The 10 Things Experts Want You to Know About Your Website

Preston was tired of investing in marketing that was self-centered, confusing, and mediocre. After reading a book that turns traditional marketing on its head, he implemented its simple framework, called StoryBrand, that transformed his business by positioning his client as the hero and him as a guide. In fact, he fell so much in love with the system that he got certified in the framework, and launched a small agency with his wife, Funnel Works Studio.

David is the owner and founder of Design Source Media. As leader of a web design and development agency, he is focused on its mission to simplify technology, eliminate barriers, and guide businesses to their future success. He has helped hundreds of businesses with their operations, sales, technology, and marketing areas.

Read on to learn Preston’s and David’s insights into common website design and messaging mistakes, and their answers to frequently asked questions.

1. What's the most common messaging mistake you see tech providers make when marketing themselves and their business?

Preston: 

I’ve thought about this quite a bit; the problem with messaging is not a tech provider issue or an industry issue - it’s a marketing issue. Marketing is a powerful tool for everyone, but there's a missing component with traditional marketing which usually focuses strategy and tactics. There's a human aspect, needing to think of how we absorb, capture information, remember and have information resonate for us, and traditional marketing sometimes keeps those two things distinct. The challenge is finding a way to convey a message that is memorable. With StoryBrand, we see the client as the hero, and the provider as the guide. You need to tell a story to make an impact. Our clients never wake up thinking about finding a hero. They are thinking about how to survive the day and keep their business running. In the StoryBrand world, when we leverage storytelling to craft more effective messages that resonate with people, we focus on the problem a client is trying to solve instead of what product or service a company is trying to sell. 

2. What are some of the common mistakes with structural web design?

David:

• Messaging can actually create a huge challenge for people creating a website. You have to consider who your audience is. You may be working with people who are not used to the tech and do not know the lingo. All they know is that their computer doesn't work, and they’re getting an error message. Remember that your audience may not have the knowledge you have, and your website needs to reflect that. 
• Another common mistake is not including calls-to-action on your website, which could be directing visitors to a contact button or inviting them to schedule an appointment. That being said, you don’t want to overdo it— two to three is best.
• Lastly, make sure your website is consistent and visually pleasing. We have all seen those sites that have text everywhere and that are cluttered with images. You don’t have to cram everything up top. It’s okay to have a longer webpage to avoid overcrowding.

3. From a content and messaging perspective, what should always be included on a website?

Preston:

Generally speaking, there are two things we find missing with websites:

• One is what StoryBrand calls the ‘grunt test.’ Donald Miller, author of the StoryBrand model, explains this as the amount of time it takes for a caveman to grunt out three questions: What do you do? How does it make my life better? How do I buy it? If it takes five to seven seconds to grunt those questions, that’s the time it should take for me to find the answers on your website. If it takes me longer, I will move on.
• The second missing component is the lack of emphasis on the three stages of human relationships: curiosity, enlightenment, and commitment. If a website fails to build curiosity, fails to help enlighten me, and fails to make a commitment to take action, then the copy and design are failing.

4. From a development perspective, what should a website always include?

David:

• This should go without saying, but your website has to be mobile-friendly. If you don’t have a mobile site, you are doing yourself a huge disservice and missing out on potential clients. 
• You also need to make sure your site performs well. You want to look at good servers, good data centers, and good locations. This is really what's running on the back end of the website and ultimately affects your user experience. No one wants to wait for a page to load, and Google also looks at that, which can impact how you appear in searches. 
• Additionally, you want some kind of contact form so that potential clients are able to get in touch with you quickly and easily.
• Lastly, your website should include high-quality images, and ideally, videos that are relevant to your audience. 

Pro Tip: Don’t overload your site with images, and stay away from the image carousels with scrolling pictures. 

5. What kind of images and videos resonate with business audiences?

David:

Studies have shown that humans like pictures of people - it resonates a lot better. The first step though, is choosing or creating content that provides value to your audience. From there, it will be easier to identify the images your audience will connect with. For example, if you’re an IT provider for restaurants, your website can include a person working on a point of sale system that isn’t working as it should, and play to the frustration someone in the restaurant industry may face when it comes to IT. You need to make sure you consider your audience when designing anything for your website.

Preston:

As they say, ‘a picture speaks 1000 words.’ One of the key elements in the StoryBrand framework is the problem. You want to take your prospective clients through the journey they would experience if they decide to work with you. If they see a frustrated person with her hand on her forehead frowning, they can identify that as frustration and relate the image to their current feelings. As they move through the framework to a smiling human whose problems have been addressed and solved, they'll want that same outcome. You don't have to say anything. You can just serve up those images, and it's going to communicate.

6. How is the StoryBrand approach different from traditional marketing?

Preston:

It emphasizes the power of story. Oftentimes, you don't remember everyday information, such as what you had for lunch three days ago, but when you package it into an experience you’re going to remember things much more easily. What if you could market yourself and communicate your message in a framework that actually has people remember it? It's about realizing that marketing, in its simplest form, is an exercise in memorization. All we're looking for is a mechanism to help people remember experiences. We always tell stories from experiences, and the world of movies and books of fiction are nothing but stories, but they resonate, which means we're going to remember them. So if there's something different about the StoryBrand approach, it is just tapping into the mechanism for memorization of storytelling. Storytelling has been around for 2000 years; why not use it?

7. Do you have a specific client example of how using the StoryBrand method positively impacted their business?

Preston:

I worked with an MSP whose target market was design agencies. In this creative field, they were experts in supporting Mac-based platforms and systems because that was largely the technology their clients used. Their website was filled with all the different technologies they worked with, all the different things they could do, their skill sets, their experience, their client list, all of that good information. But that message wasn't resonating with the prospective client. If we look at it from the client’s side running a small, entrepreneurial, creative agency, who do you think the IT expert is? Probably one of the designers. The client doesn't want the designer allocating 20 hours a week to managing the agency’s IT. The manager wants the designer to be a designer, and the designer wants to be a designer. Without having a seasoned professional in charge of your IT, you get security breaches, broken networks, and software incompatibilities, all equaling enormous amounts of expense and frustration. That’s the story we told, as opposed to all the little stuff that they do and all the certifications they have. They went from being wildly frustrated and having marketing that wasn't resonating to closing more deals. They garnered far more calls that led to far more proposals, which meant a lot more new business. All we did was just tell the story based on the client's perspective and how they were a guide to help that client solve the designer’s IT and personnel issues.

8. If someone is looking to update their website or make changes, what should they look for in a web developer, and what are some of the questions they should be asking?

David:

Firstly, you want to find the right vendor that can help you with your desired platform. Whether you want to keep your current platform, or you’ve outgrown it, and are ready to explore other options, you need someone who is comfortable using the platform you are interested in. Some great questions to ask potential vendors are:

• Have you worked on similar projects?
• Are you familiar with my industry?
• Are you familiar with my type of business?
• Of course, years of experience absolutely helps, but I would say if you find someone that has worked in your field or in your industry and knows the ins and outs, the process will be a lot easier.
• Another topic you want to address early on is the timeline. I often experience clients who don’t initially understand the time commitment it takes to build or update a website. The timeline will depend on the type of site you’re looking to build and what you want included, so make sure you and any vendor both agree to a timeline before committing to a project.
• You will also need to discuss pricing. The cost will fluctuate based on the agency and your needs. It’s important to have a conversation on budgets and pricing before hiring any vendor.
• Lastly, you’ll want to talk with your provider about what will happen after the site is launched. You want to work with a provider who is willing and able to make sure the site is well-maintained, and who can make future updates.

9. From a content perspective, do you set it and forget it, or do you make changes and updates periodically?

Preston:

No, do not set it and forget it! One reason to refresh content is from an SEO standpoint. We always like to encourage clients to track their analytics. How much traffic is going to your website, and how long are they staying? Also, talk to your clients. Have them go to the website and ask if your message resonates. Things are always changing and evolving. There may even come a time where your client persona has changed, which means there may be a slightly different story to tell. There are several events that would precipitate updating things. However, you want to build some consistency, don’t make constant changes that your clients can’t keep up with. 

David:

Think about how many changes we went through in 2020. Your clients may all of a sudden say they don't need PCs in the office anymore and need you to figure out how they can work from home. So now your language and content need to shift to reflect that change. Your content needs to keep up with the current experience of your ideal client.

Preston:

There's ultimately a balance. I’ve trusted the idea for years that marketing is an exercise in memorization. If I change my story or the content too frequently, it's going to make it incredibly challenging to memorize. So be conscious of the frequency and the degree to which you change things. One strategy could be to assess your content and messaging each quarter to make sure it’s still relevant.

10. Any last tips and tricks for a great website you want to leave with our readers?

Preston:

For me, it's really easy— please make the investment in your website presence, both copy story and technology design. Even if you're a very small business, stay away from doing it yourself. Find a professional who understands what they are doing because that investment is going to pay itself ten times over easily. A mentor shared with me that the most dangerous five words in a business are “I can do it myself.” It simply doesn't work. So you save a little bit of money, but you do not save time, and the investment rarely pays itself back. My parting words are to find experts to help you with copy, and find experts to help you out with building your site and design.

David:

I would say start with the fundamentals. Define who you are, where you want to go, where you want to take your business, build your customer persona, and build your messaging around that. That messaging might be your mission statement and your core values because all of that will tie to your website and the rest of your branding across the board, not just on your website. You need that clarity, and with it, you’ll know exactly what to do. 

Ensuring your website aligns with your branding and business goals doesn’t have to be something you dread doing. With the right tools, the right support, and the right professional help, you can ensure your website offers a great user experience, one that is visually pleasing, technically sound, while simultaneously communicating your value to ideal clients. But first thing’s first: do you know what definitive value you provide to your target audience, and can you deliver that message quickly in a way they easily understand? 

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