If you don’t grab visitors on your homepage, you will lose them forever.

Have you ever visited a company’s website, only to discover that their homepage was outdated, unattractive and a pain to use?

I know I have.

I almost instantly clicked off. I would never think of doing business with such a company. So if you want to design a website for your growing business.

How can you create a homepage that impresses and even excites potential customers?

Here are some of the most critical elements every website’s homepage must have.

WHAT IS A HOMEPAGE?

Nothing describes a website homepage better than this:

“First impression.”

Your homepage creates the first impression about your business. Whether that first impression is a positive or a negative one is up to you.

First, let’s establish what qualities an excellent homepage embodies. A website’s homepage is a virtual receptionist, it will attract the most attention out of all pages.

Preferably your homepage seeks to:

  • Draw and captivate your newcomers
  • Teach people about your brand
  • Motivate people to visit other pages of your site

So now you have a better understanding of the purpose of your homepage. Let’s move on the most important parts of your homepage.

PAGE HEADER

One of the first things visitors see is the header of your homepage. Within three seconds a website needs to convey what it has to offer. The header should contain your company’s logo, phone number, and your navigation. Keep your header simple and clear- no fuss.

Keep in mind that a majority of visitors may be using mobile devices. Visitors are using websites from every screen size imaginable. It’s important that you make sure your header is scalable.

PRIMARY TEXT

The primary text of your homepage should be kept short. Its purpose is to introduce both potential and existing customers. It should tell them about your business and your services. It’s important to not only describe what you do but also why it matters.

Potential customers want to know why buying from you will benefit them.

Hone in on anything that you might have in common with your audience. It is important that you include your most important keyword within that, for better SEO results. Avoid excessive keywords, keyword stuffing can get your website penalized.

SUB-TEXT

Additional text can be added to your homepage that supports your primary text. This series of text can appear at the bottom of your page. You can even add a ‘’click for more’’ function where visitors have to click to read more.

CTA (CALL-TO-ACTION)

Your homepage must have a call to action. The website call to action is what triggers interaction between the visitor and your site. Make the call to action stand out. You can create a large CTA button.

Make sure that your homepage call to action:

  • Stands out from the rest of the content. Using an alternative color helps.
  • The CTA should be above the fold.
  • Include active language within the website call to action such as buy, subscribe, call, etc.
  • Create a sense of urgency. Include an expiry date.
  • Use white space around the CTA.

NAVIGATION

If you want to maximize your conversion rate your website has to be easy to navigate. People are impatient and do not want to waste time trying to navigate a cluttered website.

Allow visitors a clear way into your site from your homepage.

The easiest way to make your site easy to navigate is by placing a navigational toolbar or menu on each page. A navigational toolbar can be essential to make sure visitors don’t get lost as they browse your site.

It is best if the toolbar is the same on each page.

Your website navigation can also include drop-down menu items. But, don’t go crazy with the drop down menus. Keep it as short as possible. The best is to place your navigation in a horizontal position on the page.

GRAPHICS AND EMPTY SPACE

Images and negative spaces are more important than you may think. Using relevant images and shaping text trough white spaces can be powerful.

By using white spaces correctly, it makes the primary text stand out.

Huge chunks of text without images or white spaces can easily deter visitors. Use images with a purpose in mind. Don’t just post it to fill a blank space. Make sure that the image you are using supports the rest of the content on the web page.

Most people are visual. Make sure the images clearly convey what you offer.

The images need to be copyright-free, and should be of excellent quality. You might not realize that fonts can affect and influence how people feel about your brand. So choose something that you feel suits your company. Avoid using too many different fonts. You want your homepage to feel uniform.

BLOG

A blog gives you the opportunity to create suitable content for your customers. It can be used as a marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website. Well-written articles can represent your company as an industry leader. By posting topics that relate to your audience, you are marketing your business, products, and services.

Blogs can also provide another way to connect with your customers. A blog is also a great tool to build trust. Use your blog to build credibility.

ABOUT PAGE

Most companies have an ‘’About Us’’ page on their website. It can be difficult at times to separate your “About” page from the competition. But, you have to do it.

You want a unique way of selling yourself to customers. Convey to people clearly what exactly you do. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised at how many websites out there don’t do so. Keep in mind that people want to work with people.

Your ‘’about’’ page should allow others to get a feel for who you or your employees are as a people. If you have people working for you, make sure to include individual pages for them. It is a great idea to have photos of you or employees available.

In addition to your “About” page, share a little bit about your company on your homepage.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Potential customers may well have questions or concerns. That’s where the contact information part of your website comes into play. Customers should not spend long trying to get your information. It should be easily accessible from your homepage. Most commonly found in the footer. Give people a variety of ways to contact you.

At least give visitors the following ways to contact you:

  • Contact form
  • Physical address and mailing address
  • Phone number
  • Fax number
  • Contact form
  • Social media accounts such as Facebook or Twitter.

You could also host a live chat. The contact section can be a great place to promote social media accounts your company might have.

Except for the contact form, your homepage should include:

  • A phone number in the header area.
  • Address within the footer.
  • Social media accounts in either header or footer area.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, this article has provided you with valuable homepage information. Now you can proceed to build the perfect website which starts with a homepage. It can serve your business for years to come. Customers will be completely informed and trust your brand.