5 Things Every Website Needs
Every small business, startup, and freelancer needs a website. Your website is the face of your brand. It’s your online home base. It’s the place you get to completely control what people know about your business and how your brand makes them feel. It’s where you get to tell people how your products or services will make their life better.
The mistake so many brands make with their website is focusing first or only on the design, but they skip or delay the strategy that goes into the copywriting and layout of a successful and effective website.
Let’s take a look at the 5 Things Every Website Needs:
1. A Good Header
Someone should be able to land on your website and within seconds it should show and tell them:
What you do
How you’ll make their life better
How to buy
This should all happen “above the fold” (a term that comes from the top fold front page of a newspaper), before someone scrolls.
The human eye reviews website headers in a Z-pattern. Within seconds, our eyes skim a website page from the top left corner across to the top right corner, then diagonally across the middle of the page, and lastly across the bottom. Your website should be easy to interpret. So use this Z-pattern to make your website visitors’ experience on your site easy. You truly only have seconds for the human brain to process your website, so you have to capture someone’s attention before they click away.
A good website header includes:
1. Your logo
Usually in the top left corner
2. Bold, obvious call-to-action (CTA) button(s)
Usually in the top right corner and again below the headline text
3. Clear, compelling headline copy that tells people what you do and how your product or service will make their life better
Usually left aligned or centered
4. Visuals that show how you make a customer’s life better
A photo or video in the background that shows 1) what you do, 2) a happy customer using/enjoying your product(s) or services, or (3) a combination of 1-2
Generally avoid a photo slideshow in the header of your website. It’s outdated and can be distracting to people.
The importance of the header section on your website’s home page cannot be overstated. It’s your chance to make a good first impression, so don’t waste it.
Here are some examples from websites we’ve built:
2. Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
The direct CTA should be obvious and use actionable (not passive) words. It should be located in the top right corner of the website and throughout the site consistently. Use the exact same words and color for your primary CTA button everywhere it’s used so people’s brains don’t need to use extra calories to figure out what to do next.
For example:
Buy Now
Shop Now
Book Consultation
Let’s Talk
3. A Problem (That You Solve)
If you don’t tell people the problem you’re solving and what is at stake if they don’t buy from you, then there is no open story loop (AKA: a story without a problem is super boring and no one cares). You must directly talk about the problem you solve for your customers on your website otherwise there is no reason to take action and spend money on your product or service.
People buy things because they have a problem that needs to be solved. Your lawn is overgrown, so you pay someone to mow your lawn. You have a headache, so you buy medicine. You need inspiration and direction, so you buy a self-help book.
Clearly tell people the problem you solve. There are three types of problems, each of which is important to identify in order to help you best empathize with your customer and show you have the solution to their problem.
3 Types of Problems:
External - I have a headache
Internal - Which makes me feel frustrated and in pain.
Philosophical - You shouldn’t have to suffer through an excruciating headache.
*See how these 3 problems fit into a full story script for your brand in another example here.
When we build websites, we most often create a section for this right after the header section because it gives the opportunity to invite people into a story right away, and it shows potential customers you understand the problem they have. Then as they continue to scroll down the page, the following sections show and tell how the business solves this problem.
4. A Plan
Your customer is the hero, and you’re the guide to help them achieve success (ie: their desired outcome). To guide them well, you need a plan. Then, you must tell them the plan — ideally in three clear steps.
For example:
Schedule a Meeting
Meet & Make a Plan
Grow Your Business
Many people say or feel their business is too complex to simplify their process down into three steps. But the goal here is not to overwhelm a potential customer with all the intricate details of your process and how you will help solve their problem. Rather, you want to give them a high-level 3-step process because it shows you have a plan, which in turn gives your customers peace of mind and confidence in your solution.
5. A Clear Picture of Success
A good website shows and tells customers, again and again, all the ways you help them achieve success and make their life better when they buy your product or service.
This is accomplished in a variety of ways, including but not limited to:
Photos and videos throughout the website showing images of happy customers using, experiencing or enjoying your products or services
Section(s) that literally outline the benefits customers get when they work with you/buy your product
Showcasing customer testimonials – bonus if you can also include their photo
Do these five things on your website so it starts working for you, not against you.
Feeling inspired to learn more about website design and strategy? Dig into some of our other blogs about improving your website! 👇🏼
More soon,
Mahla Hoffbeck
Consultant + Partner
P.S.
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