The homepage is one of the hardest pages in website design to get right. It has many things to do and not much space (or time!) to do them.
It has to be a landing page, an intro page, and a beautiful entrance, all at once.
It has to summarize your entire organization, so that users can land and know exactly where they are, why they’re there, and what to do next.
Needless to say, it’s a little complicated.
So here are some guidelines you should follow when you’re deciding what should live on your homepage.
1. Visuals
People like pictures. It’s as simple as that.
If your homepage visitors are greeted with a wall of text they’re not going to do anything other than balk and freak out.
Video is also good for this, and it doesn’t have to be a big marketing project.
For example, if you have a product video already (like an app promo video), use that.
Alternatively, if you regularly vlog, you could put the latest vlog on your homepage.
2. Navigation
People didn’t come to your site to land on your homepage and immediately buy your thing. Respect that people probably want to go somewhere else. Your homepage needs clear and concise navigation that’s intuitive.
Things like services you offer, rates (if applicable), and a link to more content are all good examples.
3. Benefits
Frankly, people don’t really care what you do or how you do it nearly as much as they care about how it’s going to help them. Embrace that.
Tell people right from the get-go how you’re going to make their life easier. Work hard to answer the question: what’s in it for me?
4. Features
Notice how benefits are #3, and features are #4? That’s because that’s how it should be on your homepage.
Remember: people care more about how you’re going to help them than how you’re going to do it.
That said, they still want to know how you’re going to do it.
Features should give people an idea of how you’re going to achieve your wonderful benefits. It should also give people an idea of what your products and services are.
Naturally, each product or service will convey this information differently, but you’re probably looking at something like a bulleted list or a couple paragraphs.
5. Call-To-Action (CTA)
Part of the function of your homepage is to get people to do something. Which means that
you’re going to need a call to action. It should be prominent, clear where it goes, and flow naturally from your copy.
6. Awards + testimonials
These are lumped together because they both fall under quality reassurance. Particularly online, consumers are wary to trust sites or companies without some evidence of previous success.
Any awards, industry standards reached, or third party accreditations (like from the BBB) should be featured.
They’re an easy way to overcome fears and concerns your visitors might have about your organization.
Testimonials from previous clients or social proof both serve this function just as effectively.
7. Headline
Last, but certainly not least, your homepage needs a headline. Your headline needs to be big and simple. It needs to tell people that they’re on your site (remember, they’re probably finding you from organic search, so they don’t really know where they’re going).
Your headline needs to tell them where they are. It also needs to tell them what your site is and does. ‘Who are these people, and why should I care?’ are the questions that your headline should address.
Wrap up
Homepages have the unpleasant task of being a jack of all trades in web design. They need to put a positive face on your organization, encourage trustworthiness and convey information about you, your products and services, and how you help people solve their problems.
But it also needs to drive conversions and sales, so it needs the focus and clarity of a dedicated landing page.
It’s a hard needle to thread, but with these 7 elements, you’re off to good start.
