Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, it's Website time!

A key component to any online business is a clear and effective website. When you look into the most successful sites, there are three questions that every great landing page can answer:

• What value do your offer?
• What is your business about?
• Can visitors tell where to go next?

In this section, we strive to answer these questions with a simple mantra:

“Be relevant, be clear, be compelling.”

Your website should serve as a place where potential customers can learn more about you and/or the business, discover the information and services you offer, any additional insights through blog posts or podcasts, and more! You’ll want to be sure to have a clear connection throughout the pages and a message that connects with potential future customers.

Be Relevant

The first thing that a customer should see when they visit your page is your value proposition. What is it that you are offering to your target market? Visitors and potential customers have come to your site because they are looking for a solution. They should know if they’ve come to the right place to find an answer. One could argue that the value proposition should be even larger and bolder than the name of your business. If you go to Apple’s website, they don’t bother introducing themselves, they get right to offering a solution—maybe the one you’re looking for. Think of a time where you’ve been driving around in an unfamiliar area and you’re craving something like pizza or Thai food. You don’t need to know the entire history or even the name of the place in that situation. You just need to know one thing—”That sign says pizza. I bet they have pizza.” Or “Thai food! Let’s try it.” Not many things hold quite the value of pizza or Thai food, so you may need a full sentence for your value proposition. But ultimately, you want the outside world to know what they’re getting if they come inside.

Be Clear

Confusion is the enemy of curiosity. Confusion leads to frustrated visitors and poor conversions. Going back to the pizza analogy—imagine walking up to the store front to look at the menu and you have to sift through a huge menu only to find pizza on the last page... or worse, there’s a separate menu for the pizza options entirely. There’s no need to be subtle with your potential customers. As they scroll through your site, you want to give them something to accept or reject right off the bat.

Branding: Apply the same colors, logos, styles etc. across your site to give a consistent feel throughout visitors’ entire journeys. We want them to know they’re on your website at a glance and providing a consistent experience can both boost confidence in your offerings while also supporting the overall layout of your site.

Layout: What messaging or services do you want visitors to see right away? Giving them an obvious path (ie. watching a video or clicking a call to action) makes finding their solution much more immediate. You want to put your best foot forward right from the start and make it as easy as possible for visitors to find a solution to their problem.

Be Compelling

Demonstrating clarity and consistency can help you create a compelling call to action, though clarity doesn’t always equal compelling results. I can clearly communicate an exhausting process, and it doesn’t make it any more attractive. So always remember: make it easy.