The Real Reason Your Website Feels Off
(Hint: It’s not the font or the button color.)
You know your brand.
You love your site.
You’ve stared at it for 94 hours straight.
🧠 And that... is exactly the problem.
Your brain has officially gone on autopilot. You’ve seen your homepage so many times, it’s basically white noise now. That sticky CTA you were so proud of? You don’t even notice it anymore. That confusing shipping policy? Your brain skips right over it like it’s a Terms & Conditions checkbox.
But your customers? They’re seeing it for the first time.
And they are not on autopilot.
Matthew Stafford nailed it:
"The site owner has looked at the site 100 times. The customer has looked at it once. You do not see the same thing."
Let that sink in.
Here's how to fix what your brain is filtering out:
👀 Watch real people use your site.
Set up a user test with clear tasks:
– “Find and buy Product X.”
– “Add two products to your cart.”
– “Look up the return policy.”
Then sit back, take a deep breath—and prepare to cringe.
💥 Ask yourself:
Are they clicking where I want them to click?
Are they pausing where they shouldn’t?
Are they scrolling, or are they bouncing?
Here’s what you’ll learn (and it’s gold):
Which icons confuse people.
(That cute little magnifying glass might not mean “search” to your audience.)
Where people drop off.
(Too much text? Not enough trust? Broken link? Bad vibes?)
What actually matters to buyers.
(Hint: It’s not your “About Us” story.)
Bonus Insight:
🎯 Text on buttons matters more than color.
You heard that right. It’s not blue vs. green. It’s what the button says.
“Buy Now” = premature commitment.
“See Options” = intrigue with less risk.
“Add to Cart” = action.
“Don’t Click Here” =... okay maybe don’t test that one unless you like chaos.
Clarity beats persuasion. Every. Single. Time.
No one wants to be “sold.” They want to understand.
So stop tweaking the shade of your CTA and start fixing the substance.
Because if you can describe their problem better than they can, you’ve already won.
