Hello, You Look Like an Axe Murderer

Posted by Sarah Brown on Saturday, February 28.

So you have this website. Your co-worker’s 16-year-old made it for you as an assignment for high school, and sure, it’s not the most visually appealing website, but it’s functional, right? It sure was creative of him to title the page with flashing, jumping words, even if the words themselves were “Serenity Landscaping, Inc.”. However, it puzzles you that you finally got this website up and running 5 months ago, and you have still not heard from even a single potential client. You’re starting to think the whole “web presence” idea is highly overrated…

Hmm. Let’s just hang on before we jump to any conclusions here! A website is so much more than a place to put your contact information. I’d like to invite you learn with me why some websites bring in the bucks while others stagnate in cyberspace… Buckle up!

As a graphic designer, I must live with the constant agony of being faced with near-grotesque websites and posters and advertisements as I go through each day. I know, I know, you’re not shedding any tears for me right now. But I’m actually not complaining; I say this because it scares me that these people expect business to increase because of these ads/websites/etc. Good luck with that, folks! It doesn’t matter how nice a person you are or how good your product is; if your marketing image looks like a four-year-old put it together on Windows Paint, you aren’t going to get much business. To your target market, you are not who you say you are; you’re who you show you are.

People live by stereotypes. We judge by appearance constantly. Maybe you’ve noticed: employers don’t want to hire the guy who looks like an axe-murderer. He may not BE an an axe-murderer. He might be a very kind and loving person. He might have amazing people-skills. He might be brilliant, the top of his class. But it would take more than one minute to find that out.

In the website world, you don’t have more than one minute. Studies show that you have mere seconds before the viewer decides what they think of you. In those few seconds, what do you want to say?

Your website should, in a way, function as a photograph of you. Do you place a high value on relationships? Your website should show that. Do you truly believe that honesty is the best policy? It should be in your website. Are you excellent at keeping costs down and delivery time short? Get it in the design. There’s so much about you that makes your business uniquely desirable! Believe me, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

If your website LOOKS a certain way, those who view it will assume your business IS that way. If your website has tacky graphics, fuzzy photos, and broken links all over the place, people won’t expect much of you. If it looks like it’s straight out of the early 90s, people will wonder where you’ve been all these years.

One of my greatest passions as a designer is to say visually what is deepest in my client’s heart for their business. That excites me! This is why Insight Studios never creates the same website twice. This is why we are so dedicated to communication with our clients. We want to see you succeed like you dream of succeeding! And we know that an effective website is such a powerful tool by which that can be accomplished. You deserve to be represented honestly on the web.

If you have an “axe-murderer” website, how much longer are you going to put up with it? It’s not exactly putting your best foot forward. Because you’re NOT an axe-murderer…

...I hope.

1 comment.

Jason Brown

Ohhhhh, those 90s websites. It’s so true, Sarah - I actually judge so many people and businesses by the first impression of their website… kinda sad, actually. Sad but true.

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