Your website is lacking some essential signs of virility and maturity. That’s right, your website needs a beard. Why? Aside from the clear trendy nature of beards and the undeniable appeal of such follicular achievement, we shall need to assess the value of a beard itself.
This non-exhaustive list of the benefits of a beard will help guide our discussion of why your website truly needs to grow a beard.
#1 A beard demonstrates a commitment.
Beards take time. They demonstrate patience and persistence toward a goal—the goal of an awesome facial impression. You know what else requires such commitment? Content development. That’s right. Writing words that are truly effective and reflective of the organization or business who decided to throw together a website demonstrates that they are in it for the long haul. Spend the appropriate amount of time on content development for your homepage and don’t forget you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I heard that somewhere before.
#2 A beard displays strength.
Whether accurate or not, a man with a beard appears more substantial than a man without. Maybe it’s a subtle psychological impact, but that appearance of strength creates a particular impression that inspires trust. Your website needs to make a bold statement about the strength and value your bring to the marketplace in order to inspire trust. That might require a bit of bragging about results, a clear claim of benefit to your customer, or a captivating vision of the impact you seek to have. Go ahead, put it out there and make a statement.
#3 A beard covers a weak chin.
Ok, this one is stretching, but as a man with no prayer of growing a beard and a relatively weak chin, I get the appeal of having such a display of masculinity to cover that up. I don’t mean that a beard is a mis-representation of reality, but a conscious choice to lead with your strengths and downplay your weaknesses. So, your website needs to be aware of such weaknesses and find a way to compensate up front. Don’t have many products or services? Draw focused attention to one awesome product or case study. By the time you’ve wowed your audience, they’ll forget that was a shortcoming.
#4 A beard leads the eye.
A round face is a self-contained feature, but a face with a beard leads your eye on to the rest of the hulking man that is sporting it. So should your website lead your visitor beyond the headline and make it clear where you are heading. As you proceed down the page, your content and user choices should narrow and culminate in a clear and concise call to action. Don’t leave your reader asking, “Now what?” Make those next steps clear.
Take a good look at your website now and ask whether it compares to a website with a solid beard. Keep in mind, I’m not suggesting websites should be masculine over feminine, that’s more about your audience and what serves them well, but paying attention to the above points should lead to an effective website you can be proud of.
