As you begin to think about building a website, you're probably wondering how to make sure that a website actually provides you with solid value. Before you begin planning, you need to understand the big picture.

We know through analytics, that people are extremely busy and distracted, and they absolutely make superficial judgments about your company by what they see on your website. When they are comparing you and a competitor, you need to make sure that at the very least  you are not disqualified immediately because they view your competitor as the clear leader in the market. The majority of visitors bounce in the first 5 seconds on a website, because it took too long to load, or it just doesn't meet their expectations of quality.

For those that stick around, you've got about 30 seconds to get them to take action. That means you need to know what you want them to do! You need to ask yourself, if they only remember one thing, what should it be? If they only take one action, what do I want them to do? Then we need to be sure we create a website that engages attention (prevents initial bounce), communicates your unique value propositions (why you), build trust, and motivate people to take action (why now). That requires super focused and creative strategy, great design, and delightful writing. 

You will not find this kind of attention to detail and creativity in generic mass website builder platforms, because creativity cannot scale. If you want to stand out from the market, you have to create a unique brand that engages with people's hearts.