Website doesn’t explain what we do
When a website does not explain what you do, visitors cannot place you in a market they know. Say the category and the customer in the first screen, in their words. A clever line that needs a paragraph under it is not an explanation. Decide that sentence in positioning, then publish it.
On this page
Why the clever line fails
Dunford’s point on market frame is simple. When you name the market, buyers place you and make assumptions about competitors, features and price. If the frame is missing, they have nothing to place, so the rest of the page does not land.
Steps
Say the category out loud
A noun a buyer already uses, plus a qualifier if you need one.
Name who it is for
The best-fit customer, not everyone who might someday care.
Add one outcome
What they can now do, or what they stop doing.
Cut the warmup
The explanation belongs in the first screen, not under the fold.
Use their words
If a customer would not say it, it is not an explanation yet.
First screen
| A visitor should know | A line that fails | A line that explains |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A new way to work | Billing software for small accounting firms |
| Who it is for | Teams of the future | Owners who still send invoices by email |
| Why it matters | Built different | Invoices go out the day the work is done |
FAQs
Is a tagline an explanation?
No. A tagline can sit beside an explanation. It cannot replace the category and the customer.
What if we are creating a new category?
You still owe the visitor a plain description of the job. A new name with no familiar frame is not an explanation.
Where else does this sentence go?
The homepage, the sales opener and the one-liner should share it. If they differ, you do not have one explanation yet.