Did you know that most people in the United States read at a seventh to eighth-grade level? As a web design firm, the most common mistake we see is that websites are too complicated and hard to read. If your website copy is too complex, you might be losing potential customers without even realizing it.
I’m David Sassower, co-founder of Mainpixel. We design nearly 100 websites per week, and in this article, I’ll explain how simplifying your website copy can drastically improve conversions and why this matters for your business.
Why Simple Website Copy is Essential
If most Americans read at a seventh to eighth-grade level, tens of millions of people may struggle to understand complex website copy. That means your prospects—potential clients and customers—could be navigating away from your site simply because it’s too difficult to read.
Even highly successful business leaders struggle with reading challenges. Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Virgin Group, is famous for overcoming dyslexia. If your website is written in scholarly, complex language, even someone like Branson might find it hard to navigate. The point isn’t about intelligence—it’s about accessibility.
If your goal is to have prospects book a call, purchase a product, or follow any sales process, your website needs to be clear and easy to understand. And here’s the kicker—even people who can read at a high level prefer simpler content. Clear writing saves time and makes information easy to absorb.
How Leading Companies Keep It Simple
Let’s take a look at Webflow, a $4 billion company that follows this principle perfectly. The opening line of Webflow’s homepage reads:
“Your site should do more than look good.”
This is a first-grade reading level sentence. It’s clear, concise, and immediately tells visitors what Webflow is about.
Now, imagine if Webflow had written something like:
“Your website should serve a functional purpose beyond mere aesthetic appeal.”
Even though the meaning is the same, the wording is unnecessarily complex. Whether you’re a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or a billionaire CEO, the easier version is more digestible. There’s no benefit to overcomplicating your website copy—it only creates friction for potential customers.
How to Simplify Your Website Copy
You don’t need to guess whether your content is simple enough—there are tools to help. One of our favorites is the Hemingway Editor. It’s free and easy to use: just paste in your website copy, and the tool will highlight complex sentences and suggest simpler alternatives.
Our recommendation? Aim for a third to fourth-grade reading level. The lower, the better—so long as your message remains intact. The goal is clarity, not dumbing down your content.
The Biggest Objection
Many business owners push back on this advice because they were trained in school to write with complex vocabulary and long, structured sentences. Academic writing rewards complexity, but business writing rewards clarity.
Think about how people consume content today: they’re skimming articles, scrolling social media, and glancing at emails between meetings. If your website reads like an essay, visitors won’t stick around to decipher it.
Simplicity Extends Beyond Your Website
This principle applies not just to your website but to all areas of marketing:
Sales Calls: A script with simpler language is easier to follow and more persuasive.
Emails: Shorter, clearer emails get better responses.
Social Media Posts: Engaging posts are those that are quickly understood.
The bottom line? Making your messaging simple improves communication across your entire business.
Final Thoughts
A clear, easy-to-read website makes your business more accessible, more engaging, and ultimately more successful. By simplifying your copy, you remove obstacles for potential customers, increasing conversions and improving the user experience.
Take a few minutes today to run your website copy through Hemingway Editor and trim down any complicated language. Your audience—and your bottom line—will thank you for it.