Your website is not about you.
It’s about your website visitor.
It’s about their need, their problem, their wants.
It’s about meeting someone in their need.
It’s about answering their questions.
It’s about finishing the thought in their mind.
When you view a website through that lens, how you structure the website, outline each webpage, write your copy, and create navigation changes, becomes easier.
When creating a website, business owners and individuals often want to focus on telling everything about themselves, trying desperately to impress, that they forget that visitors don’t care to read a biography, they care about finding answers to their questions and solutions to their problems.
Yes, you have an About page.
Yes, you tell about what you do or have done.
Yes, you want pictures of your people, place, products, and processes.
But let’s remember why someone is visiting your website.
There is a strategy in how you organize and present your information.
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: STEAK OR STORY
I recently visited a steak restaurant’s website. It was a local restaurant in a small town we were visiting. I wanted to read their menu and see pictures of their food. But instead, I was greeted with a long story about the family who ran the restaurant. It took me a minute to find their menu. There were no pictures of their food. Just pictures of the family. They made their website about them instead of answering the questions every visitor has when visiting a restaurant’s website – menu, pictures, hours of operation, location, and specials.
We believe the home page is the most important page of your website. Not a place for your whole story.
This is where you make connection.
This is where you establish trust.
This is where you make your visitor feel understood.
This is where you get them hooked.
This is where you get them to act.
So, how do you do this on a home page?
Let us outline it for you.
We have a FREE home page outline that you can download to audit your current website or build your new website.
And if you need help, reach out to us!
But while you are still here, let us share our
3 DON'TS FOR EVERY WEBSITE
1. Don’t assume
We say this all the time as a team. Don’t assume someone knows how it works or where to find something. Don’t assume they went to another page on the website. Don’t assume they will make the connection. Spell it out, repeat it, create multiple routes to your most important information.
2. Don’t make them work for it
When we don’t find the answer or solution within seconds, we go back to Google or YouTube and search again. We are impatient. We want information easily. So, make your hours of operation and contact information easy to find. If you have an announcement or news – put it at the top of the home page or as a pop up window. Make your services/products are easy to navigate on your desktop and mobile.
3. Don’t confuse
Your potential customer doesn’t have to know everything. They don’t have to know everything you do. Sometimes we forget that communication is an art. The right information to the right person at the right time. More information isn’t necessarily better. More options isn’t always helpful. Keep your categories, services, and options simple. Have a clear Call To Action (CTA). Tell them exactly what you want them to do (contact you, fill out a form, follow along, subscribe, etc).
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