Hero Section

The hero section is “landing page money time”, our chance to create a first impression that keeps the right people reading and scrolling. But unfortunately, this one does not deliver.

What should it deliver? A clear, enticing answer to the question “What problem can you solve for me?” in under 5 seconds.

It is clear that this product helps with software sales, but how? We only learn that after reading the subheading (“Create interactive and...”). Which we will probably notice that last.

Why? Because people scan websites according to their visual hierarchy. Some elements pop out more than others. For example, moving things are always noticed first, then faces, then big bold letters, etc.

Above is my attempt to illustrate this attention map, the order in which elements are noticed. Try it for yourself - go to Walnut.io, close your eyes, open them and try to notice what you see first.

Demo Section

This heading is great, it’s clear and direct. “Now” is a strong word.

But after that, this section gets a little confusing.

First of all, this "screenshot” looks like a video thumbnail, so I expected it to be clickable and play a video. But it’s just an image.

Then, there are two competing Calls to Action (CTAs). The animated “Capture product” button and the bright “Get started” below. I’m not sure what the desired flow is here, but for me it was confusing.

Walnut is known for great videos, so I think that putting one here would be a better way to get people to learn about the product.

Value Proposition Section‍

The messaging here is great, the headings relate to what every sales person wants, in a clear and concise language.

“Sell smarter” is the weakest one in my opinion. It’s slightly more vague then the other two, and promises a “process improvement”, as a opposed to a result (“sell more/faster”).

The animated illustrations are a nice touch for gentle attention grabbing. But they deviate from the overall visual language (that is flat and minimalistic), which adds noise in my opinion.

Awards Section

‍This heading is great, and is well within Walnut’s fun and personal tone of voice. And Walnuts is a highly appreciated startup with tons of awards, which is something to be proud of.

But - I’m not sure that this is the right place for this section, because this information might not be “high on the list” for a potential customer trying to make a buying decision.

This “Awards section” could help with answering the question “Can you really do what you promise?”. But that would require the messaging to change towards highlighting the appreciation of *the product*, and not the company.

Capabilities Section

‍Another clear and concise heading.

But the design here is pretty low-key (small text, few colors, no animations), especially compared to the other sections that are high contrast and grab your attention. So I suspect that the critical information in this section might get overlooked.

Benefits Section

Great banner design with strong messaging (and a nice wink to the “nut” theme”).

Adding the direct CTA (“Get started”) every 2-3 sections is a great move. It creates an "exit route" for customers who have seen enough, and want to go to the next step.

The numbers here are very impressive and deserve a bolder design.

CTA Banner‍

This is a nice statistic to show, but I’m not sure how well it would resonate with sales people, because it doesn’t indicate anything about them personally (“Yeah of course, there are some terrible salespeople out there. But my demos are awesome.”)

In addition, the use of emojis is unprecedented in the website up to this point. It’s another breach of the visual language, which makes this banner look a little “hacked together”.

Also - this big yellow block is a little hard on the eyes.

Testimonials Section

Finally, some testimonials!

But why is the testimonial itself so small and hard to read? Especially with the huge “Here are some testimonials!” heading that grabs all the focus. Testimonials (and customer quotes in general) are a great tool.

They help prospects identify themselves and hear their thoughts spoken out loud. So I think that this section could be a lot higher in the website.

There is a set of 4 questions that every visitor goes through in your website:

1. What problem can you solve for me?
2. Can you actually do what you say?
3. Can I afford it?
4. What’s the next step?

The testimonial section is an answer to question 2, so it should usually be pretty high up.

Video Section

‍I love this video.

It’s fun, engaging, and gives so much context about Walnut’s value proposition, capabilities, features, benefits etc. It also shows their unique, fun character.

So it’s a shame that it's hidden here in the last section.

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To summarize - Walnut's marketing is generally great. But it seems like their dramatic growth spurt might have impacted their decision-making in regards to the website and dulled the sharpness of their storytelling.