When people access your website, the home page will probably be the first thing they see. When they do, they expect to see something that will create a good first impression. It is the entrance to your site and it should briefly explain everything you have to offer and what makes you such a good resource of information and services. The only way to really create such a good impression is to make sure that your homepage has all of the important elements. Without them, your home page simply will not work and will fail to draw visitors in.
Here we will look at the important elements that your home page has to have in order for them to be successful, along with why each element plays such a big part in your website’s success.
The Headline
This is where it all starts. This is where you grab the attention of your visitors so then they are compelled to continue looking at your home page and then start browsing the site. That’s why this is arguably the most important element in the whole process, even though it’s something that your visitors will only look at for a matter of seconds. It should make it clear exactly what it is your site has to offer without being too long or filled with fluff. Keep it short, sweet, and sharp.
The Sub-Headline
This is where you can let your hair down a little. You have pulled people in with your headline, now you need to offer them a little more. In this part of the site, you can go into a little more detail about what you have on offer. Again, try and avoid using fluff or filler. Even though this section is longer it is still a valuable space. Make sure you make it count by illustrating how valuable your services can be.
The Benefits
Okay, so people know what it is you have on offer. But what is in it for them? This is the point where you describe exactly why your services are so beneficial. Perhaps you can save people money or maybe your products have features that have potential benefits. Tell people about them so then they know why your products and services can be so valuable to them.
The Features
While you may have told people about the benefits you can offer people, they may still be in the dark about exactly what it is you are offering. Tell people about the features you have on offer so then they know about all the different things your products and services are able to do, whilst of course following your SEO strategy. It’s here when you really start winning people over by showing them exactly what you have on offer.
The Testimonials
While some people may say they are not convinced by them, they can still be very effective. If you have some decent customer feedback to hand, put that on your front page so then people can see it as soon as they access your site. Then visitors will be able to see that people just like them have visited you and have been able to get something they found really useful out of it. If you can, includes names and photos with the testimonials to make them look more realistic. Just remember, people still read Amazon and eBay reviews for a reason, so don’t knock testimonials until you have tried them.
The Navigation
Make sure that your website is very easy to navigate around. You can do this simply by having an easily accessible navigation bar at the top so then people can find the pages they want and include links to pages in your home page copy. As long as your navigation is simple and easily visible, you should bring your bounce rate way down and have more people browsing your site.
The Resources
The vast majority of people who visit your site will not want to buy from you the second they arrive. It’s far more likely that they will want to have a look around and possibly even visit other sites before they decide to use your services. So in most cases, you will need to convince people to stay and pick your products or services. You can do this by posting a link to a page of resources where visitors can find out a little more about what you have on offer. The more plain simple information you can give them, the more likely they are to stay and become potential leads.
The Call To Action
When visitors reach the bottom of your home page, you can leave a call to action for them to see. This will encourage them to take positive action based on the information you have given them and take a look at what the rest of your site has to offer. Craft a short but sharp call to action that will encourage the visitor to take action themselves so they can find out more about what you have to offer and then become potential clients.
