How to Build Great Websites Using Grandma's Apple PIE Recipe

4/28/2007
by Kenn Schroder

Been to Grandma's lately? Maybe for a holiday get-together or a family gathering?

Well, what happens after you've stuffed your face with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing? Yep, the desserts come out. Lots of them. And the most mouth watering of all? Grandma's freshly baked apple pie. Mmm, Mmm good!

You know what happens next: Your eyes widen with anticipation. Your mouth begins to water as you envision the yummy pie you're about to enjoy. You are sold! Gimme pie!

And that's exactly what should happen when people visit your website. They should salivate at the thought of what you're going to serve them - your coaching products and services.

Now let's take a deeper look at the recipe for Grandma's apple PIE. It has three ingredients: P for pretty; I for interesting; and E for easy.

P: It's pretty. The mere sight of that pie sends shivers up and down your spine. It's appetizing to look at; gorgeous to behold.

I: It's interesting. Not only does it look good, it smells good. It's warm and fresh. The heat and aroma emanating from the steaming pie warms your face, tickles your nose and tantalizes your taste buds. And when you bite into it, your mind and body go into pleasure shock. It's more than interesting; it's euphoric!

E: It's easy! Heck, Grandma went to all the trouble of making it; all you have to do is open wide and take a bite.

You are sold!

But most coaching websites aren't that delicious. They're ugly, boring and tough to use.

So, how can you use Grandma's recipe to cook up a mouthwatering website that satisfies the taste buds of new clients? It's easy as PIE...

Ingredient 1 - P: Pretty

Your website needs to be Pretty - professional in appearance, and visually delightful. You want visitors to say, "Hey, nice site!" not, "Yuck, what a mess!"

Your visitors will need to read your website in order to get excited about what you have to offer. The fonts, colors, backgrounds and images must all work together to make your website easy to read.

Ingredient 2 - I: Interesting

Your site's got to be Interesting - alluring, engaging and motivating.

The copy you write must be vibrant enough to interest and motivate your readers. It must also compel them to seek your coaching services, in order to get relief from their problems and maintain hope for a brighter, more successful future.

Readers need belief in you as the coach who can help them. Interesting words can do that.

Ingredient 3 - E: Easy

Your site needs to be Easy - particularly, easy to navigate. It must be organized logically so that visitors can know what's there, where to go and how to get back. The website must guide them along naturally.

From a functional standpoint, things must work smoothly and quickly. No clunky forms, slow pages or unintuitive links.

If your site is not easy, then visitors won't use it and they won't be interested in what you have to offer. They'll leave the table before dessert is served.

So there you have it - Grandma's PIE recipe: Pretty, Interesting and Easy.

Imagine if your website tasted like Grandma's hot apple PIE. Your visitors would probably need to join Weight Watchers, but at least you'd know they'd be chomping on your content 'til their bellies were full!

The biggest benefit? You would have more clients coming to you with a hunger for your services. What could taste better than that?

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