What should you put on your website homepage?

Your website homepage is one of the most visited and important pages on your website.

The goal of your website is to guide visitors along a path that leads to them taking the action you want them to take. E.g. requesting a quote, making a purchase, signing up for an event.

Making a good first impression is paramount, because the stakes are high.

Meet the expectations of your visitors when they land on your homepage and they will stay; fail to do so and they will leave, along with the potential for them to become a paying customer.

The quality of your website design is what captivates the attention of your visitors.

The content on your website is what gets visitors to take action.

In this article, I discuss what you should put on your website homepage in the form of content.

Review each item and if one is lacking, take action and add it. Small changes can provide big gains.

1. Start with a hook

When visitors land on your website they have a need that they are looking to fill. Your website should instantly communicate what you offer to your visitors so they know that they are in the right place.

The best way to communicate this is with a clear and succinct headline that stands out and states clearly what you do. This will let your visitors know that they are in the right place.

Your headline should also be followed by a sub headline that includes a compelling value proposition that lets people know what benefits you deliver. You can also include a few bullet points to get your point across.

Why iContact’s headline is a good one

• It is very clear that they offer email marketing
• It includes benefits that their target audience finds valuable and is seeking (“instant, easy, designed for you”)

When choosing your benefits think about the results your customers are looking for when doing business with you.

2. Include highly visible call to actions

This may seem like a no brainer but a study by Small Business Trends found that 70% of small business websites lack a call to action.

Websites that lack a call to action leave visitors without clear instructions on what to do next.

Having a clear call to action that’s visually appealing and stands out removes overwhelm and draws the reader in.

This small change can result in big gains, by turning more website visitors into leads and sales, whereas having a ‘contact us’ button that looks the same as the rest of your website navigation simply blends in.

An effective call to action has the following characteristics

• It’s straightforward
• It stands out
• It states the results e.g. Get a Quote
• It has a sense of urgency e.g. Buy Now
• It highlights benefits
• It’s focused on the customer
• It has a strong command

3. Introduce your company

An introductory paragraph is the perfect way to give visitors some insight into who you are as a company and what you’re all about. Take this opportunity to impress your visitors and include enough information to intrigue them so that they want to learn more.
What to include:

• How long you have been in business
• Some results that your clients can expect from working with you
• Insight into how you work & why you are trustworthy
• Core values or a philosophy that guides your work

In the introductory paragraph of Haskell’s Seafood they get a few key points across.

• They are the Captain, Fisherman and Chef – a unique value proposition
• They make it easy and fast for you to get seafood
• They save you time by eliminating the need to go shopping

4. Add a snapshot of your products or services

If you sell more than one product or service, give your visitors a snapshot of what they can find on your website by highlighting the products and services that you offer on your homepage with links to more detailed information.
Make it engaging with bite-size information that will entice visitors to want to learn more.
In the Haskell’s Seafood example above, notice that their products are broken down into 4 categories and a visitor can easily click on any category to learn more, get pricing and shop.

5. Use testimonials that make visitors say, “I want that”

Have you ever landed on a website and read a testimonial that made you think, “That’s exactly what I am looking for”, or “I want that”?
I have, and it proves that testimonials alone have the capacity to convert prospects into leads and sales.

In the Time Clock Wizard website above, which was designed by Captivate Designs, we placed individual testimonials that a visitor can easily scroll through by clicking the arrow.
These testimonials also include pictures of the people who submitted them. Pictures add extra credibility to your testimonials. If you can include video testimonials that’s even better.

Final Word

Have content that emulates the words that your target audience uses to describe what their challenges are and the results they are seeking.As you refresh your website homepage, it is important to remember that your website is never done. Build it and forget it doesn’t exist. You have to continue to monitor your website’s performance and make changes as needed to maximize your results.
Though it may not be something that you enjoy doing, it’s important to remember that it is an important point of contact for your business and it plays a key role in your overall marketing strategy.