Seriously, think about it.

Is it selling clothes, grooming accessories or tea?

Or is it selling productivity or CRM software?

In truth, none of those.

I like how David Dylan Thomas defines it in his book “Design for cognitive bias”:

“…we are in the business of helping people make decisions.”

That’s it, simple.

No persuading, no selling, no designing or converting.

You’re helping others make informed decisions. And with informed, I mean telling them everything they need to know to see if there’s a fit and to figure out if what you do can help them.

When you see it like that it’s easier to sell.

Yes, even if you’re not a designer.

But there’s a caveat.

People are mostly terrible at making decisions at the moment.

And you only have a couple of seconds to help them.

The best way to make the most of that time? Always keep in mind what the normal mental state for most users is like, when browsing or using any web platform.

Again from the book:

“So, think about how your users make decisions. And not the way a rational user makes decisions, which it should be clear by now is how no user ever makes decisions. But rather how a tired, busy user making most of their decisions below the level of conscious thought makes decisions.”

Imagine your website visitors just like that.

Picture him/her tired after an entire day at work, or super busy on a hectic day at the office.

Make it impossible for them to miss important information. Say it twice on a page, make it skimmable, and use words that disrupt their ordinary zombie-like state.

It’s called choice architecture and it’s applicable to your messaging too. Not only to design.

I always keep this in mind in my wireframes. And clients appreciate it, because they don’t have to do the hard thinking.

Need help? Get in touch.