The StoryBrand One-Pager: Fill 7 Boxes, Get a Clear Homepage

Filled-in example: a local physiotherapy clinic

Illustrative example, not a real business. Use it to see how short each box should be.

Your one-liner (say it in one breath)

Miller also teaches a short spoken summary built from boxes 2, 4 and 7. Use it in your bio, email signature and when someone asks 'what do you do?'.

[Problem the customer has, in their words.]
[What you do about it, as a plan or product.]
[The result they get.]

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Homepage wireframe built from the boxes

This layout follows the book's website advice in spirit. The exact order is ours. Build top to bottom.

12 headline formulas

Written for this one-pager, not quoted from the book. Write your hero headline from one of these. Clear beats clever.

• [Result] for [customer], without [pain].

  Want + problem in one line.

• We help [customer] [get result].

  The simplest clear version.

• [Result] in [time frame].

  Concrete and visible.

• Stop [pain]. Start [result].

  Problem and success side by side.

• The [category] for [customer] who want [result].

  Names who it's for.

• Get [result] without [common objection].

  Removes the main worry.

• [Number] [customers] use [brand] to [result].

  Authority up top. Use real numbers only.

• [Result], done for you.

  For service businesses.

• Tired of [pain]? [Brand] [fixes it].

  Leads with the internal problem.

• Finally, [result] that [proof point].

  Speaks to people who tried before.

• [Action verb] your [thing] in [number] simple steps.

  Previews the plan.

• You [want]. We [help you get it].

  Customer as hero, you as guide.

Before → after: a generic SEO agency homepage

A made-up, typical agency homepage. Not a real company.

Common StoryBrand mistakes

• Your About story sits in the hero.

  Founding year and team size belong lower down, as proof. The hero is about the customer.

• You have three different buttons in the hero.

  One direct CTA, one transitional. More choices means fewer clicks.

• Your headline is clever but unclear.

  A pun nobody gets fails the 5-second test. Say the result.

• You skipped the problem section.

  Without stakes, there's no reason to act now.

• You laid the fear on thick.

  Too much doom pushes people away. A few honest lines are enough.

• Your plan has 7 steps.

  Three steps feel easy. Seven feel like work.

• You used fake or vague proof.

  'Trusted by hundreds' with no names reads as empty. Real names, real numbers, with permission.

• You forgot people not ready to buy.

  Without a transitional CTA (free guide, checklist), they leave and never come back.

Copy-paste prompt: draft your 7 boxes

Use Donald Miller's StoryBrand SB7 framework from Building a StoryBrand.

My business: [what you sell]
My best customer: [who, where, what they do]
What they say when they first contact me: [paste 2–3 real messages or call notes]
Real proof I have: [testimonials, numbers, years, logos]

1. Fill all 7 SB7 boxes in one or two short lines each, using my customer's own words where possible.
2. Write a one-liner (problem, plan, result) under 30 words.
3. Write 5 hero headlines under 10 words that make the customer the hero.
4. Only use the proof I gave. Where proof is missing, write [real proof needed].