC services to residential and commercial clients throughout Rhode Island. Our experienced team of certified technicians is committed to delivering quality workmanship and outstanding customer satisfaction on every job. We strive to exceed your expectations with prompt, reliable service at competitive rates.

After (what it should be):

I'm Ray. I've been fixing furnaces and AC units in Providence for 18 years, mostly in the South Side and West End. When something breaks in the middle of January, you need someone who picks up the phone and shows up that day. That's the job. We don't charge you to come look at it, and we'll give you a straight number before we touch anything.

Same business. Same information, roughly. But one of them sounds like a person and one of them sounds like a legal disclaimer.

The "after" version tells me who Ray is, where he works, how long he's been doing it, what he's good at, and what to expect. In four sentences.

The Bottom Line

You don't need to be a writer to write good website copy. You need to write the way you talk, lead with the facts that actually matter, and trust that being specific and honest is more persuasive than sounding polished. If your About page reads like a press release, rewrite it the way you'd explain yourself to a new customer who walked in off the street. That version is always better.