Right after the thought, “I need a website,” business owners usually say, “I need a web designer!”

Actually, before even whispering “web design,” you need to answer these five questions in as much detail as possible. Once you’re clear on your strategy, you can provide better information to your web designer. And most likely you’ll be pleased with your new home on the web.

1. What is the purpose of your website?

Even when you’re well-known through face-to-face contacts, you still need a persuasive website. A significant percentage of buyers (80% is the most common estimate) will visit a professional’s website before deciding to buy. They may still be in decision mode. They may be looking for validation of their choice, which may have come from a recommendation.

What do you want visitors to do? Sign up for a free get-acquainted call? Download a lead magnet? Go right to your online store and buy? Make that decision early in the process.

2. What is the backstory of people who come to you?

Chances are they have three major questions. Can you solve my problem? Can you help me overcome the obstacles I’ve had to solving it myself? And will you be like the last person I hired?

Most people don’t ask the last question, which is really important. If they’ve had a really bad experience with their last lawyer, and you’re a lawyer, they’ll be bringing baggage to the relationship. If you address their baggage, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

Download my free report on Finding Your Client’s Backstory.

3. What message do you want them to take away?

Your message communicates an underlying story and demonstrates the benefit you offer.

For instance, many years ago I wrote a website for a party entertainer. She did tarot readings and made caricatures of the guests. We realized the party hosts wanted to do more than create a few feel-good moments: they wanted to build memories. That became the theme and message of the website.

4. How will you maintain your site?

Many new website owners budget the cost of web design, a year’s domain name and a year of web hosting.

But that’s only the beginning.

A website that’s been unchanged for many years will grow cobwebs.

It’s easy to tell when you’ve landed on a website where nobody’s home. Something’s broken. The whole place looks abandoned.

On a regular basis, you’ll need to replace broken links, fix newly discovered spelling errors, add updates to your schedule, and a whole lot more.

If you’re brand new to the online world, you’ll learn a lot as you go. Your website will look different to you – and to your audience – after five or six months.

When you’re embarking on a new business – or a new direction for your business – it’s rarely a good idea to drop a lot of money on design or even copywriting. Work with a copywriter to fine-tune your message. Save money by using copy coaching for DIY rather than hiring a cheap copywriter from Craigslist, who will most likely do your message more harm than good.

I have a course on copywriting with stories that you may use as a start, and I also offer copy coaching. Coaching isn’t cheap but it’s a fraction of what you’d pay a pro to write from scratch.

5. How will you promote your site?

A website without promotion is like a jumbo airliner flying around the world without any passengers: expensive and useless!

You can write articles as free content, create guest posts and submit your site to the search engines. Fill your website with content, update the content regularly, and write your copy with an eye to your keywords.

You can budget time for promotion or hire an assistant. Some people say it’s important to hire an assistant very early in the process, so you won’t get bogged down in details. Others say it’s better to wait till you have more systems in place.

Planning ahead can help you create a website that makes your job easier. This free website planner helps whether you need a makeover or a startup website.

Listening, I thought, “I hope she has completely separate websites. If I buy jewelry I don’t really care what else the jewelry maker does. But if I’m paying an agent to sell my house, she’d better be devoting all her time to the business!”

Realistically I know she’ll need time off to have a family and a life — but that’s not what needs to be part of her marketing story.

This story comes to mind when I get asked, “Do I need a separate website for my second business?”

The question might seem small, but actually it’s an important component of niche strategy. It’s not unusual for a business to have multiple niches.

In fact, it can be a buffer against hard times in your target market. During the pandemic, writers and designers who targeted the travel industry will be directing efforts to other niches that are alive and well, such as the legal or finance industries.

But now you’re deciding, “Do I need another website?” Here’s how to assess the situation.

(1) Are your target audiences synergistic or antagonistic?

Synergistic: You’re a yoga teacher who also teaches others how to become certified as yoga teachers.
You gain credibility from both audiences. Your yoga students respect your status as a teacher of other instructors. Your aspiring teachers appreciate your role as a teacher: they know you’ve been in the trenches and you understand how classes really work.

Antagonistic: You offer services completely distinct and your audiences don’t like or respect each other. For example:

A cruise ship would have trouble targeting both young families with children and people seeking a quiet, relaxing experience, with scholarly thought-provoking lectures as the evening’s entertainment. You get the sense of, “If they’re here, I don’t belong.”

Or you’ve been providing design services to mid-size companies with 1500 or more employees. You begin getting requests from small solopreneurs.  The smaller companies are easy to work with, require less documentation, and pay fast. But each segment might question your expertise: “If he works with that group, he won’t understand where I’m coming from.”

Most commonly, businesses fall somewhere in the middle. It’s a matter of designing your position and message to accommodate multiple targets.

(2) Will clients be wary if they see you’re promoting for the other audience?

My first site was associated with careers. I still maintain the site and sometimes get clients who seek career change advice.

I tend to emphasize the synergy. These days, most mid-life career changers need a side hustle; many will decide they’ve outgrown the corporate world and want to start a business. Nearly all my career consultations end with a discussion of how the client can transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship.

Most of my clients “get” the synergy. But I’ve learned to be careful about promoting the career site. When I posted a link to a career blog post, a prospective marketing client asked, “Are you still working in marketing? I saw you had something about careers…”

If you get this kind of reaction, you’ll need to manage your presence on sites like LinkedIn that limit everyone to just one profile. You’ll need separate mailing lists. During a presentation, you have to forego one audience or the other.

And you’ll almost certainly need a separate website.

(3) Can you find an umbrella story to cover both audiences?

Suppose I really wanted to maintain one website for the dual targets of business owners and career changers. I could find a theme that would be common to both and set up separate sections of the site. For instance, I might try “storytelling for business and career” or ‘writing your way to business and career success.”

Some consultants create websites under the giant umbrella concept of “success.”

One particularly imaginative consultant keeps busy with an unusual combination of corporate workshops on topics like diversity and team-building, a private practice of executive coaching, and an organizing business, delivered virtually.

She has one website. She carefully manages her content to reach the commonalities of all her audiences.

Begin with the Backstory 

When you’re considering a new audience for your website, review the backstory (also called “baggage story”) of each audience. Do they face completely different challenges? Are they dealing with obstacles that no one else could understand?

Learn more about backstories when you download this free guide to understanding your client’s backstory. 

If you’d like to work with me to blueprint your website or fine-tune your content, let’s set up a one-on-one consultation.

Back when I started online, I remember spending huge amounts of time developing my first website. I actually built a few websites in raw HTML. I learned the basics at a community college evening course.

Website development consisted of long periods of coding punctuated by long breaks to deal with the frustration. The dog got a lot of extra walks. I ate a lot of extra chocolate.

Many of my clients today don’t remember that era. But they do talk about hiring their first designer or developer.  If they’ve been in business for more than a few years, they may still be traumatized by the experience.

They chose a web designer who charged a ton of money. Then they struggled to write the copy or find a copywriter who could “get” what they’re all about.

Then a few years went by. Their business evolved.  Now their current website does a great job of promoting their former business.

“A new website? Oh no!” 

All too many business owners balk at this step. Many of us remember the terror of our first websites. In my own case, an inept web designer wanted to charge me a hefty chunk of change for “software” to “archive my ezines.”

Fortunately, before he began work,  I realized he was offering a solution that could be accomplished with a few lines of code…if it needed to be done at all.

The truth is, when you’ve been in business for a few years, you should be noticing some changes. You have a clearer idea of what you want to do. You have testimonials. Maybe you’re charging more and seeking higher-profile clients.

Fast forward to the present day: A website case study

Recently I was talking to “Cynthia,” who had begun her business as an organizer and then a life coach serving individual clients.

Now she works as a business consultant and executive coach. Her clients pay considerably more for her services than she had ever envisioned when she started.

Cynthia’s site sends the wrong message. Her About Page describes her as “fun” and “sassy.” Her current clients are looking for “expert” and “confident.”

She’s got references to Toastmasters and BNI networking groups. Her current clients are looking for testimonials of her success as a professional speaker and workshop leader.

She describes her services in terms of gaining personal fulfillment, accountability, and advancement.  Her clients want to talk about life balance and strategic career planning. They are way beyond accountability and they’re not beginners either.

Cynthia’s website makeover begins with rebranding – but not with a logo or color scheme. She needs new stories.

In her earlier days, Cynthia followed a role model archetype. She focused on how she was a very ordinary person – a B student in college who worked her way through, a business novice who built a thriving coaching practice, and a mom who home-schooled her kids while building her income to a very comfortable level.

Cynthia’s new clients are more interested in how Cynthia has helped other executives reach their goals. They want to work with a coach whose message is all about expertise.  Many, like Cynthia, are now empty-nesters who have already achieved a level of success. They want more.

Cynthia’s pivot calls for finding her own new stories and finding her new audience’s backstories. When she follows that approach, she’ll find her copy practically writes itself.

Cynthia can also skip a lot of the headaches of developing a WordPress site without the help of a designer. Many business owners find they can choose a premium site and put it together with a virtual assistant – and a surprising number find they can save even more time with a DIY.

What’s more important today? The website content.

It’s easier to get a good design – so you can spend more time writing the content. More and more people want to write their own – not hire a copywriter. I have a course called Write Your Website for just this reason.  Click here to learn more.

1. Your headline says, “Welcome.”

Hey, come on. Visitors who come to your website know they’re welcome. You created the site. You bought a domain. You’re paying for web hosting. Of course, they’re welcome! Let’s cut to the chase.

2. Your sign-up box is hidden.

at the bottom of your page and/or you don’t offer an irresistible freebie to motivate visitors to leave their contact information.

No sign-up box at all? Ouch. Read no further. You’re using the web like a billboard, not a means to interact, communicate and build relationships.

3. Your home page doesn’t communicate what you do and why you’re different.

Never mind the vague stuff like, “I help people reach the dreams their souls yearn to find.”

How about, “If you’re huffing and puffing to climb a flight of stairs, you may be climbing directly to a heart attack. I specialize in clients who think “exercise” is a 4-letter word and couldn’t tell you where to find the nearest gym. Ask me about my 90-Day Fitness With Finesse Program.”

4. You keep getting compliments on a beautiful website.

Congratulations! You’ve got a work of art, but you really need a direct response advertisement.

5. You’ve got something at the top of a page that isn’t a headline.

A nice photo? A logo? Are you making visitors scroll down to get to your message?

6. You haven’t created a path for visitors to take through your website.

Menus are great but you also need to suggest a logical sequence, from your home page to your “free stuff” and “contact” pages.

7. Your About Page reads like a history lesson: where you’ve been, what you did, and where you went to school.

Sure, those features are important. But your About Page should demonstrate why you are the best person to provide your service. Show, don’t tell.

8. Your testimonials say you’re “interesting” and “helpful.“

Get convincing, results-oriented testimonials signed by real people. If you’re a b2b, get URLs. Edit your testimonials to show how you got results.

9. You don’t include success stories.

Unlike testimonials, success stories showcase your process and need not refer to specific, identifiable people. Often this section will be the strongest client attraction magnet on your whole site.

10. You keep getting queries for the wrong service.

You’re targeting HR managers. But you keep getting calls from individuals who just got handed a pink slip or the performance review from hell.

Or you now offer marketing communication services and you still get calls about the time management service you offered five years ago.

When you overhaul your target market, mission or position, your copy deserves an overhaul, too. Most likely, you’e also due for a new story.

Copy for websites comes from a tradition of direct mail copy — those long mail pieces you like to toss. It’s called “direct response” because people either ask for more info immediately — or wander away forever. With TV and magazine ads, you can win customers through repetition: you’re in their face. with a website, you get one shot.

I offer website reviews – fast and affordable.

Free guide to planning your website makeover: http://mycopy.info/planweb

Another marketer’s free resource on website planning – https://cathygoodwin.com/wcw