Your Website Isn’t for You: Why Clarity Beats Personal Preference Every Time

You should feel good about your website. It represents your business, and the design should feel consistent with who you are.

But your customers arrive with their own priorities. They want to know whether you can help them, what working with you involves, and how to take the next step.

The best design decisions consider both your brand and those practical needs.

Start with the customer’s questions

Before choosing a layout or rewriting a headline, list what someone needs to know to make a decision.

For a service business, that might include:

- Who the service is for.

- What’s included and what outcome it supports.

- What it costs, or how to request pricing.

- What happens after an inquiry.

- What evidence helps them trust your work.

Make those answers easy to find. A beautiful page can still leave people uncertain if important information is missing.

Use language people recognize

You know your business well. Potential customers may not understand your terminology or immediately see the value of what you do.

Describe your service in familiar language. Be specific about the problem you help solve, and avoid making readers decode a clever phrase before they understand your offer.

Give readers clear headings and manageable paragraphs. Nielsen Norman Group’s guidance on long-form content supports formatting that helps people scan and find relevant information.

That doesn’t mean every page should be short. Include enough detail to answer the questions that matter.

Make design preferences earn their place

When you’re considering a font, photograph, animation, or feature, ask what it contributes.

A photograph might demonstrate your work. A video might explain a process. A booking tool might save someone a phone call.

Those are useful reasons to include them. “I saw it on another website” is a weaker starting point.

Typography deserves the same care. Font size isn’t simply a cosmetic detail. Readability depends on the typeface, size, spacing, contrast, and how the text behaves when someone enlarges it.

Keep navigation focused

There’s no universal rule that every website needs three, five, or seven menu items. NN/g specifically cautions against treating seven as a menu limit.

Use clear labels and include the destinations your customers need. Organize a larger amount of information thoughtfully instead of hiding useful pages to meet an arbitrary number.

Give each page one primary next step, while keeping secondary options available when they help someone make a decision.

Ask someone to try it

Show your website to someone who resembles your ideal customer. Ask them what you offer, who it’s for, and how they would get started.

If they hesitate, ask what’s unclear. Their answer can help you make a more useful improvement than another round of adjustments based only on taste.

Your website can feel personal and be practical. The goal is to make your business recognizable while helping customers move forward with confidence.

That’s the approach behind my Squarespace website design service. I help simplify your message and website, with your first draft ready in five business days after I receive all required information and files.