A simple question that will make all your web design decisions easy

A business owner reached out to me for a consultation to review their revamped website. When I checked it out before our call, I saw a homepage with 5 headshots of his , "me me me" copy with lots of superlatives and little meaning, and a color scheme of a rainbow. Unique value proposition? No such thing. I was barely able to understand what he does. I was sure I'm going to speak to someone who thinks a lot about himself but who has given little thought about how his offer benefits people (which is not uncommon). Imagine my surprise, when... He turned out to be a true professional who: - had decades of hands-on experience - knew exactly what his unique value proposition was (and it was awesome) - hated all the self-centered stuff as much as I did - "Why did you call me?", I joked. "You seem to know everything already." - "I just needed someone to tell me I'm right", he replied. "Because my web designer was telling me to do it this way." 😱 #noWay Dear business owners, I know it's hard to push back against advice of a web designer. And that you question your own design ideas. But next time you aren't on board with their suggestion (or agonizing over your own ideas), ask them/yourself this question: How will a change we have in mind make my message stronger? A satisfactory answer to it (or its absence) will make it clear to you what will work best. A strong message clearly communicates: - what you do - for whom - how it helps - why choose you and not your competitors - and why your prospects should trust you/your company and your offers So, if an element helps you communicate those points better, keep it. If it doesn't, kill it with fire 🔥 I'll demonstrate. (1) - Shall I add a professional headshot of myself on my homepage? - How will it make your message stronger? - When they see that there's a real person behind this business, who also looks likable and professional my prospects will trust me more. - Do it 👍✔️ (2) - Shall I add 3 photos of myself to my homepage? - How will it make your message stronger? - Eh... I don't know. But that's what other people do on their homepages. - As my grandma used to say, "And if other people start jumping out of the windows, will you jump, too?" 🙄❌ (3) - I'm thinking about having a drop-down menu in the navigation under About label with 3 items: About Us, Our Mission, Press Releases. Good idea? - How will it make your message stronger? - People now have more info about our company and more pages to check out. More info => stronger message, no? - Well, that's not true. The right amount of info your prospects need and can get with as little effort as possible => stronger message. So, no. ❌ But also: - Can you imagine your prospects (who have a life) taking the time to go through all 3 pages just to learn about you? - And if they do, can you be sure they'll find what they want to know about your company quickly, before they get overwhelmed? It's 3 bloody pages! - So... what will make my message stronger? - A single [About Us page](=.fpDra8NyAP72bO4ZqaxKzlth4Em9K2TanxgYeP1NPos) that summarizes everything your prospects need to know about your company to like and trust you will make your message stronger (not everything you want to tell them). ✔️ Something for you to think about today What changes to your website design did you recently make? How did they make your message stronger? 🤔 This would be all from me for the week. Warm greetings from Germany, Gill [Website review](=.Zpgonh3V_TAZcxc9_W7rwRMRQq3qkYcrkRCBudpllmU) | [Copywriting](=.SQYoZG9EI-02GABKy50FcC5H0PsqI4wA_wkmaBNyUUM) | [📙 My book](=.Oej3oKNNkG9CfEmQ0xl-JpnejvW18s5pPcNgAcjS6Dw) | [🖥️ My course](=.FxoepiE6mYgTZXoZhJpCUQ-dDufFFXm6IN34q8Jgdbo) P.S. This email may contain typos, and I'm fine with them because cloning humans is, unfortunately, still impossible. Spending more time proofreading my emails would mean I'll have to share fewer tips with you. And sharing more and better tips is more important to me than sharing tips that are grammatically perfect. I hope that's fine with you, too. [gillandrews.com](=.WYLlfd_FyqEbMx2bplYnBHTeftGU16z4huaSduq_n2A) [Share to Facebook](=.jgQ2m45WNidh7O_34oHC4Zi9Ea3XGDxOEzhub49JA_8) [Share to Facebook](=.p9c1cIw7JHy6CvPro-BjsNvjz7nUynPt1HtIGZ7m4vs) [Share to Twitter](=.KIAJYjbz_MamnIwvI4z-IjdH90r9a69O_pA0rnEuqG4) [Share to Twitter](=.l5Nk8BBp_8wQa9Il6VtABdZgLOLbgqaGMW0GfwYyD3E) [Forward email](=.RfzAx2Bl_C-nNJbmZ9nrEGHjYiZDA7dTvmHDJgk4zTw) [Forward email](=.EjVhGgdNaApxbGxJtWzu_fJGS-ul3eltrU2R1eZi9Fs) Gill Andrews You received this email because you signed up for my updates. Not interested anymore? Click the link below to unsubscribe. [Unsubscribe](=.nN3AfLCAcuwGt-AnaeT4E-1M_ngU6cd643Z0oVVqnPY)