Gather StudioHero
Does the first screen say what you do and who it's for?
Problem
Do you name the pain your customer already feels?
Plan
Is the path to working with you obvious?
CTA
Is there one clear next step on every page?
Photos
Do real people show up, or only stock and buildings?
Proof
Do reviews and results back up the claims?
28 audits published
The Pink Bride
Bridal show organizer across Tennessee and Alabama. Beautiful photography, but the hero never says it's a show.
“The Pink Bride runs bridal shows in Tennessee and Alabama. Their hero photo is stunning — a real couple, real flowers, beautiful light. But I spent two minutes on the site this morning and still wasn't sure it was a bridal show. That's the audit.”
23/60 · 2026-06-29
StoryBrand / Business Made Simple
Donald Miller's messaging framework company. The hero is strong. The nav reveals a product sprawl problem underneath it.
“StoryBrand built a $25 million business teaching companies to use a single clear CTA — and their homepage has five of them. Let's audit the auditor.”
38/60 · 2026-06-29
The Knot
The dominant wedding vendor marketplace. Headline is vague, no couple photo in hero, sign-up form above the fold before you know why to sign up.
“The Knot has helped 25 million couples plan their wedding. Their hero image is confetti emojis on a cream background. I want to walk through their homepage with you — because what a platform this size gets wrong tells every local wedding vendor exactly what to get right.”
19/60 · 2026-06-29
Dave Ramsey / Ramsey Solutions
Personal finance brand built on one man's story. Hero headline is aspiration, not problem. Eight equal tile choices where there should be one path.
“Dave Ramsey's homepage headline is 'Live Like No One Else' — no face, no button, no problem named. Then eight identical tiles for eight different things. I audited it through the Plainspoken Blueprint this morning and I want to show you what the most famous personal finance brand in America is getting wrong on its own homepage.”
22/60 · 2026-06-29
The Unstuck Group
Tony Morgan's national church consulting org — 800+ churches served, strong content machine, but the homepage never defines 'unstuck' and photos are all SVG placeholders.
“The Unstuck Group has helped 800+ churches and publishes the best church-health research data in the space. Their homepage never says what "unstuck" actually means. Here's what I'd fix.”
18/60 · 2026-07-04
North Point Community Church
Andy Stanley wrote the book on communication. A guest-experience audit of his church's homepage.
“The church that wrote the book on communication buried its clearest message.”
36/60 · 2026-07-04
charity: water
What good looks like. A people-first nonprofit homepage that leads with a real face and a hard number.
“charity: water shows exactly what a clear, people-first website looks like done right.”
55/60 · 2026-07-04
Simon Sinek
The man who teaches 'Start With Why' opens his homepage with an app mockup, not his why.
“The man who teaches Start With Why does not start with why.”
32/60 · 2026-07-04
ClickFunnels
The funnel expert's own homepage is a twenty-two-offer menu with no single path.
“The world's funnel expert built a homepage with twenty-two doors and no path.”
37/60 · 2026-07-04
HubSpot
'Where go-to-market teams go to grow.' A jargon audit of a company that sells clarity.
“HubSpot's hero says 'agentic customer platform.' Can a stranger tell what that means?”
37/60 · 2026-07-04
Elevation Church
Slick production, but can a scared first-time guest find Sunday in three seconds?
“Slick church website. But can a scared first-time guest find Sunday in three seconds?”
27/60 · 2026-07-04
Zola
'Wedding planning starts here' — then nine tools and no first step. Wedding-vertical audit.
“Zola tells couples planning starts here, then hands them nine tools and no first step.”
31/60 · 2026-07-04
Salesforce
'Welcome to the Agentic Enterprise.' The #1 CRM still can't say what it does in plain words.
“Salesforce is the number one CRM and its homepage still can't say so plainly.”
36/60 · 2026-07-04
April Dunford is a nationally recognized positioning expert whose work directly shapes how B2B software companies go to market, making her homepage a high-stakes public test case for the very principles she teaches.
“She literally wrote the book on positioning. Her own homepage still can't explain what she does in one sentence.”
37/60 ·
Life.Church is the most-attended church in the United States, operating in 40+ states, making it a nationally recognized institution whose public homepage is a legitimate subject for a public messaging audit.
“Life.Church is the most attended church in America, in 40 states, with over 100,000 weekly attendees. And if you land on their homepage for the first time, the first thing you see is a movie poster and the words 'Every Weekend in July.' You have no idea if you're welcome.”
15/60 ·
WeddingWire is one of two platforms that control where most American couples find their wedding vendors, making its messaging choices a national template for how the wedding industry presents itself to brides.
“WeddingWire has 156,000 vendors, millions of reviews, and the most thorough planning toolset in the industry. The hero says 'Let's find your wedding team.' No face. No story. Just a search bar. Here is what that costs them.”
24/60 ·
Squarespace is a national platform used by 14 million entrepreneurs and taught as a standard tool in design and business curricula, making its homepage messaging choices a public case study in how software companies communicate to first-time buyers.
“Squarespace helped 14 million people build websites. Their own homepage won't tell you if it's for you.”
32/60 ·
Planning Center serves 70,000 churches nationally, making it one of the largest church management platforms in the country and a representative case study in how SaaS companies default to insider language when selling to deeply fluent audiences.
“70,000 churches use this software. The homepage never tells a first-time visitor what problem it actually solves.”
34/60 ·
Tithe.ly is a national church giving and management SaaS used by 53,000 churches, making it a representative case study for how ministry-focused software companies position value to pastors and church administrators across the country.
“Tithe.ly has 53,000 churches and a line of copy that would stop any pastor cold. It's buried on page two.”
32/60 ·
David's Bridal emerged from its second bankruptcy in 2023 and remains the largest bridal retailer in America, making its homepage messaging strategy a direct indicator of whether the brand understands what drove customers away in the first place.
“America's biggest bridal brand just came out of bankruptcy. I went to the homepage to see what changed. The hero headline is hidden in the CSS. The $69 dress promise is in the browser tab. And there is not a single customer review anywhere on the page.”
16/60 ·
United Way is a $3.8 billion national nonprofit — one of the most recognized charitable brands in America — making it an ideal teaching audit for any mission-driven organization that mistakes brand recognition for clear communication.
“United Way has been around since 1887. Their homepage still can't tell a donor what their money does in plain language.”
23/60 ·
Habitat for Humanity is a nationally recognized nonprofit with 50 years of brand equity and a homepage that still makes it difficult to volunteer, donate with context, or apply for housing help, making it a high-value public teaching case for the Plainspoken Blueprint framework.
“Habitat for Humanity has one of the most recognized brands in the world. The hammer. The orange vest. The family on the front lawn. But I spent 20 minutes on habitat.org trying to figure out how to volunteer this weekend. I still don't know.”
33/60 ·
Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most-cited voices on personal branding and content strategy globally, which makes his own homepage a legitimate and instructive case study for any business that follows his advice.
“Gary Vaynerchuk has spent 15 years teaching brands to put the customer first. I opened his homepage this morning. The first thing it told me was his job titles.”
16/60 ·
Mailchimp is a nationally recognized email marketing platform used by millions of small businesses, making it a relevant benchmark for any business owner evaluating their own digital marketing tools.
“Mailchimp is one of the most recognized brands in email marketing. Their homepage headline names a real pain point in eight words. So why does the visitor still have to guess who this is actually for?”
38/60 ·
Shopify powers over 4.6 million live stores worldwide and processed more than $235 billion in commerce in 2024, making its homepage messaging choices a case study that affects how millions of first-time entrepreneurs decide whether to start.
“Shopify's homepage tells you to 'be the next AI all-star.' It never shows you one.”
33/60 ·
Transformation Church is one of the fastest-growing multisite megachurches in the United States, with a lead pastor whose social reach rivals major media brands, making their homepage a nationally relevant case study in the gap between social authority and web conversion.
“Mike Todd has 3 million Instagram followers. His church homepage sends first-time visitors to YouTube.”
10/60 ·
Saddleback Church is one of the most studied and imitated churches in the world, making it a useful public benchmark for how even the most influential organizations can let their web presence drift from their actual message.
“Rick Warren wrote one of the best-selling books in Christian history about living a purpose-driven life. His church's website doesn't tell a stranger what their life could look like if they walked through the door.”
17/60 ·
Aldi
The discount grocery chain that beats Walmart on price has a homepage that forgot to say so.
“Aldi is the best grocery story in America right now. Their homepage just hasn't read it yet.”
23/60 ·
Audits reflect the site at the time of review. They're meant to show patterns — not to pass final judgment on a brand.
Questions? Email matt@gatherstudio.app