Top Tips For a Successful Home Page

Have you ever gone to the homepage of a website and wondered, "What exactly does this company do?" If so, know without a doubt that company's homepage is extraordinarily  ineffective. If you have to root around the site just to understand the point of a company, chances are you're going to lose interest in that business pretty fast.

Your website is the quickest and most common way for a prospective customer to get to know your brand, whether you are selling services or products. Your goal is to make sure that person stays awhile - at least a few minutes, which is like a lifetime in browsing time - knows who you are and likes what they see. How do you accomplish that? Easy. Just follow these tips for effective home page design.

Make It Clear Who You Are and What You Do

While a tagline is an important part of your brand identity, it often does not explain what your company sells. Make that information crystal clear at the top of your homepage, so it can be seen without needing to scroll. If you look at my website as an example, you will notice the first thing you see on that page is the following:

Building Brands Through Strategy, Design, Words & Products

KB Promo is a full-service promotional group focused on brand building. Whatever your company size or budget, we've got you. Our three-step process of Learn, Plan, Build ensures we understand you, your brand, your expectations and your timeline. 

There is no guessing involved with what kind of company KB Promo is. You may not yet understand all of the services I provide, but you do know it is a multifaceted service company related to brand building.

Give the Reader a Taste of Your Services

I make it easy on my reader by listing my four main services directly underneath my company description. I don't want them to hunt for the information. I want them to know enough about my company to want to start exploring and learning more. Of course each service listed is a link to a separate page that delves more deeper into that service. This is good for you because it answers a lot of their questions without you having to stop your day to respond to basic inquiries.

Put Your Contact Information On That Page

Yes, you will most likely have a contact page, which is always a good idea, but again, make it easy for this potential customer to reach out to you. This is a little less important if you are selling products, as long as it is easy to find a way to make contact with the company, but for a service business, you are already showing that person how easy you can make their life. Don't make them work for it.

Give Them a Way To Give You Their Info

A mailing list is the easiest way to connect with and advertise to people who have already shown their interest in you by signing up in the first place. Make sure to leave a space on your homepage for a mailing list sign up. Bonus if you give them something worthwhile in return to incentivize them, such as a discount or a free learning tool.

I keep my latest blog post summary on my home page and then put the mailing list sign up directly underneath so they see the usefulness of my blog and can get notified every time new content is published.

Keep Your Header Clean and Organized

Your logo, perhaps a tagline, the menu, and a shopping cart, if you are selling through your site, should all be present in your header. Appearing on every page, consider your header as your main source of organization. You want it to be clean, non-distracting, and easy to navigate. And your logo should always link back to your home page. When your website is organized, your company also appears organized.

Always make it simple. Always make it easy.