Features And Elements Every Homepage Should Have
First impressions always count and you can never get a second chance of making a first impression. This is why a homepage is by far the most important page on your site as it will determine whether people continue to browse. Homepages tend to get the bulk of the site traffic, therefore, making it crucial that’s it converts as much traffic as possible. This traffic creates leads which then, in turn, create customers. There are many key elements that are needed in order for your homepage to be a success and create good first impressions which last.
Headlines and sub-headlines
Within the first few seconds a website needs to tell the visitors what it has to offer. This may only be a few words but these few words need to be enough to quickly read and understand what your business does. Short and snappy headlines also allow your design to be clear and precise as you don’t want anything to busy. Your sub-headline needs to compliment your headline giving a brief description and a bit more detail about your product or service. Again, this doesn’t have to be long winded however enough for you to sum up your service/product, maybe in a couple of sentences. Both together need to focus in on your main selling points
Call to Actions
The job of the homepage is to compel visitors into looking deeper through your website. This is why it is important to include maybe two to three call to actions which place visitors in a better position when coming to buy a product or service of yours. Ideally, the call to actions needs to be placed where they can easily be found. They also need to be striking in colour, perhaps creating a contrast from the main page colour so that they easily stand out. Some examples of call to actions would be ‘Sign Up’ or ‘Buy Now’ buttons.
Making use of images
Most people nowadays make use of visuals as opposed to text. Making sure you use an image that clearly indicates what you offer can be important. Even short videos, as opposed to images, can be used as they can be just as visually appealing or even better as they can add more emotion and meaning.
Benefits and Success Indicators
As already mentioned it is important to describe what you do but just as importantly why what you are better than your competitors. People want to know why they should buy off you as opposed to the competition. Keep this section lightweight and straight to the point otherwise key strengths of your business could be lost in large pieces of your text. They need to be easy to read and straight to the point and can be presented through icons or bullet points. Adding to this, success stories can a great thing to involve within your homepage. Stories that back up your benefits in real life situations. People will always pick an award-winning company over others. SHOW IT OFF!
Navigation
In order for your site to increase traffic and stop people going off your site you need to make sure that your navigation is simple and easy to follow. It is all about giving them a clear path to your site and the pages that matter. Make sure the navigation bar is always placed at the top of every page especially your homepage.
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