Why Your Digital Strategy Needs This One Simple Question
The single most important question you can ask about your digital product, feature, or website is deceptively simple.
The single most important question you can ask about your digital product, feature, or website is deceptively simple: What do I want this to do? Or maybe even better, what do my users want it to do for them?
I thought about this question a lot while working with a professional services client who wanted to revamp their website. They had plenty of visitors but no clear sense of what those visitors should do next. Was the site meant to generate leads? Educate clients? Validate expertise? By digging into their data, we found the answer: users already knew who the client was. What they needed was reassurance. The website wasn’t about making first impressions; it was about validating trust and expertise. With that clarity, we designed a site that supported both the client’s goals and their users’ needs seamlessly.
Sometimes, though, the answer to this question leads to an even bigger realization. I once worked with a client convinced they needed a website. But as we examined their strategy, it became clear: a website didn’t fit into their go-to-market plan. Their audience wasn’t searching for them online, and their resources could be better spent elsewhere. This realization saved them significant time and money, allowing them to focus on what truly mattered.
Why Asking This Question Matters
When you ask, What do I want this website (or page, product, or feature) to do? it forces you to pause and think deeply. It’s not just a productivity hack; it’s about ensuring every decision has meaning. Without this level of clarity, your website risks becoming a cluttered collection of ideas. Worse, you might waste resources chasing goals that don’t align with what your business really needs.
In my experience, this kind of reflection often leads to hitting pause. Features or pages get put on the backburner until there’s more data or a clearer purpose. And when they do move forward, they’re far more impactful because they’ve been created with intention.
Aligning Purpose with User Needs
Ideally, people visit your website because you're providing some kind of value to them. The goal is to make it as easy as possible to connect the users to that value as fast as possible—the “Aha” moment. If your purpose aligns with their needs, the experience becomes effortless. If it doesn’t, frustration builds.
Take my earlier client as an example. By digging into their analytics, we discovered what users were actually doing on their site. That insight helped us build a site that served users’ needs while also advancing the client’s goals. It’s not magic; it’s about asking the right questions and following the data.
Experimenting to Uncover Insights
This is where experimentation becomes essential. To truly understand your users, you have to test. Why are they doing what they do? What do they really want? How can you help them get there faster?
We test often to understand the users and validate hypotheses. A/B testing headlines, surveying users, or analyzing heatmaps can reveal surprising insights. Sometimes, it’s a simple tweak—like changing a call to action—that makes all the difference. Other times, it’s a larger overhaul. Either way, experimentation helps you create a guidebook for your users, their needs, and their behaviors.
Staying Adaptable
Here’s the reality: what works today might not work tomorrow. Businesses change. Audiences shift. Technology evolves. Revisiting the question—What do I want this to do?—isn’t something you do once and forget. It’s a habit. And it applies to every page, product, or feature you create. Staying adaptable isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about staying relevant to what truly matters for your users and your goals.
A Focused Approach Brings Results
When you take the time to ask what you want your digital product to do, you create focus. Focus drives decisions. Decisions drive results. It’s that simple. And it’s not just about websites; it’s a mindset you can bring to anything you build.
So, next time you’re thinking about your website—or any digital experience—ask yourself that deceptively simple question. You might be surprised by how much clarity it brings.
What’s your website’s purpose? Or your product’s? Reply to this email and let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.