the Coup

your menu tells a story

A website’s menu can do more than simply list the sections a visitor will find. With the right choice of words, they can begin the story that unfolds throughout the site.

Below you’ll see the simplified tops of a few websites. Compare what each tells you about the people or organization behind it.

1) Would you rather donate $20 to support this organization:

NEIGHBORHOOD FUND
home | who we are | what we do | donate now! | contact

…or $20 to support this one instead:

PEOPLE’S CHARITY
grant-making | leadership development | advocacy | contact

The first menu tells us nothing. It’s bland with a desperate plea for cash. Donate now! The second site, however, tells the story of the organization’s work.

2) Would you go to these people for services:

SPROCKET INC.
services | mission & vision | staff | about us

…or to these people instead:

COG INC.
grant writing | your benefits | client praise | our experience

The first organization thought about all the things that need to go on their site, and then plopped it all in. The second organization, thought instead about what a visitor will be thinking when they arrive.

Think about your experience on the web:

When you’re on a site you know, you’ll dig through menus and submenus until you find the phone number, fact, or story you were looking to get.

If you’re browsing a site you don’t know, you’ll give the page you land on about five seconds to give you a reason to stay, scanning first the main headings and then maybe, the main menu.
You’ll head straight back to google if you don’t immediately find something worthwhile.

Click here. Read more. Who we are. Donate now! Nobody cares until you’ve given them a reason.