Why Should your message be clear on your website?
Whether it is a blog post, a landing page, product page or general informational page, each web page should have its own goal, its own target and most importantly it should convey a clear message.
Donald Millar said “The fact is pretty websites don’t sell things, words sell things”, and whilst this is totally accurate, if the words aren’t displayed well, your message wont be seen.
Similarly, if your design is amazing but you don’t have the right content, your message will not be conveyed.
This will create higher bounce rates, your website not being found on google, and therefore your website will not be helping your business grow.
The right message will grab the visitors attention, keep them engaged, find the answer to their problems and guide them to become your customer.
How Do You Ensure Your Message Is Clear On Your Website?
Research, planning, good content writing and good design are all important elements that come together to create any webpage that gets results.
Your message should be clear and understandable to the visitor as soon as they land on your page, further scrolling should address your visitors questions and ultimately guide them to become a customer.
View my 7 tips below for ensuring your message is clear
Top Tip - when picking a web designer make sure they understand the importance of conveying your message.
1. Research your target audience
Best to start with the end in mind, who will be reading your website, what motivates them, what are their problems and their pain points?
This will help with the overall design and relevant content for your webpage.
Remember to include keyword research. Being visible in search engines, and attracting traffic to your site is very important so the right people can see your message.
2. Does your headline offer a benefit?
You have done your research and you know the problems your site visitors face. Therefore it is up to you to make sure it is immediately clear you are the solution to this problem. The experts state you have 2-4 seconds to grab a users attention, this is why your headline is so important.
A good headline focuses on one thing – usually the most important benefit. It should identify the one thing that will solve their problem. Ensure it is clear, not too long, enticing and makes them want to scroll to learn more.
3. use good copy
Cliched, but true, content is king.
Your content should be written for your target audience. It should be clear, and attention grabbing. Use shorter sentences that are easy to read and understand.
Include important information on what you do, benefits to your visitor, features, trust indicators (accreditations, testimonials) and what to do next.
Your web designer may be able to help you with content, or alternatively seek out the help of a content writer. Good content will not only help convey your message, it will also help your website rank in the search engines, therefore attracting more visitors to your site.
It is also good to use a good mixture of text, images icons or videos. But make sure they are all relevant and work together.
4. Is Your Website More You Or Me?
Ensure your website is customer focused and not focused on your company. Speak to the site visitor not about yourself, you are their guide, on their journey of solving their problem.
Want to see how customer focused your website is?
5. Ensure your design is for your target audience
Ensure you are using appropriate fonts, colours and design for your target audience.
No point in designing a website for a nursery that is corporate looking, or using cartoon type font for a lawyers site.
6. good layout
If your content is not laid out well then your message will not be clear.
Ensure your content is clear, orderly, and uncluttered.
Visitors want to find information fast, if you have blocks of text that looks too cluttered you will lose interest of the visitor fast.
Make use of
- Sub Headings
- 2-3 sentence paragraphs
- Short sentences
- White space
- Bullet points
7. Call to action
Always ensure you have a clear call to action on what the visitor should do next, How does the site visitor get this benefit.
This will be in lines with the goals of the page, and could be sign up to mailing list, make an enquiry, view services/products etc.
conclusion
Conveying your message will reduce bounce rates, help with your SEO, help to convert your site visitors to customers. It will ultimately grow your business.
When creating a website put aside your personal preferences. Yes your website should always reflect your brand, but the website should be designed for the end user.
