Your homepage is without doubt one of the most important pages of your website. Because it typically will get the bulk of your website traffic, it’s critical that it answers a visitor’s key initial questions: Who are you? What do you do? How can you help?
You’ve got around 8 seconds (at most) for a visitor to your website to decide if they want to stay on your site and look around. For this reason, you MUST summarize some key details about your business pretty darn fast. If a visitor can’t tell immediately who you are, what you do, and that you can help them, they will bounce.
Answering these questions for visitors right away will enable them to determine if you are the business they are looking for. If these answers aren’t clear, you risk losing potential customers to your competitors.
Make sure your business name is clear immediately. If your logo doesn’t visibly state the name of your business, add this text to your header. If someone is looking for you specifically, they will know right away they are in the right place.
A visitor to your website might land there from any number of sources. Don’t assume they already know what kind of business you are in. You can’t depend on or expect your visitors to figure out if they are on the right website. They simply won’t take the time and energy to do so. Think about your own web searches – you are looking for specific information. Your visitors arrive on your website with their own specific expectations. It’s your job to make sure your website reflects those expectations right away on your home page.
Even with your products or services clearly covered in your navigation, people may not take the time to explore your navigation. Highlight the types of products and services you offer on your homepage early on so it is clear what kind of business you are in.
We are a selfish lot generally, so bottom line is that someone is on your website because they need something. They are trying to find information, purchase an item, find a resource – basically, they need to solve a problem. You want to be the solution to that problem.
Since you can lose a visitor in seconds, you can’t make them search around to figure out if you can help them. Your website homepage should essentially spoon-feed what you have to offer to them. You can avoid too much homepage copy by sharing highlights with links or buttons to your interior pages where more details are.
Use Those First Few Seconds Wisely
When someone arrives on your homepage you only have a few seconds, and therefore only a few words, to engage them. This means you must find the most effective way to communicate your value proposition so that it’s easy to understand quickly. Basically, at a glance you need to communicate the reason why a customer should buy a product or service from you. Be sure you are communicating the problem(s) you solve right away.
Your website’s homepage is often someone’s first impression of your business. People skim through the internet searching for a business that can meet their needs. If your homepage shows you have the answers to the problems they have, there’s a better chance they’ll check you out instead of bouncing off to a competitor.
We can help with Homepage copy – or any copy you may need for your website! Please CONTACT US to talk more about your needs.