|
Not the same Nicolas, obviously, but otherwise, quite close
A CTA "Learn more about Nicolas" would be too long and clumsy, which would have ruin the slick impression.
In turn, a CTA "More about Nicolas":
- Isn’t less clear (you immediately grasp what it does and cannot possibly misunderstand it, also due to its position and context)
- Isn’t less compelling
- Won’t require extra effort to click it.
BUT it'll save the vibe of authority the page layout aims to project.
I'd say, break this rule we must.
Tip #2: Don’t write about your team members in the first person on your About page
(or even about yourself if you’re too awesome)
“Hi, I’m Kate Johnson, an award-winning marketing coach and a bestselling author. I help you create amazing content that helps your business fly.”
Wow, Kate, that sounds a bit braggy to my taste.
“Kate Johnson is an award-winning marketing coach and a bestselling author. She helps create amazing content that helps your business fly.”
Uuu, this Kate sounds cool!
Fun fact: The moment you talk about yourself in 3d person, whatever you say becomes more trustworthy.
Totally ridiculous, because it's the same text, but this is how human brain works.
Yet, it doesn’t mean everyone always should write about themselves in 3d person on their website.
If you're a freelancer or a one-person brand who has nothing out-of-this-world to report about yourself yet, do write your About page in 1st person. It helps your website visitors to connect with you.
BUT writing in 1st person may negatively affect trust if:
- You’re a one-person brand who has some things to say about themselves that, if said in person to someone's face, would sound like bragging (e.g. bestselling, award-winning, amazing)
- You’re a company describing your team members.
When it comes to companies, apart from appearing less trustworthy, letting their members speak in 1st person has another disadvantage:
The inconsistency in voice.
This whole time, your prospects have been reading the copy on your website that was written in 1st person plural (“we”). For them, it had one voice.
Now, when you let your team members describe themselves, well, themselves:
- Hi, I’m Tim.
- Hi, I’m Laura.
…the voices keep constantly changing => cognitive dissonance => friction => negative emotions that may lead to potential decrease in trust (especially for companies that want to appear authoritative).
Plus, when everyone talks for themselves, your team loses the team-ness and becomes a collection of single individuals.
Is this the impression you want to make?
Just asking. Maybe you do. But I thought I should tell you this in case you don’t.
Tip #3: 4 reasons using a one-page website today will bite you in your butt tomorrow
You must have seen it: It looks like a usual website but its navigation labels take you to different sections on the same page.
You may be tempted to get one of those because you want it simple. Plus, you don't have much info to share. So, the fewer the pages, the less the trouble, right?
Nope. There will be SO much more trouble, you have no idea.
Here are 4 reasons you don't want a one-page website:
1️) You're confusing your visitors
You know it's a one-pager. For your visitors, it looks like a "normal" website (because navigation). So, they expect it to behave like one.
They click on the "Services" label and start reading, but the page doesn't end with the Services info. It continues with About section or whatever you put next.
Which may be relevant info per se but causes confusion here, as it contradicts your visitors' expectations.
2) You're putting constraints on your copy
Ok, you don't have much to say now. But what if you want to add a new service or start blogging? Are you ready to go through major website changes in a year?
If you're not, you may get stuck with copy that doesn't do you justice for quite some time.
3️) No insights on user behavior for you
Google Analytics doesn't record which navigation labels get clicked out of the box, as they don't lead to separate pages.
Sure, you could configure separate events in your Google Tag Manager for those stats to show up, but if you feel even slightly intimidated by Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager will make you cry.
But even if you're tech savvy, there is no way to get any data for one-page websites comparable to time on page and bounce rate on multi-paged websites.
So, you'll have no idea what parts of your page your users are most interested in, how much time they spend reading each part, or how many sections of that page per session your prospects visit.
Which means, unless you created a perfect website from scratch (haha), you won't know what works and what doesn't, and won't be able to improve it.
4) You won't rank in search
It's about 1 000 000 times more difficult to rank with one page than with many, especially in the saturated niche.
Unless you're the first person to invent something really cool, like a teleportation device.
But even then the Google love won't last long. Soon other websites will jump on that keyword wagon and flood the internet with their takes on "10 things you didn't know you could do with a teleportation device" and "He programmed his teleportation device while sleepwalking. You won't believe what happened next".
They can do it because they have multiple-page websites. And you won't be able to keep up.
"But my web designer said one-page websites are 'in'. Plus, all the cool kids are doing it".
#takingdeepbreath
#countingtillten
First, I'd strongly recommend running away from a web designer who thinks something being "in" is a valid argument in favor of a decision.
When it comes to advice on web copy / design, valid arguments include:
✔️ Your prospects expect that (i.e. it's a prototypical feature that, if missing, will cause mistrust or confusion)
✔️ It helps your prospects do at least one of those things:
- understand your message better
- find relevant info easier
- complete their task easier
...or delights them *without* getting in the way of the 3 points from above.
✔️ If you don't have that thing , it make your website appear
- old
- cluttered
- untrustworthy
...or puts it in any other negative light.
Not a valid argument in favor of a website decision:
❌ It's pretty
❌ It's currently "in"
#rantover
Where were we?
Oh right, cool kids using one-page websites.
Even if you see other one-page websites in your niche, the reasons their owners decided to do that may not apply to you.
In particular:
- They may be so cool and famous, they really don't care.
- They use their website as a business card, get business through word of mouth / referrals and couldn't care less about appealing to strangers or getting found in search.
- They have no idea what they are doing either.
If the reasons #1 and #2 apply to you, too, go get that one-page website. Otherwise, you're going to regret going with a one-page website pretty soon.
'nuf said.
|
