Website Messaging is Key to Connecting with Visitors
Why You Need a Carefully Crafted “Big Message” on Your Website
When someone visits your website homepage for the first time, you want it to be immediately obvious what you do and why you’re special. Of course, there are other things that are important to convey (who do you do it for? how do you do it?), but first and foremost, you want to say what you do in an attention-grabbing way.
That’s why one of the first tasks we tackle on every new website is to come up with the “Big Message” that will do just that. This message often goes at the very top of the home page, in the hero image or billboard.
The “Big Message” can be a powerful tool on your website. In addition to conveying what you do and what makes you special in a short and sweet way (key for today’s short attention spans), a big message will:
Be the one thing every visitor will read
If a visitor can take away just one thing about your company, what do you want that to be? If someone does click away from your site quickly, you want to make sure they’ve at least read that key message.
Drive visitors to learn more
If your message is compelling and provides visitors with that initial connection, it should push them to scroll and click further into your site to learn more about your company.
Show your company’s personality
Is your company serious or playful? Bold or quiet? Verbose or to the point? The “Big Message” can convey a lot of those personality traits in a small package.
Help direct the copy throughout your website
If your “Big Message” is written in a way that can be leveraged throughout your website, you’ll really drive home that messaging. Make the message a touchpoint to continually refer back to on other site pages, which will help align your messaging and brand on a larger scale.
When we were redesigning The LiRo Group’s website, one of our first tasks was coming up with the “Big Message” for their homepage hero image.
It needed to be catchy but speak to their industry and expertise. Their old site (which you can see here) had no front-and-center messaging, so it was hard to immediately understand what they did and what made them different.
Now, “We’re Built for This” is the first thing you see:
This “Big Message” plays on the fact that the impressive and beautiful imagery on the homepage showcases projects that LiRo has, in fact, built. A subhead clearly defines the nature of their business: “Award-winning Integrated Construction, Design, and Technology Solutions firm, consistently ranking among the nation’s top companies.” A visitor to their site can easily understand what services they deliver and see evidence of their expertise.
Does your website do the same? Do you need help creating and implementing a “Big Message” to really speak to your website visitors?
