You may have heard the saying, 'looks aren’t everything,' but when it comes to the homepage of your website, to put it simply, they are. The look of your homepage combined with quality of it's content, equate to your business's online success. Think of it like this, if people don’t like your website, they won't trust it either.
A homepage without the right content or look, will reflect poorly on your brand and will affect your ability to succeed online. That is why it so important that your website speaks clearly and passionately about your business.Your homepage needs to tell the world, in a clear and impactful way who you are and what you do or can do. Your company needs to use the homepage, which is without a doubt one of the most important aspects of your site, to entice customers to want to learn more about your brand.
The moment that a user lands on your website they should be starting to get a sense of who you are and by the time that they hit the bottom navigation, if not before, they should be wanting to learn more.
Using a combination of keyword laden content, graphics that speak loudly about your brand, and directive CTA’s, your home page should scream to the user this is our brand and this why we are better than the competition.
If you aren’t introducing your products/services to users on your homepage then you aren’t property selling your brand. Your users should not have to go digging for information, instead they should know exactly what you can offer from page number one. A good tip is to promote a few popular products that best sell your brand, your goal is not to overwhelm customers on page one.
So take advantage of your homepage by using images that combine text also called CTA’s, to sell your products. Once you have chosen a few products to display, ensure that you are effectively using navigation pieces to further lead users to information on those products and services.
You absolutely must make it easy for users to contact you. You can clearly tell customers how to get in contact with you by including a contact header on your top navigation menu and in text within your bottom navigation. These two spots have become traditional in website design, so users will look here first.
If you want to continue to build trust with potential customers, you should be presenting reasons why your brand is successful. This could be in a few forms; words of praise from successful customers, a media review or any award or recognition that your company has received. Great reviews of your company and yours products will help to convince your customers to convert.
We could add other items to our list of things to include on your homepage, but this is a great start.
Remember a great homepage is just one step in the development of a successful inbound marketing strategy. Take advantage of our free website assessment and we will help you to figure out if your homepage currently is saying the right things about your business. Let us help you to discover how you can grow your online presence.