Your website is underperforming, but it's not your fault.

You went to buy a cake, but they gave you a plate of sprinkles.

Let me explain.

Not too long ago, we were all locked inside.

Some people learned how to make sourdough.

I began analyzing start-up websites—a lot of them.

After a few thousand sites, three things became clear:

Insight #1: You can build 90%+ of all websites with a handful of basic building blocks.

Websites have obvious anatomy.

You might have a few more pixels of padding on the left but its skeleton is the same.

Once you understand these building blocks, building an effective website becomes more manageable.

Why?

You start thinking less about what the website looks like and thinking more about the functionality.

Instead of optimizing the “feel,” you start questioning the purpose.

It’s like shifting from painting a picture to building something out of Lego.

You have a common language that you can speak with copywriters and designers.

This shift is an immediate advantage as you avoid prioritizing looks over function early on in the development process (more on this topic later).

Insight #1A: You need to understand three elements to drive conversions.

Three elements are responsible for driving conversions on any website:

A hook is an opening statement. A single line that conveys an idea and grabs your attention.

A qualifier is one or more lines that follow a hook to ‘qualify’ what the hook is stating. There is a logical progression from hook to qualifier.

A button or call-to-action is something that a visitor can click + interact with to move further in engaging with you or your product/service.

Together, these three elements make up nearly all web copy online.

They are often used together in that order (hook, qualifier, CTA).

Once you see it, you’ll have a hard time not categorizing things as a hook-qualifier-CTA combo.

Here are three examples of this 3-part combo used in entirely different website sections.

Hero Section @ basecamp.com

Value Section @ slack.com

Value Section @ unbounce.com

You must understand these three elements and how to use them together to build a decent website.

If you can effectively construct a hook-qualifier pair, you can write copy that converts.

And it’s not just website copy.

Low converting websites will have extremely long qualifiers or avoid this combo altogether.

Shortly after the anatomy realization, I started asking questions. Questions you're probably asking right now.

The following insight was less obvious but certainly more powerful.

Insight #2: You can write 90%+ of all copy with a handful of variables (think mad libs).

For some, copywriting feels like magic. Granted, some copy IS magic.

But most website copy is repetitive when viewed in rapid succession. Or at least the structure is repetitive.

Once you understand the basic formulas, it's easy to reproduce.

I initially found around 300 mad-libs-style templates.

I whittled that list down to 27 templates, using just seven variables as inputs that represented nearly 90% of all hooks and qualifiers in the database.

Understanding formulaic copy is a massive advantage for anyone who is not an experienced copywriter.

If you know the templates and have a list of all your product/service’s variables, you can mad-libs your way to some decent copy.

(If you're interested in getting your hands on these templates, they're included in the CopyKit)

A third and final lightning bolt – perhaps the most important– struck months after I’d wrapped up the project.

While reviewing the sites, I rated them all out of 5. I threw the list into AirTable and filtered out everything but the crème of the crop.

I spent some time staring at these sites. It took a while for it to click – but then it did (and I’m better for it).

Insight #3: A great website is a “cake.”

A cake was the best analogy I could come up with at the time, but it seems to resonate with people. Let me explain.

A great website has four essential layers, like a cake. That is to say; it answers four questions that every visitor is trying to answer:

You ask each question in sequence.

A great website, or a “cake,” answers all four questions logically (i.e., address who it’s for, why they want it, and if it will work for them before you address how to get it).

If one question is left unanswered, the cake topples.

The testimonials and social proof are your icing – they hold the cake together. Your design, layout, and visuals are the sprinkles.

Every website that I had rated 5/5 looked decent. But the website’s design had nothing to do with why I thought the site was so convincing.

They were websites where I could clearly say whether the product was for me or not. They addressed the four questions.

They were all cakes.

Not all cakes are equal – some websites are stronger than others.

But by definition, a website that is a “cake” will convert better than a website that is not a cake.

So how does any of this help you?

Well, I’m willing to bet you don’t have a cake.

It’s not your fault. You’re a victim of an industry built to make sprinkles instead of bake cakes.

You probably paid a lot of money for your sprinkles.

The problem is that sprinkles aren’t enough.

All of the websites that weren’t cakes looked just as good as the 5/5 sites.

They may not have been as established or had as much social proof, but the design wasn’t lacking. You could see it.

Too often, founders invest their money into a website that looks great – but doesn’t deliver results.

You pay for sprinkles because you think that’s what matters (or you don’t know what else to ask for).

You pay for sprinkles because sprinkles are the only thing on the menu.

Looks aren't everything

To prove my point, I reached out to freelancers, agencies, designers, and copywriters, anyone involved in building a website.

I asked them about their process and what it would look like to get a landing page for CopyKit built by them. I chatted with people of a wide range of experience levels.

I want to stress that everyone was lovely and wanted to help me.

More notably, nearly everyone agreed on and explicitly stated one thing – the website has to LOOK great.

The people who quoted me at $500 and $25,000+ said the same thing.

Looks are certainly important - but they aren't everything.

Think of your website like a car - designers can help you make it look stylish, modern, and attractive.

People who see it will stop and comment on it if it looks nice.

But when it comes time to put an engine in it, they're going to turn to you (i.e. the copy).

And if you can't produce copy that resonates with your target audience, your car isn't leaving the parking lot.

Don't settle for sprinkles

Your website doesn’t NEED to look amazing. Your website should simply not look sketchy.

You don't need a Rolls Royce, but don't pull up in an unmarked van.

The design must not get in the way of the visitor consuming your content. That’s it.

Bonus points for the cohesion of branding, colours, and visuals – but I’m not failing anyone who doesn’t have those in place.

Actually, I’m not failing anyone.

Building a great website (a cake) is difficult, especially when you have a million other things that need to get done.

Let's build you a cake

I'd like to offer you a way forward - an Uber out of Sprinkletown.

If you:

Open up a new email, address it to me (jl@copykit.io), type your website URL into the subject line and click send.

I’ll review it and give you some notes.

Then if it makes sense to you, we can start baking you a cake.

JL