10 Must-Haves for your Home Page

Your home page is the first thing people will see when visiting your website. Its main goal is to encourage your visitors to interact with the rest of your site, provide the information they need, and ultimately generate leads! Do you feel that your home page is not achieving this?

We’ve put together a list of the 10 most important things your home page should have. We know that your website is an essential part of your business…maybe even the only way that you do business!

#1 Your logo

As we’ve discussed in our previous blog posts, your logo plays a crucial role in your company’s overall branding strategy. The same goes for your website. Your logo is a representation of your business and is basically the “face” of your company. It should be given prime position on your website!

This will make it easier for your visitors to know exactly who your company is at a single glance. The standard position for a logo is on the top left of your website but could be anywhere prominent on your main navigation area.

#2 A clear headline and sub-heading

As soon as a visitor arrives on your home page it should be clear what your business does. Instead of having a paragraph or two that goes into a lot of detail, try to condense what your business is all about in a strong headline of 5 – 8 words. This headline can be supported by a sub-heading of a sentence or two.

A clear and concise headline is easier for a visitor to understand, which will make it easier to remember. You can always add a “learn more” link below your initial headline and sub-heading that will take the visitor to your About page – this is where you should keep all the nitty gritty details!

#3 Easy and intuitive navigation

This one is obvious but can go so wrong! Yes, most websites do have navigation bars or menus. But having a menu that is difficult to navigate confuses the visitor and may force them to leave your site. Your navigation should be easy to use, intuitive and clearly visible at the top of your page. Lead people to the main pages of your sight and include dropdown links where necessary. As a value-add, include a search bar so that visitors can easily find exactly what they are looking for.

#4 Links to the rest of the website

Use your home page to introduce all the content on the rest of your website in an interesting and to-the-point way. Links to your services, about and blog pages guide your visitor easily to what they want to find out without having to contact you directly. Think about which actions a potential client would want to take after landing on your home page and set up links to those pages – this is apart from the links in your main navigation bar.

#5 Reviews, testimonials, and current clients

These days it’s difficult to filter the good from the bad online! Show that you are a credible, trustworthy company by displaying some glowing reviews or testimonials on your home page. Including the logos of some of your more well-known clients is also a good add-on. This creates trust by association – I mean if an established business put their trust in you, why would a potential client not want to?

#6 Ways to contact you

In many ways your contact information is the most important element on your website. How frustrating would it be if a visitor wanted to have a discussion with you, but couldn’t find your contact details easily? Be sure to add your contact details on the home page – a popular solution is to add it to the footer. Also make sure that your information is clickable and easy to copy (don’t add it as images!). Contact information that should be present is your email address and business phone number, but you can also add your physical address.

#7 Various calls-to-action

This one goes hand-in-hand with adding links to the rest of your site. You’ve done a lot of marketing to drive people to your home page, but what is it that you want them to do from there? Calls-to-action will lead your visitor to the most important actions you want them to take. Whether you want your visitor to fill out a form or browse your online shop, your calls-to-action should be clear and action-driven. Don’t add a vague button that says “more” or “click here”. Good examples of calls-to-action are “Request a Quote” and “Register for Course” which indicates exactly what the visitor is aiming to do.

#8 Your unique selling points

What are the key products or services that your business offers that makes you stand out from your competitors? Choose the most important features and highlight these on your home page. You have a services/products page that goes into all the detail so don’t repeat yourself on the home page. Rather highlight the benefits that your offering provides for your clients. People want to know how you are going to help them and why they should choose you.

#9 Social media links

Again, something that we can’t say enough: social media should be a critical part of your marketing strategy! Integrating your social media icons on your home page gives the visitor an easy way to connect with you on other platforms – and it’s great for your SEO too! It’s common practice to have social media icons either right at the top of your page about the navigation menu or in the footer. A trend that is very popular is to also integrate your social media feeds so that visitors can see your posts right from your website.

#10 Recent blog posts

If you’re not planning to keep your blog updated and relevant, then rather skip this one. As we know, content marketing is a great way to show prospective clients that you know your subject matter.  Adding your recent blog posts to your home page will A) make it easier for your readers to find your latest posts and B) keep your home page interesting as it will be updated continuously.

We hope that this post gave you some fresh ideas of how to update your home page to attract new clients and improve your digital footprint!

Remember, if your website isn’t benefitting your business, it’s not effective.

Don’t know where to start? We offer web design services that will help you make the most of your online presence! Contact us, info@designerneeded.com, for more information.