Think of your home page as your company’s virtual front door which majority of visitors to your website go through to your home page and yes, first impressions are crucial.

Ultimately the goal of every business website is the same, to attract new customers, get them to call/contact the business and make it easy for customers to get around the site to find the right information.

It is amazing how many sites lack these vital features which is why we have compiled this article.

1. Catchy Headline and Sub Headline 

Remember how I said first impressions are crucial? You have 3-5 seconds to tell your potential customers what your business is about and what it has to offer.

This can be achieved with a catchy headline and sub headline that is of course “above the fold” which means they don’t need to scroll down the page in search for information, it is simply right there and easy to read.

A catchy headline may only be a few words, but it is one of the most important pieces of information on your site, keep your headline clear and simple.

Your sub headline will then link nicely into your catchy headline and offer a brief description about what your business does or what it has to offer.

2. Call to Action 

Now that you have caught your customer’s attention, you need to think of the overall goal of your website. What would you like them to do once they are here?

Of course you want them to stay on your site, perhaps even delve a little deeper so they can find out more about your business. A call to action does exactly that.

A Call to Actions should be catchy, visually appealing and easy to find so that you can lead your potential customers to the right information.

You should have at least 2 or 3 different calls to actions on your homepage because you need to remember that different people will be at different stages of the buying cycle. Examples of call to actions include “Buy Now”, “Contact Us”, “Book a Free Consultation” or “Find out More”

Our proven digital marketing strategies will ensure that whatever your goal is for your site, we will find the best call to actions for your business and ensure they are placed in the most effective areas.

3. Relevant Images

Most of us are visual people and we love to see a visual representation of your business and the services it has to offer.

Ensure though that the images you use are relevant and clearly indicate what your business has to offer, images that capture emotion will appeal to your target audience as our brains are naturally drawn to human faces and we empathise with their emotions.

Ideally, if you have your own professional looking images these are best as they add a sense of credibility and realness to your website, plus gives the potential customer a true insight into your business, its services and benefits.

4. Core Service Areas 

Remember that 3-5 second rule? Within these vital seconds visitors to your website need to know about your business AND the services that you offer. As a web designer, this is one area we notice that is often forgotten. One of the reasons why I think this happens frequently is that the person making the website (often it is the owner of the business) already knows about their services BUT forgets that other people have no idea about them!

The best way to resolve this issue is get your friends, family and customers to check out your website. Ideally these people don’t really know a great deal about what you do, so essentially if the website doesn’t make sense to them, it won’t make sense to the potential customers visiting your website.

Your core service areas will showcase exactly what you do and then link onto another page so people can find out more about you. For example, our core service areas are website design and development, SEO services and website redesign.

5. Logo

Your logo should be visible at the top of your website. After all it is at the core of your business and its identity. People will identify and remember your business through its logo which goes to show the power of branding and good marketing.

Ideally your logo should be in the header, mostly the top left although you can choose to centre it as well. Wherever you choose to place your logo, it should be easily found.

Ensure the logo is large enough so your customers can read it clearly, but not too large that it takes up vital space above the fold.

6. Contact Information

It goes without saying that contact information should be on EVERY page, especially the home page.

This is another vital element of homepage design that we often see missing and visitors to your home page should not have to search for your contact information, as we have become very impatient people and most will just give up and move onto the next business.

Visitors to your website should be able to find your contact information very easily.

As a minimum, we recommend having contact information in the header and footer of the page.

You could also have a contact form on the homepage as well depending on what the goals are of your website.

Either way, having easily accessible contact information gives the potential customer comfort knowing that you are easy to contact and it gives your business the credibility it deserves.

7. Easy Navigation 

Once again easy navigation comes down to providing all the right information in the right places.

Think of the navigation of your website like a road map and you want the visitors to your website to find the best route without getting lost!

The best website designs have a clearly thought-out navigation process that is easy to use, as most people will land on your homepage, you want to give visitors a clear path into your site so they can delve a little deeper and find out more about your business.

To provide easy navigation you want to ensure your navigation is visible at the top of the page.

If there is a lot of information on your site, you may want to consider a search box to make finding information even easier and easy navigation also lowers your website bounce rate which looks good in Google’s eyes.

8. Testimonials 

Providing testimonials is another way to establish trust and credibility of your business online.

You know the value and the quality of the services you provide but sometimes people won’t believe that until they have heard it from someone else.

By adding your customer’s experiences, you can further consolidate the trust and credibility of your brand.

Simply add some excerpts from some of your best customers to your homepage and give them a name and a photo to further increase the credibility of the testimonial.

You could even link to further case studies if you want to share your work further and you should also encourage happy customers to add a review to your Google my Business listing to further improve your trust, credibility and visibility online.

9. Information about your team and/or business AND its benefits 

Before a potential customer chooses to buy your product or service, they want to know a bit more about you and why they should choose you.

The homepage is the perfect place to put the most important information about you and your business and should then link to your “About Us” page.

This information should avoid generic statements and instead be clear and focused on your objectives.

You should also include the benefits of choosing your business on the homepage, what makes your business stand out from your competitors?

How do you want your potential customers to feel once they have received your product or service?

Potential customers want to know about the benefits of using your company because that can be a deciding factor into whether they stick around. The benefits should be easy to read, relatable and MUST speak the customer’s language – avoid jargon so they will truly understand what you are about.

10. SEO – Targeted Keywords 

Lastly, I could not leave out one of our favourite and most important features of any website, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and using targeted keywords.

SEO is essential for your homepage and without it, how will any new customers find you? Targeting the right keywords will help you stand out from the crowd and find the right customers.

Finding the right keywords takes thorough research and practice, one thing we think we are pretty good at at JS Website Design. All of our websites that we produce include thorough SEO research in order to produce the best results for your business.