← DictionaryBody Copy
also called body text
The main written content of a page or piece.
The main text.
What It Is
You will find Body Copy in the Content layer, alongside the rest of Craft. The working definition is simple: the main written content of a page or piece.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Once it is defined that clearly, arguments about it usually stop.
How It's Used
Body Copy comes up in editorial planning, briefs and the day-to-day work of publishing. It normally appears alongside Copy, Readability and Typography. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Getting Body Copy wrong is expensive in a quiet way. When it is unclear, output goes up and effect goes sideways. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a word everyone in the room has agreed to use the same way. The main text.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Body Copy carries the narrow meaning: the main written content of a page or piece.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Body Copy is the main text.
The Bottom Line
If you only keep one thing about Body Copy: the main text. Everything after that is detail.