Make your website stand out - it's not hard

I was 13. I knew every house on the 7-mile route. Almost every brick too. This was no fantastic feat of memory. After all, hadn’t I made the trip 2,150 times? Twice a day, 5 days a week, 40 weeks a year for 5 years. On each of those days, you’d find me on the school bus, nose snubbed against the window, wondering and fantasising about every home we passed. I’d speculate dreamily about the folk who dwelled behind those doors. Perhaps the exterior of each home somehow reflected their characters and lives. Who knew?

Extravagantly unique

It was a 150 yard stretch of the Harborough Road that intrigued me. Every house was the same. Same windows, same front door, same pokey chimney pots. Every house – bar one. Number 59 was extravagantly unique. Its front was rusty gold sandstone, unsullied by the grey rendering that dampened the demeanour of its neighbours. The cheery crimson front door shamelessly clashed with the burgundy fuchsias, dangling from hanging baskets either side, like cheap earrings. This house was my favourite. I dreamed of stepping inside and meeting those jolly, welcoming souls who surely lived, ate and slept within its walls.

Why shouldn't your website be like number 59?

Enough. Back to earth. What does all this have to do with websites? In fact, plenty. Websites are too often like those homes on the Harborough Road. So many look the same. For your website to appeal, you need it to stand out, to reflect the personality of your business. And there’s no better place to start than with those menu tabs that run along the top of every web page. Do yours resemble almost every other website you know - like this?

 What do you think of those menu headings? Do they make your website visitor feel, ‘Hmm … now there’s a website I’d like to explore.’?

With a little imagination, your menu tabs, which, of course, will be your page titles too, can serve as that bright crimson front door at number 59. Why shouldn’t your tabs wear broad, smiles and greet your visitors with ‘Welcome! Come on in!’?

Let’s look at a few instances.

These could be your menu tabs

Services - How about How we help or What we do? Surely these are more appealing alternatives to dull, everyday ‘Services’.

About – Yawn! Almost every website uses this. But just a moment. Doesn't everyone love stories? Your About page can be your story - either your company’s or your own? It should inform your visitor about your background, your history, how you work, your ethos, your team – yes, you’ve got it – your Story! Isn’t a visitor far more likely to click on The Acme Story or, if the business is you, Suzy Billings, The Suzy Billings Story? If that’s all too showy, you could always use Our Story or My Story. Whatever you decide, these ideas are so much more enticing than the deadbeat ‘About’.

Blog – how’s that for another dull, down-at-heel term? Hardly much of a turn-on. Think about using Our News. Or why not build yourself up with a bit of authority? How about this – The Knowledge Hub or The Knowledge Centre?

Contact Us – For an alternative take, you could try Get in Touch or Drop Us a Line.

So, you could finish up with a Menu that looks like this

It’s true -you might not always have space for all these unusual, stand-out menu tabs. But one or two can make all the difference. Just a touch of striking originality can be enough to tempt your visitors to jump in and explore your site. Not all websites have to be the same. It just takes a little imagination.

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I'm Stephen Church from Copywriter Pro. I provide all kinds of marketing communications for small businesses. I get more and better clients for businesses by writing words which are clear, concise and compelling.

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