Cynthia Oswald

Surface Design, Fine Art + Branding for Creatives

unique position

Connection through communication on your website

Website Success Tips

Creating ways for people to connect on your website

Creating a way for people to connect with you throughout your website is simple and easy to accomplish. Should you provide an email or a phone number? How about a form that sends directly to your email? You also want to also make sure your information is protected. There are bots that scan websites for your information and sometimes putting a direct link to your phone number or email isn’t the safest option.

If your business is one in an industry where it is customary and common to have customers reach out by phone and you have someone dedicated to answering the phone, then absolutely include a phone number on your website. If your business doesn’t primarily have communication by phone with your customers, I would use a Contact Us button for the website visitor to connect with you via email, by filling out a form, or to schedule a call. The use of a button on your website helps protect your email or information since it isn’t directly given on your website, it is linked instead. My personal favorite option is offering a way for someone to schedule a call — to fill out a form and find a spot on your calendar right away. I think it’s really useful for any kind of service provider.

Where to include contact information on your website

Contact Page

When someone is going to your website, they are looking at your product or service and wanting to build a relationship or connection with you, so you want to make sure you’re allowing that to happen in the most seamless way possible for them. My suggestion would be to have an easily accessible page on your website dedicated to informing the web visitor of how they can inquire further about working together or purchasing your product. Over the years we have been conditioned to look in the top right-hand corner of the website to find that “Contact” page, so I would always have a link to the Contact page in that location.

Website Footer

Including a link or navigation menu in the footer of your site that links your visitor back to your service pages and your contact page is always a great idea. If someone took the time to scroll through the entire page you want to have an easy place for them to take the next step and connect.

It’s also good to include social media handles and/or an email opt-in. I would sprinkle the email marketing subscription form or lead magnet throughout your site and through a couple of pop-up forms if possible. Providing a useful lead magnet helps to offer real value to your users and a natural way to stay connected with users through their inboxes.

Your Why & The Offer You Are Making 

Why it’s important to share why you started your business & your unique position on your website

The about page is one of the most highly visited pages on your website (check your website analytics to find out for sure which pages get the most views on your site!). When someone comes to your website, they usually start on your homepage and then immediately navigate over to the about page to scope you out a bit further and get to know you a bit better. So, it is important to incorporate the human element on that page—that could be accomplished via your brand photographs and relatable, conversational language. I know when I go to a website and consider a product or service and I can’t find any human aspect to the site or information about the person behind the brand, I am less likely to buy. That human element is something we all unknowingly look for when we are perusing the web, so take the opportunity to be really clear with your audience and share your why. 

I like to think about Noom the weight loss app. It’s genius in helping people lose weight.  The first question they ask you is “Why do you want to lose weight?” You give your answer, but they dive deeper into your response to narrow in a little further on your true, genuine “why”. 

For example, let’s say your answer to why you want to lose weight is, “Because I want to feel good.” The follow up question you would receive from Noom would be, “Why do you want to feel good?” And you answer, “Because I want to be able to run around with my kids/dog/etc.” It just keeps getting closer and closer to your real why versus the broad answer you originally started with. 

I think that that’s something to keep in mind when you’re talking about your business as well. 

Really get down to the nitty gritty of why you’re offering what you’re offering. That real why is something you and your audience can truly connect with.

For me, I have two facets of my business:

  • One is in the service space where I’m offering branding and web design services for people. The why really comes down to the fact that I actually love helping to shed light on people’s strengths and that’s something that I’ve learned more and more about myself over time. It just makes me feel good, so doing branding and web design is kind of like a no brainer, because I can help people highlight their strengths really naturally on their websites and their brands. 
  • The other is home decor/fine art space. That’s more about me being able to express myself through my art, but my why behind doing it is to create a space of hope and beauty in the home of whoever collects the work. 

So take a moment or two to think about your why. Jot it down if you don’t have it already, and then build on it to include why you are uniquely positioned to offer your product or service.

On my website, I start out by matter of factly explaining about what I’m doing, then I dive deeper by sharing a little bit about my inspiration and even take you back to my childhood. You see a picture of me from when I was a kid and you learn a little bit more about who I am as a person and why am I inspired to continue doing what I’m doing. Next, I get into more about what qualifies me to help those people by sharing my education and my background towards the bottom of my site. Placement of your why and why you are uniquely positioned on your website may differ based on what feels right for you.

Just to recap …

1) Have that human element. Make sure—whether you’re a business of one or many—to show who you are as a business and be as honest about that as you possibly can. Your target audience is going to appreciate that. 

2) Then identify why you are uniquely positioned to offer that product or service.

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