Good websites guide the user. Great websites change them.

Most websites do a reasonable job of explaining what an organisation does. But is that enough?

If you're reviewing your website, perhaps because your organisation has changed, your message isn't landing, or the site has fallen behind, it's worth looking at it from another perspective.

Does your website help people understand what's in it for them?

Not just what you offer, but why it matters to them. What they could achieve, what problem they could solve, or what might become possible with your help.

It's a bigger ambition than simply explaining what you do.

Beyond the transaction

Harvard researcher Michael Schrage explored a related idea in his article Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become?. He argues that businesses can create more value by helping customers develop new capabilities, behaviours and ambitions, rather than focusing only on the immediate transaction.

Consider Google. It didn't just create a better search tool. It changed how people find information. We now expect answers almost instantly, and many of us turn to Google without a second thought.

Bunnings doesn't just sell tools and materials. It helps people discover they can fix, build and improve things themselves. That confidence can lead to more projects, more skills and more trips to Bunnings.

In both cases, the business offers more than a product. It helps people do things differently, sometimes changing what they believe they're capable of.

And that creates value on both sides. People gain new capabilities, while the business has opportunities to serve them again as their needs and ambitions grow.

The same principle applies well beyond retail or technology. An accountant might help someone become a more capable business owner. A community organisation might help someone feel confident enough to get involved and help make a difference.

The services matter, of course. But their value lies in what they make possible.

What does this mean for your website?

It changes the job from simply explaining what you do to helping people understand why they should care.

And that changes how we need to think about the user experience.

A website can be easy to navigate, logically organised and perfectly usable, yet still fail to communicate why the organisation matters to the person visiting it.

The information might be accurate. The services might be clearly described. But visitors are left to work out for themselves how it relates to their situation, what difference it could make, or whether it's worth taking the next step.

Good UX needs to account for more than whether people can find their way around. It needs to consider what they understand along the way, whether they recognise their own needs in the message, and whether they can see a reason to act.

That means looking at your website from the other side of the screen.

What brings someone to your site? What are they trying to work out? What concerns might they have? And what would help them feel confident about what to do next?

For a business, that might mean showing customers how your service helps them solve a problem or achieve something they care about, rather than simply listing what you offer.

For an NFP, it might mean helping a potential donor understand the difference their contribution makes, or helping someone seeking support understand what's available and feel comfortable reaching out.

In both cases, the website connects what the organisation does with what matters to the person using it.

Before you change your website

The next time you review your website, look beyond whether the content is up to date or the design needs a refresh.

Ask yourself three questions:

  • Can people recognise their situation in what we're saying?
  • Can they understand what we could help them achieve?
  • Is it clear what they can do next?

If the answers aren't clear, you may have found the real problem. It might be your messaging, your content or the way the website guides people through their options. Or you might need to rethink the site more fundamentally.

A new website won't necessarily fix it. Nor will better navigation alone.

Start by thinking about what you want people to understand, feel confident about or do. Then consider what your website needs to do to help make that happen.

Because your website already explains what you do.

The question is whether it helps people see what's in it for them.