Why no-one is reading your website (and how Plain English Language can help)

If you’ve ever written a sentence like “We provide tailored, client-centric solutions for complex challenges”…
please know I say this with love:

Nobody’s reading that.

Especially not the people you’re trying to reach.

If you work in health, mental health, disability, education or community - you know that your work is deeply human. You help people. You build safety. You hold space.

But the moment you sit down to write about it?
You freeze. Overthink. Hide behind “professional” language.

And suddenly your website is not converting.

Why does this happen?

You might be really worried about your services, your pricing, your competitors stealing all the business, but have you thought about your messaging?

I tend to find that a lot of brands and organisations:

• Care deeply, so they want the words to be perfect.

• They want to be taken seriously, so try to “sound professional”.

• They’re scared of saying the wrong thing, so water it down.

• They try to please everyone and end up connecting with… no one.

Trust me, I’ve done it too in the past.
There have been so many drafts of my own website that I’ve deleted because I was scared it sounded “too casual” or “not expert enough.”

But here’s what I’ve learned (and now help my clients with every day):

Connection doesn’t come from polished phrases. It comes from clarity.

And that’s where Plain English comes in.

Wait... what’s Plain English?

And before you say it, Plain English isn’t dumbing it down. It’s opening it up.

It’s writing in a way that’s clear, direct and easy to understand, especially for people who are already overwhelmed, anxious or neurodivergent (which, let’s be honest, is most of us at some point).

It means:

• Shorter sentences.

• Simple structure.

• Everyday words.

• Saying one thing well instead of five things vaguely.

It doesn’t mean losing nuance.
It means prioritising understanding over ego.

Because the smartest-sounding message means nothing if the person reading it has to re-read it five times to get the point.

So why does this matter?

Because your clients and readers are real people, not funding applications or experts in your field.

And if your copy is too formal, too abstract or too dense, here’s what they’ll do:
They’ll close the tab. Keep scrolling. Click away.

Not because you’re not qualified.
Not because you don’t care.
But because your words didn’t reach them.

I see this all the time - purpose-led, heart-in-it, overthinking types like us - we tend to make our copy harder than it needs to be.

We want to sound smart, impressive, polished.
But the truth is?

Saying what you mean clearly is the most expert move of all.

So what do you do now?

• Say exactly how you would explain what you do out loud in every day conversations.

• Cut any sentence in half and ask: does it still say what I mean?

• Ask a friend/colleague to read it and tell you where they zone out.

• Replace “empower” with what you help people do.

And most importantly, write like you trust the person reading it.

Because when you stop trying to prove yourself in every sentence, you create space to connect instead.

Need help?

This is the kind of work I love.

I help purpose-led brands - especially in health, mental health, disability and education write in Plain English.

If you’re tired of overthinking your copy, let’s chat.