The Hidden Risks Of A Visually Driven Website
Do you really need that video background loop in above the fold on your website?
Have you ever wondered why your homepage has a low page speed score? The huge image or video within the above-the-fold area, or hero section, is likely the culprit. Multiply this by the number of pages with a similar design and factor in that the website is put together with plugins, and you start to get the picture. That beautiful image or video probably doesn’t convey much about the website’s purpose and significantly impacts page loading speed. This big and bold visual vibe might cause more harm than good. It’s “fool’s gold” if I may.
Oftentime, agencies push a complete package that includes EVERYTHING, such as photography, videography, branding, social media management, CPC ads campaign, media buying, the list goes on, and of course the website. You probably don’t need 80% of what these types of packages provide if what you are looking for is a sustainable way to generate leads for your business and establish your brand authority in your business niche.
Website Is A Tool, Not Eye Candy: The O.A.C. Model
A flashy visual may catch the eye, but it’s what your business can do with it that counts. A website should do its job, whether it’s providing information, selling products, or offering services. So, while a trendy design might pull people in, what actually matters for your business is how easy it is to use and maintain and whether it actually helps the business or not.
A better solution is nothing new, but a different way of thinking in terms of building websites, more specifically, lead generation websites.
A lead generation website does these 3 things:
- Offering: Lead magnet, information or content offering to incentivize users in exchange for their contact info (usually email)
- Action: Call-To-Action (CTA), a series of user guiding flow to encourage users to take action with the offering.
- Capture: A mechanism to capture contact information that users provide in exchange for information or content offering.
I call this the O.A.C. model: Offering. Action. Capture. A lead generation website needs to satisfy these 3 components. They work together, it will not function correctly one without the others.
You May Wonder: “What Should I Do and Where Do We Go From Here?”
Let’s examine if the functionality of your website aligns with your business objectives. Does your website provide useful information for your users beyond just sales copy? And are they the target audience? If yes, then does your information or content offering encourage your users to take action? If yes, does your website have lead capture mechanisms in place that are easy to navigate and provide more than one way to get in touch with your business?
If you have all these three components in place, that’s a good starting point. If you are missing any of these three components, you will have to take a step back and figure out how to close that gap and make sure all these three components are satisfied. They are not optional, they are the foundation of your lead generation website.
Shifting The Mindset
So let’s shift the perspective on the mindset for having a website, embrace the functional approach, focus on the intent and the alignment with your business operation, work with the agencies that focus on the business function aspect of the website rather than the flashy visuals that are presented to you, and more importantly, lead generation websites are not a one-time project. Lead generation is a living thing that requires continuous adjustments and work, constantly iterating to match your business objectives.