Panoma has compiled this list of five things you must include on your website’s homepage because I know it’s one of the most difficult pages to create for your website.
The main goal of your website homepage is to direct people elsewhere, most likely to another page for which you need to write content. You don’t want to give too much away, but you also want to ensure that they stay on your site long enough to reach those other pages.
This post will give you some pointers on what you should include on your website’s homepage in order to convert visitors into customers. This is ideal if you’re just starting out or want to review your website copy.
Some of these observations may surprise you! Did you know there’s a minimum word count you must meet? Or how do you ensure that your above-the-fold content is conveying the correct message? It’s so much more than a logo, a few paragraphs, and a ‘book now!’ button.
The elements you must include on your website’s homepage are determined by the goals of your website, but in most cases, you want to convert visitors into customers.
So let’s take a look at some of the best ways to do so from your homepage.
This may seem obvious, but are you certain that your homepage accurately communicates what your brand does? When considering what you should include on your website’s homepage, it’s critical that your homepage makes it clear what your company does.
They should be able to understand what you do within the first three seconds of landing on your page, especially on your website’s homepage, which is why, of all the things you must include on your website’s homepage, it is the one to focus on first.
If you’re not certain it’s clear, there’s still work to be done. If you’re unsure, I recommend having someone else look at your website with fresh eyes and give you feedback on how well you communicate this.
Assume you’re a personal trainer, and your homepage makes bold claims about “commitment” and “getting results,” which is great, but what results will they get? You could be a lifestyle coach or even a designer and say the same thing.
Your website design is important in communicating what you do, as is having effective website copy. This information should be ‘above the fold’ (before the user scrolls) and should be wrapped in an H1 tag for SEO purposes.
Perhaps you have a fantastic user journey that guides visitors from point A to point B, ensuring they book or purchase at the end. But what about those who do not require persuasion? This is the most important thing to include on your website’s homepage if you want to ensure quick conversions.
Some visitors to your site may have already researched you and know they want to work with you. So save them the trouble of going through your user journey by providing a clear and simple way for them to contact you right from your homepage.
You can do this in a variety of ways depending on the services or products you provide, but I recommend that you have at least 2-3 links on your homepage that take people to your contact or booking page.
Even better, include a contact form, your phone number, and/or social media links directly on your homepage.
Make sure your contact information is not too prominent on the page. I recommend including a link to your contact page in your main menu (at the top of your page, near your logo) and then providing additional contact methods further down to capture people as they scroll.
This isn’t just for your homepage, and while we’re on the subject of branding, remember that it’s more than just a logo.
Your branding consists of your logo, colors, fonts, and brand voice, and if you haven’t invested in proper branding for your business, now is the time! Fortunately for you, I’m the right person to assist you with your branding!
Because it is one of the most memorable aspects of your website, your branding should appear throughout the site, particularly on the homepage. You want people to recognize you on social media, your website, in e-mails, and so on, all because of your business branding.
To ensure that your user journey is clear and that your content is well laid out, use your brand’s fonts and colors throughout your page design. And they are definitely things you should include on the homepage of your website!
If you want to ensure that your website design is doing exactly that and converting leads where it counts, contact us and we can discuss the best branding and web design for your company!
Finally, all of your content should be written in the style of your brand. So, if you’re going for an approachable ‘I’m your new best friend’ style with your social media promotions, you should apply the same approach to your website. Similarly, if you’re targeting corporate clients, stick with a more formal brand voice.
Minimum word counts are important because they are used to rank in search engines. Pages with few to no words are unlikely to appear in search engines such as Google because Google uses your written content to determine relevance to searches.
As a result, minimum word counts are critical for your website. SEO experts differ on what the best minimum word count is, but the absolute minimum is agreed to be 300, with some even claiming 600–700 words are best.
The bottom line is that under 300 words is considered ‘thin content’ by Google’s standards, so aim for more. And 300 words isn’t that much, and if you’ve written 300 words, you might as well increase it to 500 to really boost SEO!
This increase in word count should be used to effectively communicate what you do, how to contact you, and the message of your brand to your visitors. Don’t stuff your homepage with irrelevant content just to meet minimum word counts; instead, make sure that all of the content contributes to your end goal.
While a solid minimum word count is definitely something you should include on your website’s homepage, it’s also something you should consider on every page of your website.
Along with great website content, you’ll need some eye-catching, on-brand imagery. Eye-catching imagery should be used on every page of your website when it comes to things you must include on your website’s homepage.
Images should represent your brand and services, be high resolution, and be strategically placed throughout your written content. Images can also be used to break up a lot of written content, so if you have a wordy homepage, definitely add some imagery!
If you have a lot of written content on your homepage, try not to go overboard with images because you don’t want to drown out your written content; there’s an art to balancing the two! On your homepage, aim for one image for every 2-3 small paragraphs or content sections.
You should start with at least one image and work your way through the page to see where else an image could help communicate your message or break up the text.
So, are you meeting these five requirements for your website’s homepage, or do you need to make some changes? You can try it yourself or contact us to see how we can collaborate to maximize the potential of your homepage!
Let PANOMA Technologies be your trusted partner in crafting a compelling website’s homepage that delivers remarkable results.
Contact us today to explore how we can elevate your website development efforts.
