When it comes to your home page, it is king! (or queen) Most of the traffic to your website will be funneled through your home page. So you need to make sure when you are building your website, that it is clear in what you do along with where you want your visitors to go. Here are some things you should have on your homepage.
These are my list of 9 things that every homepage should have:
- Headline – A successful website should always have a clear and simple “headline” to tell it’s visitors what it is about and it should be at the top of the website or “Above the Fold” which basically means they can see it without having to scroll. You can get some great info about page titles for your headline & sub-headline here.
- Sub-Headline – This is simply a supportive headline that offers a brief description of what you do and/or what you have to offer.
- Primary Call-to-Action (CTA) – This is why you are building a website! You want to have something that tells people what to do in order to do business with you. (IE. Call Us For A Free Estimate, Schedule A Consultation)Your Primary CTA should be “Above The Fold” Keep in mind you may want to have 2-3 supportive CTA’s spread throughout the rest of your page as well.
- Benefits – What you do is important but if your visitors don’t know the benefits of working with you then they are likely to do business with someone else.
Social Proof – People do business with people they know, like, and trust. If they do not know, like or trust you yet, a testimonial is a great way to show that you can be trusted and helps you close the gap on people wanting to know and eventually like you. Let’s hope :)
- Bonus Offer Opt-In – This is the hardest thing because it means more work. But having a bonus/download for your visitors will show that you know what you are talking about and can be looked at as the expert in your field.
The “Bonus” offer can be an exclusive video (that is only available to people who opt-in) or an e-book/report/white-paper that covers questions they may have. (IE: What Every Home Owner Should Know About Home Owners Insurance., 21 Health Benefits Of Smoothies!, 5 Things Everyone Should Know Before Buying Their Next Car.)
The Last 3 Things Your Home Page Needs
- Features – In support of the Benefits, it is helpful to give people more of an understanding of what’s provided by using your products and/or services.
- Industry Resources – There is a good chance that a first-time visitor to your website isn’t ready to do business with you yet. Offering a link to a resource page or even a small resource section on your homepage where they can learn more, will help you establish your credibility as the go-to expert and the thought leader in your industry.
- Supportive Images/Visuals – All images/videos/icons should be supportive of the content on the page. Remember that these need to be optimized for page speed (TinyPNG.com) as well as for SEO (Don’t forget to fill in Alt Tag & Description for your images)
