What’s the point of a website for a business if it doesn’t convert a potential client or make a sale? As a business owner, you want your website homepage to do several things: engage visitors, represent your brand, and – most importantly – convert leads into customers. It’s a lot to ask of one page, but with the right ingredients, it can be done. Keep reading to find out how to create an engaging and converting homepage for your business website.
Use these key elements to create an engaging and converting homepage for your business website.
A Clear Messaging Hierarchy
What’s the most important thing you want visitors to know when they land on your homepage? That should be at the top of the page, above the fold. The “fold” is what you see on the screen before you start scrolling. Everything else should support that primary message, above the fold. Breaking down your content into a clear hierarchy will help you determine what’s most important and what can be cut.
In this clear messaging, it should also be a “Heading 1” or H1 style. Search engines look for this specific type of style to ensure it matches the name and purpose of the page.
A Compelling Header
Your header is one of the first things visitors will see when they land on your homepage, so it needs to be viscerally appealing and make a strong impression. In addition to an eye-catching image or video, your header should also have a clear call-to-action (CTA) that tells visitors what you want them to do next: learn more about your product, sign up for a free trial, etc.
Sometimes it’s easy to communicate this compelling header, but you might not be sure how to design it or layout it on your homepage. Here’s an easy hack: Use one of the many templates available on Canva and adjust the images, text and colors to match the theme of your website.
An Intuitive Navigation Menu
The navigation menu on your homepage should be easy to find and easy to use. Stick with familiar conventions – like having the menu at the top of the page – so visitors can intuitively find their way around. And make sure all the pages you want people to see are included in the navigation menu. If there are secondary pages you want people to visit, include links to those in other places on the page, like in the body copy or as part of a CTA button.
Engaging Body Content
The body content on your homepage should tell visitors what you do, how you do it better than anyone else, and why they should care. It should be scannable and device-agnostic, which means using short paragraphs, bullet points, and/or images instead of long blocks of text. Even breaking up the text with bold, underline or other stylistic elements will make a big difference. All of this will make it easier for visitors to consume your content whether they’re on a desktop computer or a mobile device.
A Strong CTA
Your CTA is what will prompt visitors to take action – so make it count! In addition to being placed prominently on the page – like in the header or near the top of the sidebar – it should also be specific and actionable (e.g., “Sign Up Now” instead of “Learn More”). And if you want people to take more than one action on your homepage (e.g., download a white paper AND sign up for a free trial), use multiple CTAs throughout the page so they’re not overwhelmed with choices all at once. There’s not necessarily a “too long” rule of a website. It simply needs to clearly communicate what you want visitors to take away from it and how to act.
Supporting Visuals
Images and videos are essential for making your homepage visually appealing, but they also need to serve a purpose beyond aesthetics; they should help reinforce the messaging hierarchy and support any claims you make in the body copy. So choose visuals that are high quality and relevant to your audience and industry; avoid stock photos whenever possible since they can feel fake and impersonal. If you’re needing help to find better images, visit Unsplash. These are royalty-free images and cover every type of industry or product you can imagine.
Additional Elements for Specific Types of Homepages
Depending on what type of business you have, there may be other elements that are important for creating an engaging and converting homepage. For example: If you have an e-commerce site, product images and descriptions are key. If you have a portfolio site, project images or case studies might be what matters most. If you have a blog, social proof (elements that show how popular or authoritative your site is) could be important.
Closing Thoughts
Creating an engaging homepage is essential for any business with an online presence. By including these key elements, you can design a home page that accurately reflects your brand while also driving conversions. What elements would you add ? Leave a comment below!
And if you need some help creating an engaging and converting homepage, schedule a consultation and let Gidds Media help communicate your message.
