(This blog post was originally shared with my email list in July 2020.)

Two things I want share with you today, which I discovered when recording website reviews this week:

1) Lockdown killed my voice

Remember those early days of lockdown, when we realised we could 'jump on Zoom' for something other than client calls? The prospect of socialising without having to put shoes on or queue for a toilet was £11.99 a month well spent, imo.

But for some reason, the Zoom drinks thing fizzled out after a few weeks. That initial urgency-slash-excitement to see each other's faces and reassure ourselves that Everything Will Be Fine through the medium of the virtual quiz, faded into the (don't say it) new normal (sorry).

Maybe we just ran out of chat.

Makes sense, when every day is a carbon copy of the one before it. And the 100 before that.

In any case, I think this explains one unexpected consequence of lockdown: my disappearing voice.

It's been so long since I've used my vocal chords for any length of time, that when I actually need to talk for a couple of hours straight (e.g. to record three Copy Health Check video walk-throughs in one afternoon), my voice is toast by the end of it. Alas, we must all suffer for our art.

2) If your website doesn’t pass the '5-second test', you’re not alone

What is the 5-second test? It's how we gauge the 'attention-grabbiness' of a home page.

Within 5 seconds of clicking on your website, a visitor should know what the website is about and whether it's relevant to them. If not, they'll click away.

Obviously, if you want your ideal clients to hang around long enough to sign up for your services, you'll need to pass this 5 second test.

When I do website reviews, the video walk-through starts with the 5-second test.

(The next part of the review is a big juicy copy critique report, as shown in the image above.)

Although I generally hate getting on camera, I like doing these videos because it's much easier for people to visualise how small tweaks to the copy can improve the visitor's experience when they can see it all on screen.

So within 5 seconds of that first glance at your website, I want to be able to answer these questions:

Who are you?
What do you do?
What's in it for me?
Do you seem credible?
What can I do next?

Sometimes I look at a site and my initial impression feels positive, but when the 5 seconds are up, I'm struggling to answer those questions. Sometimes it looks like all the elements are there — a nice clear hero section, sensible layout, succinct copy, bold buttons and friendly photos — but the relevance to the ideal client is vague.

Snappy slogans and cool design elements are great, but sometimes they mask the true value of what's on offer.

Your cheatsheet for attention-grabbiness

Want to pass the test? Think about what you want your visitor to absorb in those first 5 seconds.

That means:

✔︎ Copy that's clear over clever so people know what you do and who you work with

✔︎ A photo of yourself or your team or a happy client

✔︎ A nice big button with a simple call to action

✔︎ Social proof for credibility and trust points (e.g. client quote, star rating or impressive numbers)

Some things to avoid:

✘ Cluttered or fussy design (a video can be great, but complicated animations can be a distraction)

✘ Too many links, so the reader's confused about what to do next

✘ Too much text — make it as easy as poss for the reader to know they're in the right place

Think about what the reader already knows about your service. What were they Googling? Reassure them that they'll find what they're looking for.

This is your visitor's first impression. Make it a good one!

(Want a super speedy review of your website? Find out how a Copy Health Check could give you tangible, bespoke recommendations for ways to improve your website copy, ready for you within 7 days.)

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