Is your website difficult to understand?
Read on to find out to why you should make your website clearer and and how to do it.
Given the choice between:
A. Spending an hour on the sofa watching Netflix
B. Spending an hour on the same sofa trying to solve difficult maths problems
What would you choose?
I’m pretty sure you’d go for Netflix.
Why is that?
It’s because we humans have evolved to be inherently lazy creatures. We’re wired to take the path of least resistance.
Our brains want us to save energy when we can. If it’s not essential for our survival we tend to take the easy option.
So, what does this have to do with your website?
It means you need to MAKE IT EASY for your visitors!
When you’re evaluating the content of your website you should always be thinking:
How can I make this clearer and easier to understand?
If your visitors have to ‘work’ to understand your website they’ll most likely hit the back button and continue their search elsewhere.
Don’t confuse your visitors, keep your website simple and easy to understand.
Can you solve your visitor’s problem?
Visitors to your website are on a quest to solve a perceived problem they have.
When they land on your website they’re immediately trying to gauge whether your product or service can solve (or at least help solve) their problem.
You need to make it as easy as possible for them to do this by very clearly saying:
- What you offer
- How it will help them
- How they can get it
Remember:
- The simpler and more predictable the communication the easier it is for the brain to digest.
- The customer will tune you out if you start confusing them.
Does your website pass The Grunt Test?
To test your own website for clarity you can The Grunt Test*
Imagine a visitor to your website named Ugg. He is the stereotypical palaeolithic caveman type, club in hand and wearing animal skins.
If Ugg looked at your website for just a few seconds could he grunt the answers to the following three questions?
- What do you offer?
- How will it make my life better?
- What do I need to do to buy it?
I know it all this sounds pretty obvious but you’d be surprised how many websites fail The Grunt Test meaning the visitor has to spend time and effort searching for the answers to the three questions above.
Make sure the answers to these questions are quick and easy and to find on your website.
So, does your website pass The Grunt Test?
Further reading
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web and Mobile Usability - Steve Krug
Almost 20 years ago when I’d just started making websites, I bought a book entitled Don’t Make Me Think! by Steve Krug.
The ideas in the book are still very relevant today the underlying premise is designing your website to satisfy our lazy human brain.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen - Donald Miller
The Grunt Test was coined in the book Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller (which I highly recommend reading if you're a business owner).
