In the online world, your website is the virtual door that leads people into your world. Your website needs to be compelling enough to entice visitors to knock on that door and encourage them to enter your site and explore your offering.
For the majority of the websites, the homepage is the first point of contact, mainly because that is the most publicised page and has a higher recall factor. Your homepage is one of the many key factors that people use to decide if they would like to approach you for a solution to their problem.
If you look at your Google Analytics Data, you will see that in general, your homepage has the most visits, the lowest bounce rate and the average time spent on this page is higher than any other page on your website.
If you want to have an awesome homepage that meets your marketing and business objectives, here are 5 key elements we think you should incorporate into your homepage.
Contents
Brand Identity and Value Proposition
When a user visits your website they are looking for answers to a few key questions. Who are you? What do you do? How can you help me?
Make sure your homepage answers these key questions.
Your homepage should make it very clear as to what you sell or do. A company logo and a clear tagline can help people understand a little bit more about you. Links to the About Us and Contact Us Page should be clearly visible on the homepage of the website.
Do not clutter your homepage; the goal is to let your visitor know in a few seconds that they have come to the right place to find what they are looking for.
Navigation
Once the visitor has landed on your homepage, what do you want them to do next? Which section of the website would you like them to traverse? In order for visitors to go to the sections you want them to go to, you will have to make it easy for them to reach that destination. Your navigation menu needs to be clearly visible on the homepage. Try not to create a very complex navigation structure else your visitors might get frustrated and leave.
Try to have links to your key pages for your navigation items and sub-items. You do not need to list all your pages in the main navigation. All you need is the links to the key sections and the visitors can then access the rest of the information once they are on those key pages. The navigation should be clear, concise and intuitive.
Imagery
A picture is worth a thousand words and more so on your website homepage. Try to use good quality images that show a little bit of your personality. Images taken at your workplace and real people who work for you would tend to create an instant connection with the visitor rather than impersonal standard stock photos.
High-quality images have the potential to make a great first impression and help you stand out from your competition. So invest some time in choosing the right images for your website.
Call to Action
The main objective of your website is to get visitors to fulfil your business objectives. A prominent call-to-action needs to be present in the top half of the homepage. Typical calls to actions can be: requesting a quote, calling your business or submitting an online enquiry.
There should be a single primary macro goal that should be translated to a call to action on the homepage. You can have smaller secondary or micro-goals such as pdf downloads, newsletter signups, video views, etc.
Data Capture
The homepage offers a great opportunity to capture visitor data to target them with future marketing messages. Enquiry forms or newsletter signups are an easy and quick way to capture contact information like phone numbers and email ids.
When it comes to the website homepage, the trick is to keep it simple. The use of jargons and complex designs will confuse the user. Use a helpful and friendly tone of voice, if possible, to encourage the user to explore your website beyond the homepage. Rid your website homepage of any unwanted clutter and help your visitor navigate through your website easily.
Which of these elements has worked for you? Are there any others you would like to share with us? We would like to hear from you on our Twitter Page.
