The homepage is often the first impression your website visitors will see of your brand.<\/p>\n
It may likely be one of the most, if not the most, important pages on your site!<\/p>\n
Imagine your homepage as a storefront. You\u2019ll need to help welcome your users and guide them to the right place.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019re going to share some of our best practices for writing an effective homepage that gets you more sales!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n
The homepage is the root page of your website and is often the most trafficked page on your site.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the homepage is to introduce your brand, showcase your unique products or services, build trust, and help new visitors navigate.<\/p>\n
So how do you write an effective homepage that accomplishes these goals?<\/p>\n
Here are the sections you\u2019ll want to include when writing a home page:<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to go through each of these elements step-by-step to help you build an effective homepage.<\/p>\n
Homepages take a 30,000-foot view of your business and a headline is the first thing visitors will see.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll want to create a headline that\u2019s engaging and clearly shows users they are in the right place.<\/p>\n
The headline should exemplify your unique selling proposition (USP) and answer the question \u201cwhat does your company do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Below this heading is a subhead that expands upon the main headline.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve hooked visitors with your heading and subhead, you want to include a call-to-action or CTA at the bottom of the subhead so they can take immediate action.<\/p>\n
Use clear phrases for the CTA like \u201ccall us now\u201d or \u201csign up today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people may want to read more of your homepage and get additional information before progressing further. That\u2019s ok. You\u2019ll add other CTAs near the bottom to catch them later.<\/p>\n
Next, you\u2019ll dive straight into what you\u2019re selling. There\u2019s no reason to make the customers wait.<\/p>\n
What are the main products or services you offer? When customers are browsing your homepage, make sure they can easily identify what they\u2019re looking for and navigate to that page specifically.<\/p>\n
The key here is making sure your descriptions are clear and direct, and that links take a potential customer to the right sales page. Remember, homepages simply direct traffic.<\/p>\n
Start with a heading that introduces the products or services.<\/p>\n
Then, underneath that main heading, start listing your products or services. Include a brief description of each product or service and don\u2019t forget a CTA to navigate to the page.<\/p>\n
Repeat these sections and CTAs as much as needed to list the categories of things you sell. Each of these products or services will also need a separate sales page, but more about that later.<\/p>\n
This section is all about helping your visitors understand what you offer and navigate to the solution for them.<\/p>\n
After listing your company\u2019s products or services, it\u2019s a good time to fill them in on any other key aspects of your brand. These are known as \u201ccall-outs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The can include:<\/p>\n
Include a section title, name the feature or benefit, and provide a brief explanation.<\/p>\n
Rival companies offer the same products, but it\u2019s the added benefits or features that can attract more clients to you. Show visitors that you\u2019re their best choice.<\/p>\n
Including a brief section about your company can be a good way to bond with new visitors and gain trust.<\/p>\n
Now remember, the customer cares about themselves and their problems, not you. Don\u2019t make the mistake of talking too much about yourself. But adding this for context can increase trust as they can see who is behind the products and services they are interested in buying.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Us\u201d sections can touch on who you are, what you stand for, and why they should pick you over your competitors.<\/p>\n
Let a visitor know you\u2019re all in this together. Don\u2019t forget, most purchasing behavior is driven by the way customers feel \u2013 is there some way that you can connect with them?<\/p>\n
Write your section title and include subheads if needed. Your description should share everything you\u2019d like a potential customer to know. Most \u201cAbout Us\u201d sections are a short paragraph.<\/p>\n
And finally, add a CTA if applicable. It\u2019s not a requirement for this section, especially if the CTA doesn\u2019t fit the situation. Some businesses with a longer story to tell create a separate \u201cAbout Us\u201d page linked from home.<\/p>\n
In the world of online reviews like Yelp, Google, Angie\u2019s List, or social media ratings, people love to read testimonials from real people.<\/p>\n
Potential customers will likely Google your business and read as many reviews as they can before purchasing your products or services. Over\u00a090% of shoppers read reviews<\/a>\u00a0and 84% of them trust these online reviews as much as if a friend told them about it.<\/p>\n One easy thing you can do to establish trust is to put testimonials, social proof, or snippets on your homepage so they don\u2019t have to look far.<\/p>\n You can put testimonials in italics, shaded boxes, and include photographs if they agree to it. Formatting is really up to you and your web designer.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n As you can see, we included thumbnail pictures of each person giving a testimonial. Our marketing team even circled back and shot videos of them bragging about us.<\/p>\n Include whatever you think is appropriate and what your marketing team can realistically handle. The point here is to show potential customers that other people were very satisfied with your business.<\/p>\n Some customers will click on your first CTA under the main heading. Others will want to skim through the rest of your homepage before making a decision.<\/p>\n For that second group of people, you want to include a final CTA. It needs to be clear and laser-focused on only one action. Don\u2019t tell them to do a bunch of things.<\/p>\n Check out the final CTA we use on our best-selling HOTH X product:<\/p>\n We kept this CTA so basic there\u2019s no confusion as to what our prospective clients should do next.<\/p>\n They have studied our entire homepage and, if still interested in our services, will follow this link to sign up for HOTH X in their account.<\/p>\n One problem that customers often encounter is what keyword should you rank your homepage for?<\/p>\n This can be a problem since you probably offer multiple products and services \u2013 and your homepage should only be optimized for 1 main key phrase.<\/p>\n So what should you do instead?<\/p>\n We actually recommend that you\u00a0don\u2019t focus on ranking your home page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Use your homepage for your brand, and then build separate\u00a0sales pages<\/a>\u00a0for each of the products \/ services you want to rank for.<\/p>\n<\/span>6. Finish With A Strong Call To Action<\/h2>\n
<\/span>SEO Considerations For Your Homepage<\/h2>\n