The Importance of an Eye-Catching Home Page

The results from our Twitter poll are in! The part of a website that people think is most important is:

An Eye-Catching Home Page

The Home page of your website is the first thing people will see when they visit your site. This means that it is up to your Home page to make a great first impression, more specifically the part that is first visible when the page loads. This is also the page that will most likely receive the most traffic, so make that traffic count. 

There are a few elements and features that every Home page should have: 

• Company name or Logo
  
  
• Clean navigation
  
  
• Call to action
  
  
• Relevant Image
  
  
• Social Links
  
  
• Contact information
  
  

Company name or Logo:
This is all about BRANDING. You want your brand to be recognizable. Additionally, if people have to search for who you are, it is less likely they will take the time to find out. You want people to be able to remember you and your name later. This is also a great place to display your company’s personality. People get a sense of familiarity when a brand is easily recognizable.

Clean Navigation:

One of the most important goals with your website is to provide the best customer experience possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make sure that your site’s menu is easy to navigate. If your site visitors can’t find your product page to see what you sell, or have to go through 4 different drop-down menus to find the information they’re searching for, they will probably give up and move on to your competition. This is why having an easy to use navigation menu front and center on your Home page is so important.

Call to Action:

A call to action is an integral part of your websites Home page. It is the piece of your site that motivates your site visitors to some type of action. “Call Now” “Request a Quote” “Donate Today!” “Subscribe” Especially if these phrases are connected with a button that will allow them to do just that, this is a very simple and effective way of getting conversions from your site visitors.

Relevant Image:
The phrase “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” has never been truer than it is on your Home page. There are pages on your site that should be dedicated to detailed text. The first view of your Home page is not it. Although text is very important to a website, people are visual learners first and can get more information, faster, via pictures. Place an image that showcases what your company is about or a featured product. 

Social Links:

This is a great way to keep in touch with customers, or site visitors that haven’t actually taken action with your company. If they find your Facebook or Instagram page through your website and follow it, you will consistently be brought to mind when they see your posts. The better the content, the more likely it is that they will return to your company to convert to a customer, but they will never have the chance if you don’t show them your social media pages.

Contact Information:
Last, but not least, you should have contact information visible on your Home page. How are people supposed to get in touch with you about your products or services if they can’t call or email you? Make sure this is highly visible and even create links so that the email and call option pulls up immediately when this information is clicked.

________________________________________________________________________

If you follow these simple tips, your Home page should see a lower bounce rate, which means people are giving the REST of your site a chance to shine.