What ‘Foggy Messaging’ Looks Like on a Real Website
You read your homepage out loud and you’re not even sure what you just said.
That’s the feeling I’m naming right here, because I know you know it. You’ve scrolled through your own website and thought, “Would anyone actually understand what I do from this?” And then you’ve moved on to something else, because looking at it too long makes your chest tight.
That’s foggy messaging. And it’s not because you’re bad at words. It’s because somewhere along the way, your website became a collection of things you think you should say, instead of the truth about what you actually do.
I see this all the time, and here’s what I want you to know first: this is fixable. More than that, it’s an opportunity. Because once you clear the fog, everything else gets easier, the conversations with potential clients get warmer, and you stop feeling like you need to apologize for your own website.
Let me show you what foggy messaging actually looks like, so you can spot it on your own site.
The Three Faces of Foggy Messaging
Foggy messaging isn’t always obvious. It doesn’t always look like bad writing or vague jargon, though sometimes it does. Often, it’s more subtle than that. It’s the kind of thing where everything sounds professional, but nothing feels like anything. Here are the patterns I see most often.
When Your Words Don’t Match Your Work
This is the most common one, and it sneaks up on you.
You used to work in corporate sales for 15 years. Then you became a business coach. Your website headline still has language from your old job, because you copied it six years ago and never looked back. Or maybe you added coaching language on top of it, so now your site says you do both things equally, when really you’re all-in on coaching now.
I worked with a consultant recently who described herself as a “growth strategist specializing in operational efficiency and systems optimization.” When we talked, though, what she actually does is help women business owners get their operations so organized that they finally have time to breathe. She stops feeling like she’s drowning in her own business.
Her words said one thing. Her real work said another. Nobody could find her because nobody was looking for a “systems optimization strategist.” They were looking for someone who could make their business stop feeling like chaos.
The opportunity here is that when your words match your actual work, the right people find you. Not everyone finds you, which is the real gift. Just the people who need exactly what you do.
When You’re Trying to Speak to Everyone
This one feels safer, so a lot of accomplished women fall into it.
Your homepage says you work with “entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone looking to level up their impact.” Your service description mentions “startups, established businesses, and anyone in transition.” You mention six different things you can help with, in case someone needs one of those.
Here’s what happens: nobody feels like you’re talking to them. Nobody thinks, “Oh, she gets exactly what I’m dealing with.” Instead, everyone thinks, “Maybe she does what I need, but I’m not sure, so I’ll keep looking.”
A lot of business owners I talk to do this because they’re worried about leaving money on the table. What if someone who needs you doesn’t feel welcomed? What if they think you only work with a specific type of person and they’re not it?
The real story is the opposite. When you get really specific about who you work with, the people who aren’t in that group don’t feel rejected, they just keep scrolling. And the people who are in that group feel relief. They think, “Finally, someone who gets my situation.” That’s when conversations happen.
When Your Messaging Gets Stuck in an Old Version of You
This is the one that brought you to read this article, I’m betting.
You’ve evolved. Your business has evolved. You’ve figured out what you’re really good at and what lights you up. You’ve worked with dozens of clients and you’ve gotten more confident. You know what questions they ask, what keeps them up at night, what the breakthrough moment feels like.
But your website still sounds like the early version of you, trying to prove herself.
Maybe the language is outdated. Maybe it’s too formal, when you’re actually warm and direct. Maybe it’s still trying to seem bigger than you are, when what people actually respond to is your realness. Or maybe it’s just that your site says something like, “I help people find success,” when what you actually do is help burned-out service providers stop overdelivering and start charging what they’re worth.
Your website hasn’t caught up with who you’ve become.
This is the most fixable of all, because you already know what needs to change. You know who you really are now. You just need your website to say it.
How Foggy Messaging Feels to Your Potential Clients
Let me paint the picture from the other side.
Someone finds your website. Maybe a friend referred them. Maybe they searched for something and you came up. They land on your homepage. They read your headline, then the first paragraph, then they scroll.
If your messaging is clear, they think one of three things: “Yes, that’s me,” or “That’s not me, but it’s clearly for someone,” or “I need to read more to find out.”
If your messaging is foggy, they think: “I think maybe this is about me? But I’m not sure. Let me check someone else’s site first.”
Then they leave.
The thing about foggy messaging is that it doesn’t make people angry or unimpressed. It makes them uncertain. Uncertainty is a click away from leaving. And there are 5.6 million websites, so they leave.
The people who do stay often stay because they’re confused, and confusion usually leads to a sales conversation that doesn’t work out, because you’re not actually aligned.
When your messaging is clear, you attract the right conversations and you repel the ones that were never going to work anyway. That’s not loss, that’s focus. That’s your website finally working for you, instead of against you.
Three Questions That Reveal Foggy Messaging
If you’re reading this and thinking about your own site, here’s how to spot the fog:
Can you say what you do in one sentence, out loud, without stumbling? I’m not talking about your headline. I’m talking about if a stranger asked you at a coffee shop what you do, and you had to answer in 15 seconds. If you find yourself using the word “essentially” or adding three clarifications, you’ve got fog.
Do you feel proud of how your site describes you? Not “Does it look nice?” I mean, when you share your URL with someone, do you feel like it represents who you’ve become, or do you feel a little embarrassed? That feeling is fog.
Can someone who knows nothing about your industry understand what makes you different? Not different as in “better than competitors.” Different as in, “What’s the actual thing you do that someone else might not?” If a new business owner read your site and then read a competitor’s site and couldn’t explain the difference, that’s fog.
What Clear Messaging Looks Like
I want to give you something to compare against, so you can see what’s possible.
Clear messaging doesn’t mean simple, and it doesn’t mean short. It means specific. It means someone reading your site knows exactly who you work with and why you’re the person to call.
Here’s what I notice when a website’s messaging is clear:
The headline tells the truth about who this is for. Not “everyone,” but “coaches in their first year who are scared to charge what they’re worth” or “divorce attorneys who want to do better by their female clients.”
The “about me” section is about your actual experience and what it taught you. Not a list of credentials, but the real story that makes you the right person for this work.
Every page on the site, including the services page, is written as if you’re talking to the person who needs you most. Not everyone. Your person.
When someone reads your site, they know what problem you solve, they know if it’s their problem, and they know how to take the next step. There’s no guessing.
That’s not complicated. That’s just honest.
The Opportunity in Clearing the Fog
Here’s the thing about foggy messaging, and why I reframe it as an opportunity instead of a problem: it means your website is ready to evolve.
You’ve done the hard work of figuring out who you are and what you do. You’ve built a real business. You’ve helped real people. Now your website gets to catch up to where you actually are.
When you clear the fog, a few things happen:
You feel different about your business. Seriously, I’m not exaggerating. When your website finally says what you actually do, there’s relief. You’re not holding your breath every time you share your URL. You’re not apologizing for it.
The conversations you have with potential clients are easier. They already understand what you do, so the call isn’t about explanation, it’s about fit. Are you the right person for their situation right now? That’s a much simpler conversation.
You start attracting the people who actually need you. Not everyone, because you’re being specific. Just the right ones. The ones who read your site and think, “Oh thank God, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
And here’s the thing I love most: once your messaging is clear, everything else on your website gets easier to decide. The design decisions, the content, what to say on each page. It all flows from that one clear statement of what you do and who it’s for.
How to Start Clearing the Fog Right Now
You don’t need a complete website overhaul to start here.
You can start right now by writing down these answers for yourself. Not for your website yet, just for you:
Who is the one person you most love working with? Describe them. What’s their situation? What do they care about?
What’s the one thing you help them with? Not everything you do, just the main thing. The thing that makes the biggest difference.
What was true about them before they worked with you, and what’s true about them now?
Why are you the right person to help with this? Not because you’re better than everyone else, but because of what you know or what you’ve experienced.
Write those things down. Don’t make them pretty. Just make them true.
Then, take one piece of your website. Your headline, or your about section, or the description of your main service. Read it out loud. Does it sound like someone answering those four questions? Or does it sound like someone trying to sound impressive?
If it’s the second one, you’ve found fog. Which means you’ve also found your opportunity.
The best websites I see are the ones where the person who owns them finally stopped trying to say everything, and started saying exactly what matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I do a bunch of different things? Do I have to pick just one?
You can absolutely do multiple things. But your website only needs to explain one main thing, the thing that brings most of your business. If someone needs your other services, they’ll ask. Or you can have a separate page for different offerings, but don’t lead with all of it. Lead with your main thing, the thing that’s most true about you right now.
Does clear messaging mean using a lot of jargon from my industry?
Nope, actually the opposite. Clear messaging uses plain language that anyone could understand, even if they’re new to your field. Jargon can hide foggy thinking, but clear thinking doesn’t need jargon to prove it. Use the words your actual clients use when they talk about their problems, not the words you learned in a certification.
What if I’m worried that being specific will cost me business?
In my experience, the opposite happens. Vague messaging costs you business because people aren’t sure it applies to them, so they keep looking. Specific messaging costs you business from people who weren’t going to be a good fit anyway, which just means you get to say yes to the people who are. More focus always beats more options.
Can I have clear messaging with a website that’s not beautiful?
Yes, absolutely. A clear message in a plain website beats a beautiful website with foggy messaging every single time. That said, once your message is clear, you can make your site beautiful and it will actually work. The magic happens when both things are true.
If your website no longer feels like you, let’s talk about it – Book a Free Website Clarity Call with Beth →
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