July 2024
The 5 most important things for a website to do
61% of people say they will leave your site within 5 seconds if they don’t immediately find what they’re looking for.
61% of people say they will leave your website within 5 seconds if they don’t immediately find what they’re looking for.
That is how important the information on your website (and more specifically, your homepage) is.
Because the harsh reality is there’s no shortage of providers offering the same service or product as you.
Your potential customers have a lot of options.
The best way to get them to choose (or at least consider) you is to make it easy – and, obviously, very quick – to find what they’re searching for.
Yes, part of this is having your SEO (search engine optimization) terms dialed in.
But the other part is making sure you’ve considered the 5 most important things for a website to do and give your visitors the information they’re searching for.
Write your website copy assuming your reader knows nothing about you.
Who are you?
Every copywriter I know will tell you to be careful you aren’t going on (and on) about yourself on your website.
The last thing you want to do is start every sentence like:
- We do this
- We do that
- We’re so good at what we do
Overusing “we/us” (or “me/I” if you’re solo) is a quick way to alienate your reader and might think, “This isn’t about me at all.”
But you still have to let people know who you are.
You have an entire About Page to go deep on this, but be sure to include a brief bio or quick intro section on your homepage, as well.
And write it assuming your reader knows nothing about you.
What do you do?
The answer to what you do is usually a little more complex than “Services/Products X, Y, Z.”
And that’s because, again, there is no shortage of providers who likely offer the exact same thing as you.
They say there are no original ideas, right?
But there certainly are original ways of presenting yourself or an experience you provide.
So one of the 5 most important things for a website to do is set you apart from your competition.
You can do this with your unique value proposition.
That is – basically, you need to put a stake in the ground and explain your unique point of view.
Bonus: your positioning will also inform your messaging strategy and help you stay clear and consistent with your branding.
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and make your content feel like it was tailor-made for them.
Who do you serve?
Now, don’t get me wrong, personas are important to an extent, but this isn’t about getting an on-the-page version of your audience right.
It’s about really knowing who you serve.
That often goes beyond demographics (age, occupation, geography, etc.) and starts to get into the psychographics of where your audience hangs out, what they enjoy doing, how they talk, and so on.
If you’ve ever seen this meme, you’ll understand why I say you need to go waaaay past demographics to connect with your audience.
If you can metaphorically put yourself in your readers’ shoes and make your content feel like it was tailor-made for them, you have a much higher chance of actually connecting with them than if you can simply spout off their age or where they live.
(As the meme above clearly demonstrates!)
You can strengthen the benefits on your website by including testimonials.
What are the benefits?
Sure, this is a list of the 5 most important things for a website to do, but this is maybe the most important because people are always trying to answer ONE question:
“What’s in it for me?”
Your website must clearly show people the value of working with you.
They want to know why they should care about what you do and how it will benefit them – and it needs to be compelling enough to get them to part with their money.
The best way to do this is to start with your brand values.
To use an example, Starbucks values a sense of belonging for everyone – which translates pretty clearly to the benefit that everyone is welcome in their stores.
They might not make the best cup of coffee in the world (depending on who you ask), but they have certainly sold a segment of the population on the benefit of inclusivity.
Your benefits should clearly explain how you help your audience solve a problem or achieve their goals (or hopes and dreams).
Pro Tip: You can strengthen the benefits on your website by including testimonials or reviews that talk about the transformation you made possible for past clients.
If someone has decided to work with you or is curious enough to find out more, you need to remove all friction by clearly stating what happens next.
What happens next?
All the information in the world won’t help move someone into your orbit if you forget to do this one very important thing:
Give next steps.
If someone has decided to work with you or is curious enough to find out more, you need to remove all friction by clearly stating what happens next.
In other words, you need a Call To Action (CTA). Clear CTAs work well. Think:
- Buy Now
- Book Your Call
- Talk To An Agent
Ideally, you’ll end your page with a CTA “button,” but you also need to make sure you have CTAs throughout the copy and a sticky one on the navigation bar.
You’re leaving money on the table if you don’t tell website visitors what to do next.
The goal is to get your visitors to stick around, figure out if you can do the job they need you to do, and then take the action you want them to take.
5 seconds to do the 5 most important things
If you go by the stat at the start of this post, you’ve got 5 seconds to do the 5 most important things for your website.
Tell your reader:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Who you serve
- Why they should work with you
- What happens next
In those 5 seconds.
The goal is to get your visitors to stick around, figure out if you can do the job they need you to do, and then take the action you want them to take.
It sounds pretty simple, but I appreciate how hard it can be when you’re sitting in front of your computer staring at a blinking cursor.
Get help aligning your brand and make all of this work a whole lot easier.