7 essentials to include on your website homepage
Emily Ward Making a great first impression starts with your website homepage. Your homepage is the first thing potential customers see so it’s important to make your mark and stand out.
Things like user experience and smooth navigation are really important here, but so are colour schemes, font selection, and company information. It’s about how you communicate through your content. This is the key to every successful website homepage.
This guide will take you through the absolute essentials to include on your website’s homepage and how this in turn will improve your online reputation and increase conversions.
Why is your website homepage important?
Your website homepage is the first thing potential customers see when they visit your business’ website. This initial impression is key to converting potential customers and a poorly executed homepage creates an unwanted barrier for prospective sales. When a customer visits your website homepage for the first time, you want them to not only understand what you sell but also who you are as a brand. A great website homepage will resonate with the customer, and implore them to stay and visit other pages with the end goal being a sale or lead. This is where website designers and developers come into the mix. These professionals will be sure to take your website homepage to the next level by making it engaging, eye-catching, and visually appealing.
7 essentials for your website’s homepage:
- Headline
Did you know that it takes just 50 milliseconds for a customer to form an impression of your website? That is why the headline of your website homepage must shine bright. This is where you tell your customers what your business is all about and what it has to offer in a few simple sentences. You want to make sure the headline targets the right people and is not only memorable but powerful too.
- Navigation
The next essential for your website’s homepage is your site navigation. This is how customers are able to find the information they need about your business quickly. Having a clear website navigation will not only reduce the bounce rates, it also allow customers to quickly find what they’re looking for and increase sales. Not an expert in website navigation? Working with UX (user experience) professionals can help you create an optimal navigation experience on your homepage and beyond.
- CTA
Call-to-actions. The button of all buttons and the easiest way to get website visitors to do what you want them to do. Call-to-actions should stand out on your homepage and attract visitors to click on them. An effective CTA button should be less than 6 words and focused – meaning it should compel the visitor to do the action required – such as “Sign up now”, “Create your free profile” or “Add to basket”. Whatever it is, it must stand out and be encouraging enough that customers will take action!
- Intro
This section is important. It’s not meant to be a detailed explanation of every product or service you offer. It’s to introduce your business and highlight the things that make you different to your competitors. This section gives you the opportunity to tell your brand story in a short and concise manner, whilst imprinting your business personality on the visitor. You want your text to be concise and easy to read so that visitors don’t get overwhelmed with information. If successful your intro will make them want to explore more of your website. As this is essential for your homepage, you may want to consider working with a professional content writer who can help get your message and brand across in an engaging manner.
- Eye-catching visuals
Another essential for your website homepage is visuals. Including quality images and/or videos to your website homepage is an engaging way to tell your message, without being too text-heavy. You want to use relevant content that both drives emotion and sells your product or service.
It’s important to remember that most customers will access your website from their mobile so all images and videos must be optimised to be mobile-friendly. A good web designer will be able to help with this by creating stunning visuals and producing them in the correct format. If you’re looking to wow your audience then it’s worth considering a professional to get it right.
- Testimonials
The first thing you want to do with potential customers is build trust that you’re a reputable business. Having positive reviews from satisfied customers is a tried and tested technique for building trust with new customers.
Choose a small selection of quality testimonials that compliment different aspects of your business e.g. product/service quality and customer service. It’s worth considering using reviews from third-party websites such as Trustpilot, so the user knows that it is a genuine review.
- Contact info
Including contact information in the footer of the homepage is essential for your website’s homepage. Having contact information visible encourages visitors to contact you directly, but also builds trust that you’re a genuine business. Within the footer, you can also include invitations to follow your social media profiles and other relevant and important website pages for customers to visit.
And there you have it, by incorporating these 7 essential elements to your website’s homepage, your business will deliver a quality and memorable website experience for your visitors, and more importantly, drive your sales up.
