The home page on your website plays many different roles. It’s often the first point of contact for new visitors, and it guides your audience closer to your primary offer.
But a home page must be compelling in order to succeed in meeting these objectives. Today’s users have a finite amount of attention, and they need a reason to explore your website and return in the future.
The following will help you create a compelling home page that grabs your viewer’s attention. More importantly, it will consistently turn that attention into an interest in your offer.
Be Clear
Businesses must be able to clearly articulate their value proposition in just one or two sentences. When your message isn’t made clear on a home page, users can quickly lose interest or become confused.
The content on your home page must be concise yet interesting. Many of today’s websites are filled with confusing and vague content that fails to answer the most important questions that users have when they land on your home page.
Users need to know who you are, what you do, and what actions they can take to gain the value of your products and services.
Capture (and Keep) Their Attention
Today’s online users are bombarded with marketing messages. As a result, they’ve become much more adept at tuning out irrelevant information.
Your website’s home page has a limited time frame in which to capture a user’s attention and convert that attention into interest. All of the design elements on your home page must generate the greatest amount of attention in the shortest amount of time.
Creating a clear and concise “hook” is one way to do this. You can also use videos, infographics, and other design strategies to capture attention. Anything that helps your site’s visitors understand your products and services quickly is worth considering for your home page.
Optimizing Your Home Page
Your website’s home page should be a summary of the value you offer. It shouldn’t try to explain a variety of products or services or include overly technical language.
To make the most of your site’s home page, include a header and logo that establishes your brand’s “voice”. It should make it easy for users to navigate through your site’s content so that they can find what they’re looking for.
Images should relate to your offer and resonate with your target audience, and a clearly defined call-to-action must be included so that users know what next step they can take.
Your home page should be an ongoing process of testing and optimization. What works for one business may not work for another. With time, you’ll determine which strategies, elements, and language work best for your site’s home page.
Through consistent testing and optimization, your home page will continue to improve so that it supports all of your business objectives.
If you think your home page needs some help, let us know what you’re struggling with in the comments below. We can help you determine where to begin so that you can create a compelling home page that converts your site’s visitors into paying customers.
