The assumption is that if a website is beautiful (or visually interesting), it will attract visitors, and therefore be effective. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in real life. Perhaps it would if your visitors were looking for beauty, but that’s rarely the case. Your visitors are looking for a solution to their problem. Being beautiful is just the minimum requirement for them to spend time with you. If your website isn’t beautiful, your visitors are going to leave because they think you’re incompetent.
Yes, you must have an attractive, professional looking website. Visitors decide within three seconds whether they’re going to stay and explore your website or leave based on what it looks like. So, looks are important. But that beauty is only going to last for a maximum of three seconds. After that you have to show them how you can help them solve their problem. And this is where a lot of websites run into trouble.
One of the major reasons websites fail to get great results is their messaging is not clear and compelling. When your message isn’t easy to understand, you’re asking your visitors to guess at what you mean. This uncertainty causes them to be confused. That confusion leads to frustration and it doesn’t take much frustration for them to decide to look elsewhere. We believe visitors should never have to spend their time figuring out what you’re trying to say.
If this has happened to you don’t feel bad; we’ve been down this road ourselves. We know how hard it is to create a clear and compelling message. It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of knowing what we mean and assuming everyone else will know also. That’s why we use a unique communication strategy that utilizes 14 talking-point elements to create the clarity needed. These same 14 elements also help us make the message compelling; they make sure the message is relevant to the needs of your visitor and that it speaks to them on several different levels of need.
You may be wondering exactly how this works. Not surprisingly, it can be described in a three-part plan:
Define Goals Before we start, we have to have a thorough understanding of what you want your website to do. We have found almost all of our clients have unique goals for their website. (It’s fairly rare to have a client fit the classic “lead generator” mold.) We also must understand your visitors and what their goals are. And finally, we need to understand what you offer your visitors. We send you a list of questions to think about. Then we meet with you to discuss your goals, your visitor’s goals, and the value you bring to your visitors. Our goal is to have a detailed understanding of what needs to be communicated. These three questions are the input for the rest of the process.
Communication Framework Using the information from our discussion on the goals of the website, we create a communication framework exclusively for you. There are 14 elements to the framework and each element has a different function. The process of creating this framework ensures that the talking points address, in clear and compelling language, the message your visitors will respond to.
Website Messaging The communication framework can be used as input for a lot of different messaging needs you may have. But the first thing we do with it is create a Website Messaging Framework from what we learned when building the communication framework. We constantly work at making the message as clear and direct as possible and that it features the unique solution you provide for your visitor’s problems.
Imagine having a beautiful, attention-getting website that also communicates your message in a clear and compelling way. Think of how thrilled you’ll be when visitors start responding to your call to action. Visualize the possibilities as you gain influence with your visitors.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can have Drake Web Development build you a compelling website, please schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll be happy to discuss your goals and your visitor’s goals, as well as answer any questions you may have.
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