First impressions count

Your website homepage is your company's face to the world. It is the most important page on your website.

If your website homepage looks dated or doesn’t immediately convey your sales message, you are presenting the wrong image for your business. It is like having a shop front that's falling part, or a scruffy looking sales rep. 

You have 7 short seconds to appeal to visitors - so make sure each second counts.

Your home page should be about them, not you

This is one of the most over looked elements of website creation. Your website home page should not hold what you want it to... it should show what your users want to see. So stop and think about what your customers want. If you dont know what they want - dont guess - hold a marketing focus group, provide a feedback form or call them up and ask them.

Your customers will want to know 3 main things:

• how much your product / service costs,
• where to buy it
• and why it’s better.

If you don’t give them that information quickly they will move on to your competitors website.

Your customer is visiting your site for a reason. Do you know what that reason is?

People don't want to read your website homepage text

For visitors the less written content on your homepage, the better. So, short sharp blocks of content summarised with a heading that leads the user into your website is the key.

But remember, for a great Google ranking you must have a reasonable amount of keyword rich textual content on your homepage. 

Emphasize the top priority tasks

Your homepage should offer users a clear starting point for the main tasks they will undertake when visiting your site. We commonly refer to it as the "call to action".

Use meaningful graphics

Decorating your homepage with photos and graphics will not attract users. It may look pretty to you but without a focus it will be distracting to visitors.

Images are powerful communicators when they show items of interest to your users. Use them to your advantage - show off your product, highlight your service and talk to the user through imagery.

About 1 in 3 visitors will leave your website without venturing past your homepage

Dont worry, your homepage should only capture the attention of your target audience. Many visitors will land at your site from Google and not all of them will be potential customers. Some will be competitors or simply browsers who have lost their way.

But DO worry if target audience visitors aren't sticking around. Visitors should be drawn into your website from the homepage to explore other strategically written content on your site. Your homepage should direct them to more information about your products or services and then to contact you or purchase online.

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