If you are considering ways to generate more leads or a website redesign, it is a nice idea to get things rolling with your homepage. Serving as the front door of your website, this page aids in drawing a significant part of website traffic.
Optimizing the homepage is not easy. It needs to handle a number of tasks. Rather than acting as a landing page that is built around a given action, the homepage needs to be designed to serve the need of different audiences of different origins. For doing this with efficiency, it needs to be built with a purpose. You need to include several elements capacitated to educate visitors, attract traffic and invite conversions.
Here are a few ideas to design a better homepage for your website.
Establish Identity
You need to establish who you are. This is one of the most significant things that you need to accomplish through your homepage design. Quite often, the homepage is designed with several goals in mind. Ideally, a homepage should address the following needs:
- Introduce your company to the website visitors
- Provide the visitors a clear path to connect with other pages on the website
A unique design and creating a nice look is necessary for your website to retain visitors and encourage them to return to your website in the future.
Focus upon Clarity
Most people prefer to search for services and products online. Your homepage needs to state who you are, the things you offer and your benefits in a clean and easy to navigate fashion. Use pictures and graphics to illustrate the service or product you offer as well as the way it can benefit the customers.
Remember that while designing the homepage, 'less is more.' Make it easy for the users to understand what you do. Usage of too many images and graphics will confuse the users. Stay away from it.
Be Simple
Unless you are a known name in your niche and already have an established fan following, do not design a complex homepage.
A number of widgets, call to actions and other things may distract as well as overwhelm your visitors. Add simplicity to your homepage through:
- Legible text
- Plenty of white space
- Clearly labeled sections
Ensure User-Friendly Navigation
The navigation of your homepage is one of the most significant aspects of your website. Remember to make the navigation menu user-friendly. A menu that is difficult to navigate is a major turn off and the potential customers may be inclined to leave your website.
Here are some ways to keep your navigation user-friendly:
- Reduce the count of top-level navigation menus
- Denote the dropdowns with visual cues
- Make it responsive
Choosing the pages to include in the navigation bar is tough but you will be better off by including the:
- Homepage
- Contact us
- About us
- Blog
Do not overlook the navigation of your homepage. It may make or break a deal with customers.
Cut Down Unnecessary Text
Reduce unnecessary content on the homepage as much as possible. This will help to:
- Add prominence to useful content
- Make the pages shorter. The users are thus saved the trouble of scrolling too much
- Reduce visual noise
- Make the pages easy to maintain
Cut down as much content as possible, condensing it down into necessary information the audience needs to find for accomplishing a given task.
Distribute Content Properly
There are several websites where a large graphic occupies a significant part of the homepage and the more significant information is cluttered in a minuscule font. These websites seldom garner positive feedback from the users. The significance lies in collecting and distributing content properly on the homepage. For example, there need not be separate links for the history of the company and the management or the policies. You can put all of them under the 'About Us' tab.
Use White Space
White space helps the users to discern different sections of a given page. To speak in simple words, it makes the text easier to scan. If you go overboard cramming too much information on a given page, the users will find it tough to discern which information is significant and which is not. If adding more content doesn't add value or serve the need of your audience, avoid including it in the homepage.
Include Calls to Action
There is always a reason behind people visiting your website. It can be anything ranging from finding more details on a given topic to researching a product. Your homepage must include a few effective calls to action to move the website visitors down the funnel in the buying process. The types of calls to action that you need to include in the homepage are:
- Awareness CTA
- Decision CTA
- Consideration CTA
The design of your homepage is undoubtedly a significant part of your website and ensures the success of your company. From appealing to the viewers to providing them with a user-friendly experience, your homepage is the platform that helps the users in knowing more about your company and brand. Designing the homepage is as much a science as an art. It needs attention to detail, consideration of the website's goals and purpose and taking the web page performance into account.
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