When anyone can have a "nice website", what still sets companies apart?
Michał Gabryelewicz
Design & development
A good-looking website can now be put together in an afternoon. AI tools will generate the layout, pick the photos and write the copy. Now that looks cost nothing, they no longer set companies apart.
What's left are decisions: who the website talks to, what it shows first and what it doesn't say at all.
Below we go through each one, using a project we did for a maker of acoustic booths.
Looks are no longer an advantage
A client opens the websites of five suppliers. All of them are clean, with good photos and a clear contact button. They choose the one that made it quickest to understand whether the company is right for them and worth writing to.
That can't be generated, because the answer isn't in a tool. It's in your company: in who your clients are, what they ask and why they choose you over competitors.
Decision 1: who the website talks to
A company website is rarely visited by just one kind of person. Usually there are several, each with a different question.
For BOX17 there were two. The business owner was comparing offers and wanted to understand quickly how these booths differ from others. The person from HR was looking for materials to show the team, so they got downloadable brochures. Each of them has their own path on the website, and neither has to wade through content meant for the other.
A website that tries to talk to everyone at once usually doesn't answer anyone directly.
Decision 2: what to show first
The person who decides on a purchase scans the website in a few seconds. The most important information has to be where they look first.
In photos, most manufacturers' acoustic booths look alike. That's why for BOX17 we put first what you can't see in a photo: build quality, production in Poland and answers to the questions buyers ask salespeople. The design of the website only underlines it.
Decision 3: what to hide and what to cut
Not every piece of information has to be visible straight away. The technical data at BOX17 sits in an expandable section: those who look for it find it in one click, and other visitors don't have to scroll through it.
Some content has to go entirely. Every sentence on the website has a job. If it doesn't answer any of the client's questions, it only takes up their time.
Where these decisions come from
From the conversation before the project. Before the first screen is designed, we agree with the client who buys, what questions salespeople hear and where they most often lose deals. That's why the first stage of our process is strategy and goals, and layout and design come later.
This part takes the most time, and it's what makes a website bring in enquiries. For BOX17 the whole project, 16 subpages in 4 languages, was done in 30 days, because the decisions were made at the very start.
Three questions before your next project
Before you commission a new website, answer three questions:
- Who visits our website, and why?
- What do clients most often ask our salespeople?
- What don't we need to say, because nobody asks about it?
With these answers, any designer will make a better website, and the conversation about looks will be shorter.
Looks can be generated today. Nobody can decide for you what to say and to whom.
Planning a new project? See how we design websites.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we hear most often before a website project. Yours isn't here? Write to us, we reply personally.
Is a good template enough?
For a start, often yes. A template gives you the look, but it doesn't know who your clients are or what they ask. That part has to be written by you, whatever the tool.
Do we need finished copy before the project?
No. We write the copy together with the design, because layout and content depend on each other. From you we need knowledge of the company and your clients; we work out the rest in conversation.
Do you use AI in design?
Yes, for research and for exploring copy variants. We make the decisions about what to show, and to whom, together with you.
How can we check whether our website stands out from competitors?
Swap your logo for a competitor's. If everything still fits, your website says the same as the rest of the industry.
Got an idea?
We'll make it happen
Tell us what you're working on. We reply personally and tell you straight how we can help.
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