Is your homepage the most important page of your site? It’s a debatable question. Although it’s usually the page that generates the most visits, more often it’s just an entry point leading the user to what they’re really after on your site. Regardless, your homepage website design still plays a vital role in telling your story.
Your homepage is like the equivalent of what a window shopper is to a retail store. These days not all of your visitors will enter your site via the homepage, but for the majority that do, first impressions count. You wouldn’t step foot into a store if it didn’t look appealing from the outside, and the same applies to your website home.
Your homepage should answer a few obvious questions like what your business is about, what can users do on your site and why should they be on your site. With less than 3 seconds to make it count, here are 7 homepage elements to consider when reviewing or creating your website design.
Guide the user journey
Your homepage needs to take into consideration your target audience and their preferences. Look at your analytics to see where your visitors spend the most time on your site, to understand which content is appealing to them. Then capture an easy pathway to those inner pages via your homepage.
What’s your promise?
How can your products or services solve their problems? Show the user you understand their challenges. You don’t need to offer a complete solution to their problem upfront, but your homepage should entice the user to find out how you can.
Make it visually appealing
Your website isn’t all about the looks, but a professionally designed website does help to draw attention and further establish your visual branding. Video content is highly effective and a great way to engage your audience and tell your story. And never underestimate the power of high quality images to enhance the appearance of your homepage.
Include a strong call to action
What action do you want out of your visitors? Having a strong call to action (CTA) helps guide the customer journey and the steps you would like them to take. It doesn’t need to result in an immediate conversion but it should lead them to this.
How to get in touch
Provide contact details on your homepage so visitors can reach out to you if they need to. Depending on the nature of your business, it may seem like a no brainer, but even if your business doesn’t need to generate leads through enquiries, it’s good practice to have a way for users to contact you.
The trust factor
If you can show visitors your business is credible and build on their trust, then you’re onto a winner. This can be as easy as including testimonials, logos of your clients or adding a sprinkle of social proof to your homepage.
Add dynamic content
Highlight your industry know-how with blog or social feeds. It’s an easy way to generate fresh content on your homepage and demonstrate that your business has a finger on the pulse and is a great source of information.
By having a solid homepage design, you’re telling visitors that there’s more to you than just your shopfront. So invite them in!
Think your website homepage could do with a makeover? Contact the web design specialists at Cloud Cartel today for a free consultation.
