Kristen 0:00
Now picture this. You just spent a bunch of money and time on a website redesign. The design is perfect, the fonts and the colors are on brand, and honestly, it looks amazing. But three months later, your sales haven’t budged, or they might be worse than before. If that sounds painfully familiar, you’re definitely not alone. I hear this story all the time when I first start working with new clients.
Kristen 0:29
Today, we are going to bust one of the biggest myths in online business, that gorgeous websites automatically equal more sales. I’m going to show you why a beautiful website without the right strategy behind it is nothing more than an expensive vanity project. And more importantly, what you should focus on instead to actually turn those website visitors into paying customers.
Kristen 0:56
Are you a digital product or course creator selling on platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy, or your own website? Ready to grow your business, but not into the kind of constant hustle that leads straight to burnout? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome to The Savvy Seller. I’m Kristen Doyle, and I’m here to give you no fluff tools and strategies that move the needle for your business without burning you out in the process—things like SEO, no stress marketing, email list building, automations, and so much more. Let’s get started, y’all.
Kristen 1:36
So what does this actually look like in practice? Here’s what clients tell me when they first reach out to me. They say things like, I feel like it just looks DIY. They feel embarrassed by what their site looks like right now. They tell me that it looks outdated and they think a modern design or an update is going to solve their problems. Or sometimes they say it just doesn’t look good, because they really can’t articulate what’s wrong with their site right now. They just know something is, and they assume it’s probably the visuals. It’s probably how it looks.
Kristen 2:12
The underlying assumption between all of these is, if my website looks more professional, it’s going to convert better. And I totally get why this is so tempting, the logic seems to make perfect sense. See, the truth is, professional appearance does build credibility. We see beautiful websites and we assume that they are successful businesses because of how professional and polished their website looks. And lots of design agencies and especially DIY platforms really reinforce that message, because they are constantly telling you that your site is going to be beautiful when you work with them, as if that’s the end goal.
Kristen 2:50
But the end goal of your website really is to get sales for you, whether that looks like booking clients or selling products, getting those visitors to convert into buyers is your end goal. And let’s be real, it is really just fun to play with design things. For most of us, it is a whole lot easier to focus on how we want our site to look than it is to do the strategic planning to make sure that it works. Maybe we don’t even understand all of that strategy that well. See, a beautiful website without a clear plan, is like having a gorgeous store, but people can’t find the cash register. It looks amazing, but it’s ineffective.
Kristen 3:34
A lot of times what I see from digital product creators is a beautifully designed website with a catchy hero section that sounds really clever, but maybe it doesn’t clearly explain who they help or how, and then they follow it immediately by sections full of products and categories and blog posts without a whole lot of copy that actually draws those visitors in.
Kristen 3:58
Alright, so if pretty doesn’t equal profit, then what does? Let’s talk about what actually helps to convert those website visitors into buyers. See, what people don’t understand about websites is that the design is supposed to support your strategy on the site, not be the strategy. See, when somebody visits your website, they’re not making buying decisions based on whether your fonts are pretty or not. They’re buying based on your words. You could literally have the most gorgeous website in the world, but if people land there and they don’t understand what you’re offering or why they should care, they’re not going to buy. So bottom line, your strategy on the website is what drives the sales, not how pretty everything looks.
Kristen 4:46
The biggest mistake I see, and I see it all over the place, is sites that just don’t have any structure to actually draw people in and connect with them. This looks like hero sections that sound really clever, but they leave visitors confused about what you actually do, or they’re so generic that it could really apply to anyone. And when that strategy is missing, what actually happens is that people land on your website and they are just confused. They either can’t figure out if you’re the right fit for them, or they’re not sure what they’re supposed to do next, and so they leave, and they probably head to one of your competitors. And then you’re sitting there thinking it’s because your website doesn’t look good enough, when really it’s a messaging and a strategy problem, not a design problem.
Kristen 5:32
Even if the design does need to be updated, the messaging and the strategy behind it are what is going to drive those sales. I recently talked to somebody who had their whole site redesigned, and they loved the way it looked, but they ended up with a mile long homepage packed with anything and everything, but with no clear strategy, and they actually felt like it was worse than before, because it wasn’t focused and strategic.
Kristen 6:00
Okay, so we’ve established that pretty does not drive profit. But I’m not saying design doesn’t matter. It absolutely does. Here’s what you should focus on, though, instead. So when a client comes to me and they want a prettier website, the first thing that I ask them is, I’ll say, Yeah, let’s make your site gorgeous, absolutely. But first, what do you need your site to do for you? So we figure out the strategy first, and then we design something to support that strategy. That way you’re focusing on the stuff that actually moves the needle, not just the stuff that looks nice.
Kristen 6:38
So what are those things that actually get people to buy? So glad you asked. You need copy that actually speaks to your people. Copy is the words on the page. Talk directly to the right people for your offers, their real needs and their pain points, not just generic marketing fluff that came out of chat GPT. Your messaging needs to be so clear that when someone lands on your page, they immediately know that they are in the right place. Clear, not clever. Tell people exactly who you serve and how you help them.
Kristen 7:16
And for the love of all the things, keep your call to action buttons focused and targeted and sprinkle them in the right places throughout your page. Don’t just rely on people clicking on an image or plain text links. Make those buttons obvious and clear and put them in the right places. So many websites are missing some pretty basic stuff, like actually explaining exactly what your business does and who it’s for before you start showing off all your products, using words that connect with people, instead of just listing out the features.
Kristen 7:54
If, when you look at your site, it’s a whole list of what and not a lot of why or how or connection building, you need to rethink the words that you’re using. And then give people a clear path that tells them what to do, instead of just leaving them with a ton of options where they have to guess and try to figure it out.
Kristen 8:13
And for goodness sakes, something, anything that makes you different from every other person who does what you do. So if your copy could fit anyone in your niche, then you need to make it more specific to you. Don’t be afraid to take a stance on what you believe, why you believe it, what makes you different. Don’t be afraid that that’s going to make you turn other people away, because while yeah, it might turn some people away, those people wouldn’t be your people anyway.
Kristen 8:44
Now the specifics of how to structure all that strategically for your specific business, that’s the kind of detailed work that I do when I work one on one with a client. But the general principle is, your words matter more than your fonts, your colors, your graphics, your logo, any of those things.
Kristen 9:05
So how do you figure out if your website falls into that vanity project category and needs some updates? Here are three quick things to check. First, audit your homepage, look specifically at your hero section, that’s the very top of the page, and ask yourself, is it clear who this is for and how I help, or am I being too clever with my words? See, when somebody lands on your page, they need to get it right away. They shouldn’t have to dig around, scroll to the bottom, click through multiple pages to figure out what you do and what you offer them.
Kristen 9:42
One really big red flag, and I’ve already mentioned this a couple of times, if your hero section could literally apply to any digital product creator in your space, then you’re being way too generic. So get clear about exactly who you serve or what problem you solve. Like if your teacher website says, Save time lesson planning and love teaching again, yeah, it tells them how you help. But literally, every teacher seller could use that exact same line no matter what subjects they create resources for, no matter what grade levels they are in their target audience, anyone could use that. So get specific and make your site unique.
Kristen 10:22
Second, make sure that you are focusing on the copy and the layout before the design. So focus on what you’re going to say before you worry about how you want it to look. Like I said, you could have the most basic looking website in the world, but if your words connect with people and tell them what to do next, it’s going to work. So write out what you want to say first, then worry about making it look pretty.
Kristen 10:46
And then third, let’s think strategy. When people get to your website, what is the one most important specific action you want those visitors to take? Do people know immediately that that’s what you want them to do? And how do they know that? If they don’t know, then what needs to change to make this clearer and more obvious?
Kristen 11:08
See, what I notice is that a lot of websites are trying to do everything at once because they don’t want to miss an opportunity, but what they’re doing then is leaving people with tons of options, instead of guiding them toward the one best thing that you offer. So pick that one main thing you want people to do, and make sure that path is crystal clear on your website. Sure you might have links to other things as well, like your full storefront or a range of services you offer. But if you have that one main thing that is the biggest, best thing that you do, then make the path to that really clear and obvious for people.
Kristen 11:47
Now, if you’re listening to this and you’re realizing your website might be more vanity project than a strategic tool for your business, then don’t panic. This is all fixable. In fact, it doesn’t even usually require a full redesign of your site. I just personally noticed some of these problems popping up on my own website as it’s evolved over time. It’s really easy as our site changes, to keep adding more and more things and tweaking things and not look at the big picture. So when I noticed this on my own homepage, I went in and I redid some of the copy, not the entire page, just the sections that needed it, and redesigned just those parts of the page to make sure that things flow really well and to make sure that it’s really obvious what I want to guide people towards.
Kristen 12:35
See I had added more services, and my site had just grown to the point that the homepage especially was just offering people way too many things, too many options. So like I said, don’t panic. This doesn’t mean you need a whole redesign. It is actually pretty easily fixable with the right strategy and some smaller tweaks.
Kristen 12:54
Now, if you’re ready to make your website work strategically and look pretty, but you don’t want to tackle it all by yourself, and you know you need some expert support and guidance, then I would love to help you figure out a plan. You can book a free Website Game Plan call with me, where we’ll create a strategy for how your site can actually convert those visitors into customers, and we’ll talk about how I can help you make that happen. You can book your call at kristendoyle.co/gameplan, or check the link in the show notes. I’ll talk to you soon.
