Building Websites versus Building Worlds
“We don’t build websites. We build worlds” – Tim VanDerKamp – Co-owner of Stay Wild Digital Marketing
What is the difference between designing a website and building a world people will either see themselves in, or wish they could see themselves in?
That is why we wrote this article, to explain the difference between assembling components to form a website, and designing a digital world people will want to spend time in.
People Long For Unique Experiences
The first thing you need to understand about building a Digital World is that people desperately crave unique experiences. That is why people read books. It is why we watch movies. It is why we watch YouTube and TikTok – because we crave unique experiences.
This is true of every person who spends any time online. So when we are thinking about a website design, first and foremost we want to determine how we will use this website to provide a unique experience for anyone who visits.
This has multiple impacts. One – people who have a unique experience are much more likely to come back. Two – they are also much more likely to share your content with people they know.
So when you are thinking about the difference between just building a website versus creative a digital world, it must start with the question: How are we going to create a unique visitor experience?
If you cannot do this for your clients, all you add to the internet is one more square box filled with colors, images, and words. The internet has billions of web pages now, and we can tell you that probably 99% of them are just plain old websites. Nothing to experience and certainly nothing unique.
People Want to See Themselves in The Worlds They Visit
On top of having a unique experience, people also have a deep need to “see themselves” in a website. Meaning, if they look at a web page and do not quickly identify themselves in the look and feel and language of the site, they will not stay, and will rarely return.
This often poses a big challenge for business owners or managers who are trying to develop a new website. They often don’t know who their customer is, so they think their product is “for everybody.” And their look, feel, and language choices reflect this not knowing who their customer is.
And because of this, their true customer also feels alienated when they visit this type of website. They do not “see themselves” in the colors and images, and they don’t “hear themselves” in the language used to describe things. They basically feel like they’ve wandered into a neighborhood of the internet where they just don’t “fit in.” And so they leave.
We all have a desire to fit in and be around others who share our values and beliefs. This doesn’t change when people go online. People want to hang out in places online where they feel understood, or be around people they aspire to be like. So as you design a website, it must look like your customers, act like your customers, dress like your customers, and talk like your customers.
Remember, when you are trying to create a Digital World instead of a website, people must be able to “see themselves” in your online environment and “hear themselves” in your online environment.
People Should Want to See Themselves In The Digital World You Create
If there is an exception to the rule we just mentioned (People should be able to see themselves in the Digital World you create) it is that if they can’t see themselves in the Digital World you create, they should WISH to see themselves there.
One example of this is some of the luxury travel websites we see. They are incredible. The images look like you could just jump right into the screen. And even though I am not there right now, or might not have been even thinking about a Luxury Croatia trip – those Digital Worlds make me WANT to see myself there.
I remember showing one of these websites to a colleague of mine and asked her to just start saying whatever came to mind as she scrolled down the web pages. The first thing she said was, “It makes me want to stop working and book a trip. Like right now.”
If you are designing a digital experience, for anyone who might not be in your specific target audience, the experience should make them WANT to be part of it.
What is the difference between a Digital World and a plain old Website Design?
Let’s use the travel website example again. It you perform searches for travel agents or websites for many destinations, you will see some photos, and some words describing the basics – who, what, when, where, and how much it costs. This is “information.” And this is what you find on most websites.
If you design a regular website, and someone is already shopping for a trip, and the price is right, this type of website might convert this person. But chances are, most people who visit this type of website are going to continue shopping.
When you design an online experience, the information becomes secondary to the experience. When someone is having an experience they want to marinade in it. When they are searching for information, they want to find it as quickly as possible with the least amount of effort.
Are you starting to understand the difference between a common website design versus building a Digital World and creating online experiences?
I Want Them to Stop Eating!
There is a great line in the movie Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper. The chef in the movie is trying to explain what he intends to accomplish with his art (food).
He said, “I don’t want my restaurant to be a place where people sit and eat. I want people to sit at that table and be sick with longing. People eat because they are hungry – I want to make food that makes people stop eating.”
This is the essence of what we are describing here. People who go to the internet for information try to find that information as quickly as they can and then leave.
This is true to the degree that now on Google, they often don’t even need to visit your website to get the information they need. Google displays the answers to specific question right on their website.
But if while they are looking for information they come to a website and begin having an experience, they might forget all about that information they were looking for and stay just to be there. To see themselves here. To imagine themselves in a future when they could possibly be there. Or to spend time with other like minded people.
This is why building a website is not the same as building an online experience. If you build a website with lots of information, you quickly feed lots of people – like McDonalds does.
But if you don’t want to be like McDonalds, then you should learn how to begin building Digital Worlds where people can have experiences online.
You Can't Mass Produce a Unique Digital Experience
You can’t mass produce anything unique, and this includes a unique digital experience. You also can’t assemble a unique digital experience out of mass produced parts.
What I am talking about here are stock images and stock photography.
Do you know how many other web designers chose that one awesome photo from IstockPhoto for their customer’s website? A lot. And what are the chances of you finding a stock photo that wasn’t taken with your customers in mind being on the mark?
Very little chance. We assure you. And we know. Back when we built websites instead of Digital Worlds and unique online experiences, we would spend HOURS sifting through stock photo libraries just trying to find one or two images that were the perfect image.
Often we would find something close. We wanted to do a good job after all. But it was never quite right. Today we know that you NEED custom photography from a real photographer if you want any shot at creating a truly unique experience.
You need a professional photographer who has experience taking the kind of photos that will go into your digital world, and they need to know EXACTLY what type of images are required BEFORE they start taking photos. This is how you get the exact photos you need for your digital world.
The keywords here are, the photographer needs to know what you want before the shoot. Otherwise they will just take a bunch of random photos, and then you’ll be sifting through those like we used to try and sift through stock photo libraries.
When we work with photographers, we know exactly how many photos we need, what colors they need to match, what light they need to be taken in, what objects need to be in the photo, and we know exactly where each of those photos is going to end up on the website design. This is how you create a unique digital world to your own specifications.
And we would never use an amateur photographer. Never. That “friend” of yours with a good camera and two photography classes under their belt – not even close to being good enough. So don’t even think about it. You must have a professional and that professional must know how to photograph your type of service or product.
Videographers and Drone Pilots are the same way. Shooting a head shot video on your iPhone isn’t going to cut it. Neither is buying a GoPro 360 and your own toy drone and taking some video footage. You do what you do for a living, and we are sure you are good at it. Would you let some random kid of the street come run your business? Of course not. So why would you let them try to shoot video or drone footage for you?
