How to Create Meaningful Connections Through Your Website
My friend Nadine, from CanDo! Content, just launched her incredible new podcast, and trust me… You’ll want to give it a listen! 🎧
What Would They Do? is all about crafting unforgettable customer experiences that help you stand out and give you a competitive edge, all without expensive tech tools or massive corporate budgets.
This is an interactive podcast where Nadine answers real questions that get submitted (you can even send yours through here!), and she gives actionable strategies you can implement straight away.
In a recent episode, Nadine has answered MY burning question that is sure to help YOU create a magnetic website experience for your visitors, too:
"As a website designer, I know copy and design are important, but I'm always looking for fun ways for my clients to connect with their visitors on a deeper level. As a customer experience strategist, how would you approact this for website projects?"
Nadine’s insights went beyond the usual advice, and she shares some really fun, strategic ways that will help you make your website feel like an experience, not just a sales page. If you want your website to delight, engage, and convert, this episode is a must-listen!
You can dive straight in and watch below, or keep reading for my biggest takeaways.
Don’t forget to follow the What Would They Do? podcast so you can listen to Nadine’s juicy insights!
Here are 5 takeaways that can help you create a magnetic website experience
I’ve already listened to this episode twice, just to make sure I catch all of Nadine’s gold nuggets to share with you (and there’s lots of them!), so let’s dive in!
👉 Some big website mistakes to avoid
“Your website needs to be a collection of your best bits... Your best language, your best vibes, your best photos. It’s the starting point for a lasting customer experience.”
So many websites fall into the trap of generic messaging, cluttered layouts and confusing navigation, which makes it hard for visitors to connect and take action. If your website looks and sounds like everyone else in your industry, it’s time to shake things up by infusing your personality and creating a smoother journey to keep your visitors engaged and exploring your website.
You can infuse more personality into your website by using your authentic language, unique visuals, your tone, your quirks, and sharing the way you work and your values, so that your visitors can buy into YOU, not just your services.
Also, your website is more than a sales page. The last thing you want to do is just list out your services on your website, since you’d be missing a HUGE opportunity to create a connection with potential clients by making them feel seen and understood. When it’s done right, your website should spark delight, evoke trust and naturally guide your visitors towards working with you, without feeling like a sales pitch.
👉 Creative ways to personalise the experience
A static website is often forgettable, so adding interactive elements and personalised user journeys can help your visitors to feel like their experience on your website is really custom to them.
Tools like Convertbox can allow you to add a pop up to help direct your visitors on a choose-your-own-adventure journey through your website and fun quizzes can help to get them where they need to go while also helping to get them on your email list and in segments to help you personalise your email marketing for them as well.
I know pop ups have a bit of a bad rep, but when you use them strategically, they can actually work to enhance your visitors experience of your website instead of disrupting it. You can use them to help your visitors find what they need easily, whether thats the right service or a free resource, and they can be a great way to grow your email list organically in a way that allows you to personalise your emails based on your visitors interests.
I share more about growing your email list with your website here, or check out Website to Email to go even deeper into this (there’s even templates and a customGPT to help you create and promote your next freebie!)
👉 Surprise & Delight is powerful for connection
Have you ever been on a website that has made you smile? Adding small, unexpected touches to your website like hidden Easter eggs, colour, fun animations and playful microcopy in unexpected places, can help you website to feel more memorable and engaging and give them a dopamine boost.
Not only will this help you stand out compared to others in your industry, it will also make your visitors feel good being on your website, which means they’ll be more likely to reach out to work with you or join your email list, come back to your website again and again, and refer you to their besties.
Nadine mentions her Hidden Gems course, and I can vouch for just how great it is at adding some surprise and delight to your website! I hid 8 “Party Jessica’s” to my website for my business birthday last year, and by clicking on them, my visitors could get a fun bonus, such as free courses, discounts, a free day of Voxer and more. I made a few sales, grew my email list, booked a client and had amazing feedback from it!
I’m thinking of writing a blog post with ways you can gamify your website and keep people exploring, so let me know in the comments if you’d be interested!
This is Party Jessica, and yes, she may be hiding a surprise 😉
👉 Triggering the 5 senses on your website
A great website isn’t just seen, it’s felt. Using sensory-rich copy, strategy images and adding audio or video can create a deep, viseral connection for your visitors. Evoking the senses on a website isn’t always easy, but it will create a more engaging website for your visitors.
I recently did a website audit for a day spa owner and shared ways she could bring the sensory magic of her treatments into her website. Since a spa experience is deeply physical and emotional, we found ways to make her site feel just as indulgent:
Sight 👀 - Using soft, earthy colours, adding slow-motion videos of flickering candles or flowing water, giving a virtual tour of the spa and using gentle transitions and animations that fade in help you feel a sense of calm
Sound 👂 - Embedding her spa playlist that she plays during treatments can make people feel like they’re at the spa, and using subtle sounds like chimes or water flowing in a welcome video draws you in
Touch 🖐 - Slow motion videos of hand massaging warm oil into your skin and sensory-rich copy like “Feel the warmth of a cocoa butter wrap melting into your skin” can create really tactile feelings
Smell 👃 - Scent based copy like “Breathe in the calming scent of lavender and ylang-ylang as warm essential oils are massaged into your scalp” and photos of essental oils, candles and incense give powerful connections to your sense of smell
Taste 👅 - Photos of spa treats and herbal tea or video of the tea being poured, paired with copy like "After your massage, enjoy a calming cup of ginger-infused tea and a bite of our handmade lavender shortbread" draws you into how the experience tastes
By weaving in these sensory details, she was able to create an immersive, sensory experience for her visitors and her online bookings tripled since she made her visitors feel the relaxation before they even booked.
👉 Make your contact page a conversation starter
I’m sure you’ve probably noticed that most contact pages are pretty boring overall, but they don’t have to be! Instead of a boring form that asks for your visitors name, email address and question, you can add some fun copy to make it feel like a warm and inviting conversation.
A well-designed contact page really sets the tone for your working relationship and makes your visitors feel excited to reach out to you!
One thing that really stuck me was just how quick and easy it is was to make updates like this. Within 10 minutes, I’d updated my contact page with a new headline and button text, updated all of the form fields (including adding some conditional logic fields, which is a new feature on Squarespace) and even changed a few design things on the form with code, and I know it’ll be a hit because I LOVE seeing these personalisations on other people’s websites, so I know my favourite clients will too!
Your website is more than a digital business card… It’s an opportunity to build relationships, create trust and make a lasting impression before someone even speaks to you. By weaving in your personality, making things interactive and adding some surprise and deleight moments, you’ll turn your casual visitors into raving fans who can’t wait to work with you.
As you can see, Nadine has lots of practical, creative ways to make your website feel more inviting, engaging and ultimately effective at converting your visitors into clients, and I highly recommend listening to the What Would They Do? podcast so you can start creating a website experience that truly reflects YOU! 🎧 Listen in here
Don’t forget you can even submit your own questions here to get Nadine’s fun and practical insights on some of your business challenges, not just your website!
What’s one thing you could do today to make your website feel more engaging? Let me know in the comments!
If you haven’t met her before, Nadine Nethery is the customer experience strategist and audience-driven copywriter at CanDo! Content. She helps online business owners attract, delight, and retain their dream clients by blending strategic messaging with creative customer journey insights to craft unforgettable brand experiences, and she’s my go-to for all things copywriting and customer experience!
