Think of the homepage as the shop front window of your website; you want to entice users with snippets of information and engaging Call to Actions. This is why having content that is both engaging and useful will be important for turning users into customers.
The official definition of a homepage is “the introductory page of a website, typically serving as a table of contents for the site.”
Your homepage will often serve as the first impression to your potential customers. With many factors that come into place to make that first impression successful, keep on reading to find out what features are vital for a rewarding homepage.
Logo/Branding
Just like social media, your website needs to follow any brand guidelines that your business has. So utilising your logo, brand colours and type will help your user to identify your business.
Your logo should also feature at the top of every page to act as a representation of your products or services. The logo should also be clickable so the customer can go back to your homepage for if they are on another page of your website.
Call to Actions
The end goal for your homepage should be to interest your users that they explore more of your website or to enquire about a service or product. So having clear and informative Call to Actions can help your user to move into the customer stage.
CTA’s are areas or buttons which can be linked-to pages, forms or PDF’s, they act as a selling point to direct the customer to more information. If done well, these buttons can help to attract and obtain new customers.
For more information on CTA’s, check out our blog post that delves deeper into the subject.
Navigation Bar
The navigation bar is the menu that you either see at the top or the side of a website. It is important that the navigation bar is within the header of the homepage, so the user can easily see and access the bar.
Having a navigation bar will allow the user to see an overview of the content and helps them to decide what page they want to see next. Having a descriptive and detailed navigation can help to reduce the bounce rate as users should be clicking on the pages they need.
A good tip for if your site is information-heavy is to include a search box so the users can simply search for what they need.
Headline
A headline should be included at the top of your homepage and include useful information. Within a matter of seconds the user should understand what you have to offer. This headline should be clear and concise that also aligns with your brand values. It should ideally be around 2-3 sentences of memorable content that interacts with your users.
Social Media Links and Testimonials
Not only will including testimonials help to build credibility towards your business but it’s a powerful way to help with trust and to demonstrate your expertise. It helps to give users an insight into your product or service which can lead to a positive impression.
Social media links are another critical element to include as users like to look into the business that they potentially might buy from. So establishing a key message across all platforms will help users to determine your brand values.
Imagery/Content
Imagery is important to include on a homepage as you want to entice users. Having original images instead of stock imagery will help users to connect with your product or services. Humans are visual and want to be drawn to real images.
Content is another factor that you want to implement to connect with your user, making it simple and easy to read but detailed enough so they have all the information. Make sure to keep your brand voice consistent and assure your user that they can benefit from your product or service.
For more information on creating content to help SEO, then check our content writing blog post.
Service Boxes
Service boxes are vital on your homepage for helping both search engine optimisation and the users experience. It gives your users easy access to what your main services are, whilst giving them a direct link for them to click.
In terms of SEO, it helps with adding internal links onto your site and if you include your chosen keywords within these service boxes it will help to give your rankings a boost.
Footer
To some people having a footer is as important as a navigation bar. The footer of the page should either provide contact information, links or social media links (or all three.)
Contact information helps users to know how they would prefer to be contacted. Including links can act as a mini-sitemap to encourage users to check out other pages of your site. Having your social media linked is a great way to have your users engage with your other platforms, it can also act as a different method of communication.
Hopefully, this blog post has given you an insight into the different elements a homepage should have to help with your users’ experience and to hopefully turn users’ into customers.
At Red Box, we offer our Web Design Pay Monthly service, where we can take the hard work from your hands.
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Thank you for reading.