This is a good opportunity to reinforce the #1 rule in website design:
You have three seconds.
As in, that's all the time the average person is going to spend on your site before hitting the back button or deciding to invest more time. If you can't get your message across in those 3 seconds, you lose.
Nearly half the sites on that list pass the test for me. I can tell that "this is a website that will help me invoice clients", and decide whether that's something I care about. The other half though, I have no idea what they do and likely never will.
If I had to pick a Rule #2, it might be: Make sure they remember your name. Half those sites (alas, a different half) I'll never find my way back to because the name is either not given prominently, not memorable, or easily misspelled.
I might remember that I saw something called Iceberg, but I certainly wouldn't know to spell it with two R's. Fortunately for me, typing in iceberg.com will get me to a nice looking web app with a blue background, a picture of an iceberg, and something to sell me. Unfortunately for Icebrrg, it's somebody else's business.
You have three seconds.
As in, that's all the time the average person is going to spend on your site before hitting the back button or deciding to invest more time. If you can't get your message across in those 3 seconds, you lose.
Nearly half the sites on that list pass the test for me. I can tell that "this is a website that will help me invoice clients", and decide whether that's something I care about. The other half though, I have no idea what they do and likely never will.
If I had to pick a Rule #2, it might be: Make sure they remember your name. Half those sites (alas, a different half) I'll never find my way back to because the name is either not given prominently, not memorable, or easily misspelled.
I might remember that I saw something called Iceberg, but I certainly wouldn't know to spell it with two R's. Fortunately for me, typing in iceberg.com will get me to a nice looking web app with a blue background, a picture of an iceberg, and something to sell me. Unfortunately for Icebrrg, it's somebody else's business.