Why Your Website Sucks at Blind Dates: First Impressions

Your friends have set you up on a blind date and you’ve never been on one before. You’ve gone on to Google to search up tips on how to succeed on a blind date, you’ve watched videos on how to be good at dating, and you’ve read countless Thought Catalog blog posts about dating. Do you think you’re really ready to venture into a blind date?

You’ve probably done the same process with your website, Googled how to create a website, watched YouTube videos on how to design a website, and maybe not read Thought Catalog blog posts, but you’ve ready many different blog posts to learn how to create the perfect website.

All these things are important to do in order to make sure your website is ready to be launched. Now, to change it up a bit, this blog post you’re about to read is going to do both: share tips on how to succeed at blind dates in real life, as well as with first time website visitors. Keep in mind though, these blind date tips don’t work for everyone.

8 tips on succeeding at blind dates, online and offline

Tip #1: Make your website visitors feel comfortable

Blind dates can be quite uncomfortable, especially if you have a hard time navigating through conversations. Try to make each conversation flow smoothly with one another and always be polite by not interrupting them when they talk. The same goes with your website, make sure your website’s navigation makes sense and it’s legible. If a visitor were to come to your website for the first time and they don’t know where to begin, they are going to turn to your navigation to find out more about your website. If you don’t make it easy for them to learn more, you’re going to lose that visitor forever. Same goes with that blind date.

Tip #2: Design to impress

I’m sorry to say it, but first impression always starts with how you look. If you’re going on a blind date you need to dress to impress. Make sure you wear your best outfit, wear the best perfume or cologne, and always make sure to brush your teeth. As for your website, make sure your design is absolutely appealing to the eyes. You only have one chance to make your new website visitor want to stay around and to make sure this happens, your homepage design needs to be impressive. I don’t mean, over-do it with colors, I mean, make sure the layout makes sense, your font is legible, and the background color doesn’t scream at you. The worst thing you can do is have an all black website with lime green font.

Tip #3: Offer valuable information that makes visitors want to come back

After you get off the initial first impression high, it’s time to get into the important stuff; do you guys click? Do you have things in common? Do you find what the other person is saying interesting? A blind date can bloom into a meaningful and lasting relationship if you take the time to have memorable and valuable conversations. Same goes with your website, now that you have wowed your visitor with your seamless navigation and perfectly designed homepage, it’s time to dig deep and provide value to your visitor. First step to doing this is having a blog on your site. A blog or a resource section is a great way to share valuable guides and relevant content. This is the kind of stuff that will make your visitors want to keep coming back and make this website-to-visitor relationship last long.

Tip #4: Don’t talk too much, leave some breathing room

Alright, so you’re probably 30 minutes into your blind date and you realize that you don’t even remember the last time you said a word. You’re probably thinking, does this person even care what I have to say? Or want to know who I am? Your blind date is making the terrible mistake of talking too much. Same thing goes for your website, if your website is filled with text and no white space or images, you are talking way too much. Fix this by breaking up your paragraphs, add images, add videos, and make sure there’s white space on your website. You do not need to fill every inch of your site, it’s good to have some blank space. As for your blind date, I hope they stop talking soon so they get to know you too!

Tip #5: Don’t be too forward

A blind date is meant to discover each other at a reasonable pace. Take it slow so that the date will last longer and so you actually build a relationship. When you take it too fast and are too forward, that’s when you get yourself into bad water. Blind dates are meant to be a test date, yes, you can ask them out on another date, but don’t be too forward and ask them back to your place. Your website should do the same. If a visitor lands on your homepage, don’t bombard them with pop-ups right away. Give your website visitor some breathing space by letting them browse through a couple pages on your site before they encounter a website pop-up. This will make your website visitors feel more welcome instead of feeling like your website is only there so you can make a sale even though websites are a great sales tool.

Tip #6: Provide a way they can stay in contact with you (if things go well)

Things are going well on your blind date, you’re both evenly talking to each other, no one has bad breathe, and no one has been to forward. This is a great sign that will probably lead to an exchange in contact information. Make this part easy by simply adding their number to your phone. To make sure you have all the right information (proper spelling of their name) hand your phone over to them to fill out their info. Same goes for your website. Make it super easy for people to stay in touch with you.

Include Social Share buttons so they can share your content easily. Use Social Login for registration forms, doing this will allow you to gain valuable data points that will help you understand who your website visitors are. And always have a contact us page that has all the necessary information to contact you: address, phone number, email, and social media handles. Doing this will ensure you’ll at least get a second visit, or better yet a second date.

Tip #7: Have a clear message (good intentions)

When you’re on your blind date make sure you have good intentions and same goes for who you’re on the blind date with. If you’re on the date just to get to know each other more, make that clear right at the beginning. This will allow you to steer clear from any awkward situations. Your website should also have a clear message. Don’t have too many call to actions on your site. If you want your website visitor to do one thing, put all your eggs in one basket and focus on making sure that they do that one thing on your site. For example, if you want your website visitor to sign up for a trial of your product, the only call to action on your website should be that trial button. If you have too many different call to actions, your website visitor will get confused and exit your website quicker than they got to it. Clear messaging on your website and your blind date will help you achieve your website goals and dating goals.

Tip #8: Test your website (and pick-up lines)

Every pick-up line you have should be tested before you do it for real. Although, you don’t necessarily need to use pick-up lines on a blind date, but you never know when you need to spice up the conversation. Try testing out your pick-up lines to your friends, see if they approve of them before you say it at a bar or on your blind date. As for your website, you should always be testing it. If your website’s purpose is to be used as a sales tool, run A/B tests to improve your website conversions.

You can do this by comparing two variants of a webpage on your site to similar visitors at the same time. The variant that receives the most conversions is the winner of the test. Running tests like these ensures that you are constantly making the necessary changes to improve your website.

After reviewing these 8 tips your website (and yourself) should be ready for its first (or second) blind date. Just make sure to always best testing, don’t be too forward, have meaningful conversations, and don’t talk too much!

Do you have any tips on how to improve your website and save it from sucking at blind dates? We’ve love to hear it in the comments below!