There are only two important things to keep in your mind when designing your website. The first is to have a powerful impact statement. The second is to direct your customers to the areas of your website you want them to visit and interact with. The focus of this article is to talk about the first of these important points.

First, allow me to define what an impact statement is. An impact statement is a combination of words and images that convey the reason they should be at your website within three to six seconds. Its function is to convince the visitor that they are in the right place at the right time, and that they could lose something if they go away. The impact statement can be a single work, an image, an animation, or a combination of all of these elements – but need not necessarily be any single one. I am approached by many people who are convince that the only way to being attention to their website is to have some sort of fancy Flash animation on their homepage, when a simple impact statement would suit them better. Some folks are just impossible to convince of anything once they have made their decision!

Instead of trying to create something that LOOKS fancy, focus on creating something that actually SAYS something purposeful – something that does not require too much action or thought to understand. I once saw a website with a picture of a homeless child and the words “My mother died today”. What an impact!

The most powerful impact statements are always intended to a) validate something that your visitors already know or believe, b) bring up something unusual, curious, or unique, or c) present a problem or question that must be solved or answered, or the resolution of the same. The key is to convey a message that will spark something in the mind of your visitors that will appeal to their perspective. Here are some good and bad examples of ideas that your impact statement can be based on:

Bad Example: We Need Your Money

Good Example: You Can Make a Difference with Your Financial Support

 

Bad Example: We Save Souls and Disciple People

Good Example: Find Salvation and An Intimate Relationship With God and Others in Your Community

 

Bad Example: View Our Large Selection of Products

Good Example: We’ve Got What You Are Looking For

Hopefully, these examples begin to paint a picture of what your impact statements need to convey.  With the right ideas being expressed in a way that can easily be understood within 3-6 seconds, visitors will stay to read every bit of content your publish.

You DID fill your website with CONTENT, didn’t you!? Oh, brother – I guess we’ll talk about that in the next issue!