“What is the primary reason I should use your site or application? What will I get out of it?”

These are simple questions. And if you don’t have an answer for them, you might consider finding another project.

If you can’t explain it to me, how am I going to explain it to myself? How am I going to explain it to my friends and coworkers? How am I going to tell the world about you if I can’t latch onto something that makes sense, is compelling, and can be communicated in a few sentences or less at a cocktail party?

Take a look around. Does every page of your site communicate something about its purpose? Does it tell part of a larger story? Does it tell any part of the story?

Explainability is essential.

Explain your site to the next person you see. Can you do it?

Posted by Robert on March 27th, 2008