Seven questions to ask before you hire an agency
A short list of questions that show how an agency works, what it costs and whether it fits your team.
Read article: Seven questions to ask before you hire an agency
Most startup homepages are built for the founder, not the visitor. The founder knows what the product does, so the page skips the explanation. The visitor does not know, so they leave.
We reviewed forty homepages from early-stage companies last year. We showed each one to five people who had never seen it before. We asked them one question after five seconds: what does this company do?
Only nine of the forty got a clear answer.
What the visitors saw
The most common problem was a headline full of abstract words. “Empowering teams to move faster” could describe almost any software. People could not picture a customer using it.
The second problem was too many choices. Some pages had six buttons above the fold. Visitors did not know which one to press, so they pressed none.
The third problem was missing proof. A page that claims to help teams move faster needs one fact: a number, a name or a short quote from a real customer.
What works
The homepages that passed shared three traits.
- A plain headline that names the customer and the result
- One primary button, with a clear label such as “Book a demo”
- A line of proof close to the headline, such as a client name or a figure
If a stranger cannot repeat your offer after five seconds, the page is not finished.
That rule is harsh, but it helps. Write the headline as if a friend will read it on their phone while waiting for coffee.
A quick test you can run today
Ask three people outside your company to look at your homepage for five seconds. Then ask them to tell you, in their own words, what you sell and who it is for. Write down their answers word for word.
If the answers do not match what you meant, change the headline first. Do not change the colors. Colors rarely fix a message problem.
Once the headline works, check the button. Make sure the next step is obvious and that it asks for one thing. A demo request, a free audit or a quote form are all fine. A page that asks for all three is not.
Most of this takes an afternoon. It is one of the cheapest changes a startup can make, and it often lifts sign-ups more than a new design would.
