I wrote about making a website that’s actually helpful to you. How does one take a bloated, unstimulating website and make it useful with .No.Red.Flags.
Take out stuff! It’s hard to edit yourself … I know! Cut out the “easy-trash” first — the things you know are not helping you. Then, work on the things you love, but really are clutter. That clutter is taking away from the message that your entertainment company is bombass!
Your no-red-flags website only needs to convey value, description, and call to action.
Take out anything that doesn’t do that. We’re talking top level of each thing. If you’re the only children’s magician in Bradford, ME, and you do all your work in town, you probably need to describe that you’re Bradford, ME’s children’s magician. That’s one sentence that completely covers the description portion. We don’t need 3 pictures of you with playing cards to understand it.
So, start cutting! Cut out the extra photos, the extra words, the extra videos, the extra links to your social networks, the press clippings, the letters of recommendation or whatever that don’t get the point across quickly that you provide a specific service, you’re valuable, and that you want to be contacted. You probably have at least one whole page of your site that are getting in the way.
But I need to…
The “But I need to”s come up when you think…
“I get asked this question regularly.” How regularly? Does that question come up so much that it costs you money, does it block you from getting clients, or is it just kinda annoying that you have to answer it 4 times per year? Or, does that question start a conversation that can lead to a gig?
“I have to show all the videos I’ve done.” If people search for you on youtube, do they find you? if not, fix that. Unless all your videos are crucial for people to understand what you do (which I highly doubt it would even take one video) give them the ax!
“My photos are so good!” Okay cool. so show me enough so I get the point (maybe two photos?) and use the other ones on instagram or whatever.