Put Yourself on the Site

The main page of your site is like the showroom window at a department store. It has to be compelling. Done properly it grabs your audience and draws them in. How do you do that? How can you engage people at first glance?

One thing is certain - a page without pictures is boring. A wall of words won't engage anyone, no matter what they are. We need photos. That's a given.

There are two types of photos, those with people and those without. Photos without people are boring. Photos of machines, buildings, and objects have little interest value. Add a person to the photo and excitement skyrockets.

What do most graphic artists and site designers do? They design with clipart and stock photos. The problem is photos of strangers are almost as boring as inanimate objects. On a scale of 1 to 10, inanimate objects are a one. Photos of strangers are a two.

To be compelling, consider using yourself and/or your employees on your site. A photo of you and your employees takes a boring page and makes it come alive. People know it is you. They can feel it. It's genuine. It's real. And it's compelling.

Does it take courage to put your picture on the Web? You bet it does! The good news is almost no one does it. When someone does, it is effective. You can play with copy or clipart at infinitum and never match the personality of a single, genuine photo. Make use of that digital camera. Put the shot on your site and stand out from the crowd!