If you’re not sure what a StoryBrand website is, here’s your chance to not only find out, but to rewire your whole marketing strategy.
A lot of businesses choose to tell potential customers their own stories: how the company got started, what they can do, and so on.
Here’s the thing: potential customers don’t need to know that.
They need to know what they can get out of the company. As a business owner, if you’re able to do this for your customer, you’re on the road to success.
Understanding and using the StoryBrand framework can help – we’ll show you how.
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What is the StoryBrand framework?
Donald Miller lays out the StoryBrand framework in his 2017 book, Building a StoryBrand.
The purpose of the guide is to help business owners clarify their marketing message. By taking a storytelling approach, they can position customers as heroes and communicate clearly.
With the customer as the hero, the business becomes the guide.
Think about some of your favorite movies or books. The StoryBrand guide simply mirrors that age-old format of storytelling, using 7 steps for clarity.
The BrandScript
Known as a BrandScript, the 7 steps to the StoryBrand framework are intended to help businesses create a customer-centric marketing strategy.
Known as a BrandScript, the 7 steps to the StoryBrand framework are intended to help businesses create a customer-centric marketing strategy.
The BrandScript should give your company a clear direction before you start messaging. Otherwise, your website design could get confusing.
You can find a StoryBrand certified guide to help set your BrandScript up, but here’s an intro:
1. The Hero: is the customer or audience that a company is targeting.
2. The Problem: is what the hero needs to have resolved.
3. The Guide: is the business – or the Yoda to the customer’s Luke Skywalker, as Donald Miller puts it.
4. The Plan: is what the guide can do for the hero.
5. The Action: is where the guide directs the hero, in order for the hero to succeed.
6. The Success: is when the hero gets what they need.
7. The Moral of the Story: is that failure is not an option, which is why the guide is there.
As our StoryBrand website examples will show you, the StoryBrand framework is not about telling your story – it’s about inviting a customer into a story.
9 StoryBrand website examples to inspire
We’ve pulled together 9 StoryBrand website examples to mirror the 7 pieces of the BrandScript. Each website is a great example of one of the steps in particular.
The aim of the StoryBrand concept is to help shift the marketing focus of your project, to communicate clearer, and to grow your business.
Once you take a look at these websites, you’ll probably find great StoryBrand websites everywhere you look – and some not-so-great examples, too.
Check these out, and see what you could do to change your messaging:
1. Coco & Eve
Our first website example nails the hero section in the StoryBrand framework. This is arguably the most important section of them all.
When someone lands on your website home page, the first thing they see is the section above the fold, or the area on-screen that’s visible without having to scroll.
Each visitor to your website will want to know how you can make their life better, and the hero section needs to tell them this immediately.
After all, the human brain has a short attention span – something that the StoryBrand concept aims to address with the Grunt Test.
What’s a Grunt Test?
The messaging in your above-the-fold section is critical. Your value proposition needs to be clear and compelling.
The Grunt Test helps businesses to stress-test their hero section. See if you can answer the following customer questions:
- What are you offering?
- How will it make my life better?
- What do I need to do to get it?
Back to our StoryBrand website design example, this hair care company has a clear message – in fact, it has two.
You don’t need to factor in two value propositions to your website design, but it works well here.
When people land on the home page, they see the hero statement front and center:
“The silky secret to smooth hair and skin”
The website design has a coordinated color palette, paired with a photo of a glamorous model with – you guessed it – smooth hair and skin.
Right underneath the value proposition is a product description and a call to action button, urging customers to shop now.
Here’s how this home page performs against the Grunt Test:
- The site is offering a pillowcase and eye mask.
- The products will make your hair and skin smooth.
- You just need to click a button to get it.
2. charity: water
Your website needs to immediately tell customers or clients how you can solve a problem for them, right there in the hero section.
The first of our StoryBrand website examples solves the problem of bad skin and tangled hair. Our second example is even more compelling in its messaging and service offerings.
As a charity, the language used on this website is more emotive and direct.
The problem is a water crisis. The issue is magnified with the use of a statistic for the hero statement – that 1 in 10 people lack access to clean water.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
This website example isn’t solving a direct problem for the person viewing it. So how does that person become the hero?
The site fits into the StoryBrand format by using a very clear, attention-grabbing message from the outset. Here’s how this site passes the test:
- It offers to invite people into a community of helpers.
- Those helpers will save families around the world.
- All they need to do is choose an amount to give each month.
Whoever your potential client or customer is, you can find a way to present an issue only your brand can solve.
As with this example, don’t leave room for doubt. Proactive language tells your audience that they’re about to go on a journey with you.
3. Perfectly Placed
Remember, companies aren’t the heroes – customers are. In the context of a StoryBrand, your business needs to play the part of a guide.
That means positioning yourself as an expert right away. Like this next StoryBrand website example, you can put the message in your value proposition.
Offering cleaning services, the site explicitly tells clients what the business can do to make life better for them.
It also makes use of two very clear call-to-action buttons above the fold, urging people to get organized. But there’s more.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
Websites need to be great below-the-fold, too. Once you’ve encouraged people to scroll down your home page, you have to continue the StoryBrand narrative.
This site goes straight into the guide section by giving examples of reviews from happy customers, alongside the company’s professional affiliations. Here’s why this works:
- Sharing testimonials shows empathy, which people love to see.
- Proving your services are accredited shows authority, making you a reliable guide.
- Focusing on clients rather than your brand emphasizes how you can make life better.
Being the guide doesn’t mean you can never talk about how your business got started. And you don’t need to hide your brand’s origins on an ‘about us’ page.
Great StoryBrand website examples like this one use a brand’s story as a tool to cement the company’s authority.
It’s short and sweet: the business owner sums up in a couple of sentences what problem they identified, why they understand the customer, and how they offer to solve it.
4. Divvy Homes
The best StoryBrand websites get all their messaging across on one page. It’s cool to have a multi-page site, but consider those extra pages as just that: extras.
Your plan section should come right after you’ve positioned your customers as heroes, identified the problem, and introduced your business as the guide.
That way, people don’t have to search for a solution. This StoryBrand website makes the plan section obvious.
It helps that the above-the-fold area has a button urging the client to ‘learn more’. When they click, they’re taken straight to the plan.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
Summarize your plan in a few short steps. Don’t write a paragraph filled with fluff and belief statements: get your client to see the solution in a few words.
This website example uses a numbered list, but you could use bullet points or illustrations as a way to communicate your plan. Here’s why it’s effective:
- The copy is direct, and positive. No reading between the lines here.
- The actions the client needs to take are simple.
- The guide is there all along – in this case, clients are literally told they’re not alone.
In case it hasn’t been said enough, your plan should be simple. From behind the scenes, it might be a complex web of things, but customers don’t need to know that.
For them, this part should be easy. The plan gives an incredibly clear example of what your business can offer to solve the problem.
5. Lovejoy & Numbers
Your customers have read your plan, and now they want to know more about your product – you need to give them a way to make that happen.
A well-placed call to action button is a key lead generator for your business. But why put a lead generator in just one place? When it comes to action messages, repetition is key.
This next StoryBrand website example takes one call to action button and repeats it four times on the home page.
To make it feel seamless, the button fits with the design elements of the website. A call to action should be clear, but not aggressive.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
An effective StoryBrand website keeps all of its key messaging simple. Copy is clear, the product on offer is obvious, and actions are quick.
We’re talking two or three words. If you want clients to schedule a call, do as this website does and keep it brief. Here’s how to call the hero to action:
- Use short words on your buttons, like ‘buy now’ or ‘book a call’.
- Design them in your company’s colors so they’re obvious but cohesive.
- Repeat that same call to action throughout the page.
Put a lead generator in each key section of your StoryBrand framework. That way, as users scroll through your website, they can easily find the next step.
Consider which words will help drive revenue for your brand. If customers don’t need to schedule a call, what action do they need to take?
6. Mindful Chef
Once you’ve got a customer’s attention with your first, big value proposition, steer them towards a purchase with a few more compelling reasons.
Alongside examples of previous happy clients, you could make space on your website for extra marketing collateral like a video, industry insider testimonials, and a value stack.
Your value stack is a handful of value propositions that will enhance the customer experience. Most great StoryBrand websites illustrate these with photos or icons.
This is your chance to shout about the amazing things your brand stands for, without making it the hero of the story.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
Just like with your plan, don’t try to show customers the way to success with a long paragraph of information. You need to share quick, compelling examples.
Plus, all these extra cool things you can do need to benefit the user. Take some cues from this website and start marketing all the perks of your business:
- Introduce the value stack as something the customer needs or wants.
- Illustrate every example with an icon – think about our attention spans.
- Make use of video or photo imagery to show customers what ‘success’ looks like.
Feel free to really cement that idea of success with more than just a value stack. This particular example compares its services to competitor companies – now that’s confidence.
What you’re aiming for with a StoryBrand format is to let people see what they could achieve by doing business with you. Just be sure to keep it realistic.
7. Made to Impact
This one of our StoryBrand website examples doesn’t hold back from sharing the moral of the story – what could go wrong if the problem isn’t solved.
It’s pretty clear on all of the websites we’ve looked at, if you read between the lines.
For example, if you don’t buy Coco & Eve’s hair care products, you won’t have smooth hair. If you don’t get Perfectly Placed to organize your stuff, life will be hard.
But this last website puts the issue right there on its home page, before immediately showing how the business can solve that. Other companies, take note.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
In all the best stories, the heroes can see what they stand to lose by not following the guide. Following the StoryBrand logic, your company should do the same.
Make it immediately clear when people land on your website that they’ll benefit from using your expertise, product, or service. Here’s how this website does it well:
- The problem is stacked up against the desired outcome on the site.
- The company creates a ‘gap’ between both sides, and positions itself as the solution.
- The information is quick and easy to read – no lengthy paragraph in sight.
It pays to present your solution in a format that draws customers in, rather than alienating them with a more aggressive tone of voice.
One more thing: don’t over-promise. You want to grow your business, not take people’s money and run, so make sure you can deliver on your solutions.
8. BetterUp
If you’ve ever worked in an office, you know it’s not always sunshine and happiness.
Instead of assuming anything, BetterUp demonstrates that it knows and understands the most common problems people face in the world of business.
And what’s more, this site uses the StoryBrand approach to communicate and guide the users toward the solution.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
Grab the attention of your customers by showing, not telling how your product or service can help them.
Use visual cues, like graphics, animations, charts, and varying typography, to create an engaging landing page. Show the problem and communicate the solution like BetterUp:
- Take the time to explain the problem from the moment a user lands on your website.
- Use data, testimonials, and examples to back up your argument.
- Offer the user a tangible and actionable solution to the problem at hand.
Don’t underestimate the power of customer reviews and testimonials. By using user examples in your marketing communication, you’re telling the user that they don’t have to just take your word for it.
Instead, you can confidently say that others have found your product or service useful in a similar situation.
9. Amory Realty
The overall tone of your marketing communication can help to bring clarity to your key messaging. Or, it can further complicate the way you get your main message across.
And as far as StoryBrand marketing goes, you want to be on the same page as your customers.
To do that, take a leaf out of this real estate agency’s website. The language used on Amory Realty’s homepage positions the business as a reassuring guide to the customer.
How does it fit the StoryBrand framework?
Focus on developing a consistent, encouraging tone for your website and brand overall.
After all, you want your business to fit the model of the StoryBrand guide. And to do that effectively, it’s important to pay attention to how you’re guiding the StoryBrand hero, your customer.
Here’s how you can create a reassuring and knowledgeable, but approachable tone for your brand:
- Use language that resonates with your target audience.
- Don’t use over-complicated vocabulary or complex sentence structures.
- Speak to your audience like you would to a friend.
This way, your site won’t come across as pretentious or complicated. There’s nothing worse than trying to grasp what a business does but getting lost in the internal jargon.
Use tools like the Hemingway App to check that you’re writing at the right reading comprehension level for your audience.
A few words about the benefits of StoryBrand marketing
Although the StoryBrand guide has been made to take your customers on a journey, it only really forms a part of your marketing plan.
You still need to find ways to drive traffic to your website and create brand awareness, so don’t completely abandon other digital marketing strategies.
But there are some crystal clear perks of having a StoryBrand website:
- You can clarify your brand’s message, and capitalize on those short attention spans that we humans are guilty of having.
- It helps to drive engagement by inviting customers into their own stories – if they know you can solve their problems, you’ve got repeat business.
- It can boost revenue – by shifting the focus onto the customer’s life and taking them on a journey, the StoryBrand helps to simplify the sales funnel.
5 tips for creating impactful StoryBrand websites
1. Design something unique to your brand
From the copy to the colors, the logo to the imagery, you’ll want a website that is immediately identifiable as yours.
You can hire a web designer, or use a website creator like Zyro to get the job done in a fraction of the time (and at a fraction of the cost) but with the same high-impact look.
2. Write a compelling value proposition
The success of StoryBrand websites revolves around that first statement that visitors see when they land on the new website.
Spend time drafting short, sharp propositions that encapsulate your brand’s solution. Don’t forget to pair the winning one-liner with a call to action button.
3. Position yourself as the expert
Sprinkle positivity all over your website copy. There is such a thing as overdoing it, so just make sure you’re keeping things light and easy.
A one-liner section headline paired with short sentences and bullet points makes your website copy skimmable and easy to take in. Simultaneously, you’re able to put your site real estate into use and give the customer reasons to do business with you.
Good StoryBrand websites do a fantastic job of confidently declaring themselves as thought leaders in their fields with strong and well-written website copy.
Don’t have a way with words? Outsource your site’s copy to someone with plenty of marketing (and writing) experience. It’s essential that your words and directions are clear.
4. Make it easy for visitors to convert
When you can’t find the cash register in a store, it’s tempting to ditch your basket and leave. Think about your website in the same way, so you don’t let revenue take a hit.
Make it impossible for visitors to miss cues to buy, call, or enquire. Call to action buttons should be bright and prominent on your website.
The same goes for the navigation bar: make sure everything worth noting is at the forefront of your new website.
5. Show people what they’re missing
In the nicest of ways, make it obvious that visitors aren’t going to solve their problems if they don’t use your products or services.
An aspirational video, beautiful images, an enticing value stack, and a success section featuring happy clients should do the trick – keep it clear, and keep it positive.
You want to save time by showing, not telling, why your target audience should do business with you.
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