The silent killer of website projects

We’ve launched hundreds of websites. Some were large-scale platform migrations. Some were fast, simple marketing sites. Some were conversion-first powerhouses. Across all of them, one truth holds: the single biggest cause of delays in website projects is copywriting.

• It’s not dev.
• It’s not design.
• It’s not approval processes or tech stacks.

It’s the words.

And more specifically—it’s when businesses try to write them in-house.

Why this happens (and keeps happening)

It almost always starts with good intentions:

• “We’ll write the content ourselves to save budget.”
• “We know our business best, so we’ll just block out a few hours each week to do it.”
• “We’ve already got a draft from the old site. We’ll just tweak it.”

You can guess how this plays out.

Weeks pass. Deadlines shift. The person tasked with writing the copy is also managing three other priorities, attending internal meetings, and barely has time to review the site designs—let alone write 20+ pages of clear, compelling messaging that connects with your audience.

At some point, frustration builds. The website stalls. And suddenly, what should have been a 10-week build turns into a six-month waiting game.

We’ve seen it happen too many times. It’s exactly why we include clearly defined content milestones in our website projects—and offer support options to keep things moving.

Copy is not filler. It’s the message.

There’s a dangerous myth in digital projects that “once the website looks good, the rest is easy.” But websites aren’t billboards. They’re not just here to look beautiful. They’re built to communicate—to move someone from interest to action.

That only happens when your words do the heavy lifting. Your messaging needs to:

• Make people feel like you understand their problems

• Show how your solution works better than anyone else’s

• Build trust and credibility

• Guide people clearly to the next step

If your copy isn’t doing all of that, it doesn’t matter how slick your website looks. It won’t convert.

Yes, you can use AI. But should you?

There’s no denying that AI has changed the game. It can help you write faster, brainstorm ideas, and get through drafts at record speed. But even the smartest language models won’t know your customer as well as you should. They can’t replace strategy, voice, tone, or nuanced messaging built on real insight.

Using AI without a clear understanding of your audience, value proposition, and positioning is just… filling space. It’s paint-by-numbers marketing. Your customers deserve more than that. It's like asking a junior in your company to write all the content for your website with very little understanding of the big picture, or any real valuable thought leadership that they personally can instil in the content.

AI is a fantastic tool for companies to help create the content. But pay attention. Read what it spits out, question it, advise it.

If you want support aligning messaging with the customer journey, we can help. Our brand and digital design services are built around that exact problem.

What investing in copy actually gets you

Great copywriting isn’t just wordsmithing. It’s a strategic process that aligns your messaging with your business goals and customer journey. It’s about saying the right thing, to the right people, at the right time.

When you invest in professional copywriting:

• Your project moves faster

• Your design and dev team can work with real content (not lorem ipsum or broken scraps of old drafts)

• You get sharper, more strategic messaging that builds trust

• Your website is more likely to convert and pay for itself faster

It’s not a “nice to have.” It’s the backbone of your entire site experience.

Don’t let your copy kill your project

If you’re planning a new website, here’s the most important advice we can give you:

Don’t underestimate your copy. Don’t leave it to the last minute. And don’t assume it’s easy just because you know your business.

Want to make sure your website launches on time and actually works for your customers?

Talk to us about how to get your content right from the start.