Tips for an Effective Homepage

Tips For An Effective HomePage

By: Caitlin

An effective homepage can make or break your website. Think of it like the picture on a dating profile. It either entices someone to click in to get to know you (or in this case your business) or it barely warrants a passing glance as they click to another site. Don’t let your homepage turn off potential clients!

Dating Profile Fail

Here are some tried and true tips for an effective homepage:

Answer the relevant questions for an effective homepage

Your homepage should answer the “who, what, where” questions in a simple, straight forward manner. Any potential customer should know right off the bat who you are, what you do and where they can find you from looking at your home page.

I once got a cold call from a furniture salesman who gave me his website for followup. I logged on to look up more information and I could not tell what they sold from looking at their website.  They tried to use fancy words like “workspaces” rather than just saying furniture. If I hadn’t spoken to him on the phone first, I wouldn’t have known that they sold desks, chairs, bookshelves, etc.

Be who you are and clearly communicate that to your potential customers. “Looking for a website? We design those!”

Use of interesting photos, graphics for an effective homepage

Once you’ve made sure that your homepage can answer the “who, what where,” throw in some good graphics and photos to grab the readers’ attention and reinforce the content.  It’s best to keep the layout clean and simple so it doesn’t overwhelm. You want to grab the readers’ attention, but not cause them to lose their focus on a busy, unorganized page.

Important information upfront

Now that your potential clients know who you are and you have their attention, make sure that your contact information can be easily found. You don’t want potential clients to have to go looking for your phone number. After all, the whole point of your website is to get potential clients to pick up the phone and call you, which brings you to our final tip:

A call to action!

Your homepage needs a call to action: Buy Now! Learn More! See how it works. Free consultation. Whatever it is that you’d like your customer to do, tell them plainly and clearly on your homepage.

A thoughtfully designed homepage inspires potential clients to pick up the phone and call you. To see some examples of effective homepages check out these Boston-area sites: www.tleboston.com, www.trophyroomboston.com, or www.mccabesonmass.com

Like what you see? Give us a call and let’s make something awesome!