The homepage is the virtual doorway to your website. What you put here will determine whether or not your readers open the door and investigate what you have to offer. It’s the foundation of your website; it must be compelling. Today’s consumers have a lot of options. When people click on this page, you only have a few seconds to make your case, or they will move on to one of your competitors. Your homepage must contain the following five elements, so visitors will know they’ve come to the right place.
Be concise.
The copy on your homepage must be easy to scan, so people will know immediately whether or not they want to dig deeper. They will be turned off if they’re greeted with large chunks of text; it needs to be concise, no more than 150 to 250 words. It should consist of a headline and a few short, well-spaced paragraphs.
Write an effective headline.
Successful copywriters know that five times as many people read the headline than the rest of the copy. The headline must hook your visitors by telling them what you have to offer, how your product or service can be beneficial to them, and why they should buy from you and not someone else. First, make a list of your product’s benefits and what differentiates you from the competition. Based on this information, craft ten or more potential headlines. From that list, choose one and then write the rest of the content. Later, you may decide to use a different headline or just tweak the original one. With all your best efforts, you don’t know which headline will work; you’ll need to run an A/B test to find out.
Target your ideal customer.
You’ll fail if you try to appeal to everyone that land on your homepage. Write it for the people that will be drawn to your product and most likely to benefit from it. They’re also the people who will recommend it to others. Use language and an appropriate tone of voice that will connect with this group. Be enthusiastic but avoid using hype. Develop a rapport and build trust, so they’ll want to do business with you.
Make the layout appealing.
Make the navigation clear, so readers will know where to click next. The design should be simple but attractive and complement the content. You don’t want to clutter the page; however, you can entice your readers by presenting them with a couple of special offers. The homepage is the perfect place to let them know about guarantees and other benefits, such as free delivery.
Add call to action buttons.
Once you’ve gotten your visitors interested, you want to make it easy for them to take the next step. You can do this by adding clear call to action buttons. By clicking on a button, they can get more information about your special offers and other products or you can offer a free trial or demo. The call to action buttons should stand out. Use a color that contrasts well with the other colors on the page.
The homepage is crucial, as it can make or break your website. Getting it right isn’t easy. You may want to consider hiring a professional writer. Once your site is up and running, test it regularly to make sure it’s still doing the job.
