18 Painful Websites; If It’s Not Perfect, Fix It!

At a glance

1. We rebuilt our website 18 times to get our bounce rate down; the results were great
2. How to use other brands’ content as a guide and brainstorming tool
3. Storytelling is important for virtually all brands — especially nonprofits (go figure!)

Our website took 18 tries

Hey friend,

Would you believe me if I told you that we’d reworked our charity, dream: success’, website 18 times? You read that right. EIGHTEEN. And I don’t mean a simple “refresh” or switching out of copy.

I mean we’ve legitimately rebuilt our website from the ground up EIGHTEEN separate times — and it’s been the most important thing we’ve done.

Call us perfectionists, or call us stubborn. Your pick. But every time we revamped the website, there was a specific reason. Many times it was too “stuffy;” whether it be too many words on a page or a flaw in the layout, we always aimed to make it better.

In the process, we developed our skills in copywriting, visual storytelling, UX design, and general web development. We also got more clear about who we were as a brand, and we dug deeper to learn what we valued, what our unique value proposition was, and our brand tone. (When I say we, I’m talking about Nancy, our CCO, and I.)

How we raised nearly $40K

I’ll do a deep dive into our tech stack in a future newsletter, but for now, know that our platform of choice has been Webflow, and I can’t speak more highly of it. It’s allowed us to build our website exactly how we wanted it and, more importantly, tell our story in a way that captivates our audience — so much so that we’ve raised nearly $40K for our important cause in a few short months.

Previously, we used other website platforms (e.g., SaaS solutions like Squarespace, Weebly, etc.), and they just didn’t do it for us. The drag-and-drop simplicity was lovely, but it looked like EVERY other site on the web. And it didn’t offer us the level of customization we wanted.

While hiring a web design agency to create a custom site is always an option, we didn’t have hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars for a web design project.

Tl;dr it wasn’t an option for us.

So, here’s exactly how we created a website that we’ve raised nearly $40K from:

1. We created a swipe file of websites we liked from other businesses — for-profits and nonprofits.
2. We made a list of things we liked about these other websites, and we brainstormed what pages we’d need for our site.
3. We used Miro to explore our high-level ideas for the website and collaborate remotely.
4. We “wire-framed” our site using a blank sheet of copy paper and a PaperMate mechanical pencil, drawing every site page and outlining what the website visitor needed to see. (Throwback to the 1900s!)
5. We used Google Docs to collaborate on website copy. (We have OVER 99 PAGES of website copy in a single document; I may have to show you guys sometime!)
6. We used Relume Library, a Webflow template library, to actually build out the site's design.

After we built the site, we monitored traffic using Fathom Analytics, a privacy-first analytics tool, and HotJar, an analytics suite that includes heat maps to show what content our website visitors are viewing and engaging with.

We then began monitoring our stats after various small-scale social campaigns and paid particular attention to our bounce rate and heat maps. We noticed routinely that our website wasn’t cutting it. Until recently, our website’s bounce rate was 10-15 percentage points above the industry average — between 60-70%, which is relatively higher than other industries. (To get this for your industry, literally Google, “XYZ website bounce rate industry average,” replacing “XYZ” with your industry, and do some research.)

Here’s why bounce rate is essential: it’s “the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.” This can signal that people don’t care enough to learn more about what your brand is about. It can also mean that your website is poorly designed, confusing, slow to load, or other things. SOMETHING is causing people to bounce. Because of that, we took extreme measures and rebuilt our site from the ground up until we got our bounce rate down. We prioritized shorter copy, more storytelling, and fewer sections on site pages. It worked; our bounce rate fell within the industry average.

After we fixed that, the ball began rolling, we did our normal fundraising stuff (will discuss more in a future newsletter), and the rest was history.

How we stole from others

We realized very early on that many businesses are a mere imitation of their competitors/brands they look up to. Really. As we looked at companies across many different industries, we realized that it was absolutely okay to rip off copy and design from others. (Kidding, not kidding!)

In all seriousness, we noticed how many iconic brands are out there that kill different things we need. Whether it was an about page, a home page, a contact form, or their website copy, we began accumulating things we LOVED from different brands.

We loved Oatly’s brand tone — the (very) familiar conversation voice in your head that goes down rabbit holes and ousts your dry humor.

We obsessed over charity: water’s focus on visual and impactful storytelling — the careful use of vivid imagery to move you through a computer screen.

We drooled over Apple’s concise copy that grabbed you by the waist and pulled you in to learn more — as well as their focus on innovation (that may or may not be a facade.)

We screamed over Google’s “Year in Search” video series for its timely storytelling, Nike’s “Dream Crazy” ad for obvious reasons, and GiveDirectly’s philosophy on trusting people and treating people experiencing homelessness like — you guessed it: people — as well as their use of infographics to visualize data.

With all of this inspiration, here are four ways we found our own brand voice and identity:

1. We waited. This may sound crazy, but it’s really easy to scare great ideas away. If we were stuck on a design, copy for the website, brand colors, or anything else, we’d work on something else. We’d go for a walk, or we’d step away to enjoy margaritas at Chili’s (the Presidente goes hard!). Regardless — settling was never an option for us. If whatever we were working on didn’t make us smile, laugh, or cry: it wasn’t good enough. Periodt.
2. We got inspired. If there was something creative that we couldn’t figure out, we’d go where there was inspiration. For Nancy, it was always Pinterest. For me, it was in graduation speeches. (If you haven’t watched Sterling K. Brown’s Stanford Commencement Address, you should watch it.) These “inspirational” outlets uplifted our mood, and it’s a lot easier writing copy or designing a site page if you’re happy than hangry, sad, or anything in between.
3. We used AI (for brainstorming). Honestly, sue me, AI is NOT it — yet. It cannot put heart and SOUL into your copy (yet). I’m bullish on AI, but it can’t capture your brand story the way you can if you put in the work; especially the more specific you get with your search queries (e.g., “write me a donation appeal sentence for an education-focused nonprofit.”) While I don’t see AI writing website copy that’s ready to publish, it can be an incredibly useful tool to brainstorm ideas and rewrite sentences you feed it. Hint: I’d always start with a broader search before getting more specific. For example, “write a donation appeal for a nonprofit.” Then maybe add your specific nonprofit field (i.e., education, poverty, homelessness, etc.) so you can compare ideas and see what sparks the best ideas.
4. Make it your own. In the end, there’s no such thing as a new idea. All ideas are infinite neural links based upon other ideas. (I’m not a neuroscientist; I absolutely pulled this out of nowhere, but my point stands.) Because of this, adapt messaging to your brand and be as uniquely you as possible from the inspiration you stole.

In the end, you have to find the fun in the journey. Whether you’re floating the cost of an agency for your startup or performing a DIY job, it’s essential to know the foundational principles of stealing — we call it creating. “Creating” a brand is hard.

Next week, I’ll dive deep into the businesses and charities we admire and why. I'll also discuss what makes them world-class storytellers.

Dream always, 💡

Ryan

If you’re new here, subscribe for more scrappy startup tips! I post weekly insights that will absolutely blow your mind!