Whenever I discover a new business, the first thing I do is open their website.
It doesn't matter if I found them through Instagram, TikTok, Google, or someone recommended them to me. I'm going to end up on their website eventually because that's where I decide whether I trust them.
I think a lot of business owners underestimate just how much their website is doing. It's not just a place to list your services or give people somewhere to contact you. It's your storefront, your first impression, your sales person, your portfolio, your personality and your customer experience all rolled into one.
The funny thing is, people don't usually notice when a website is good. They just keep browsing. They find what they're looking for, they understand what you do, and they move on without thinking twice about it. But when a website is confusing, outdated or difficult to use, people notice immediately. They might not be able to explain exactly why they left, but they leave anyway.
When I'm looking at a website, I'm usually asking myself a few questions. Do I immediately understand what this business does? Does it feel like someone cared when they built it? Does it reflect the quality of the business behind it? Could I picture myself becoming a customer?
Most of those questions have nothing to do with whether the website looks trendy. A beautiful website that doesn't explain what you do isn't doing its job. I'd take a simple website with great messaging over an expensive one that's impossible to understand every single time.
I also pay a lot of attention to consistency. Does the photography match the brand? Does the writing sound like the same business from page to page? Does the whole experience feel intentional? Those are the kinds of things people notice without realizing they're noticing them.
One of my favourite parts of working with clients is seeing the difference a few thoughtful changes can make. Sometimes it's reorganizing a homepage so it tells a clearer story. Sometimes it's replacing stock photography with real photos. Sometimes it's rewriting a headline that made sense to the business owner but not to anyone else.
None of those changes are particularly exciting on their own, but together they completely change how a business feels.
Your website doesn't have to win design awards. It just has to make it easy for someone to trust you.
And honestly, I think that's a much better goal anyway.
