Your homepage is the first page visitors will see what they visit your site. You have approximately 10 seconds to make a favorable impression before they’re gone forever.
I often see homepages packed with too much information, busy designs, poor color coordination, and what is even worse: no call to action.
I usually refer to the homepage as a portal that guides visitors toward navigating your site. It’s a trailer or teaser of what really is in store for them. It should be interesting and enticing, not overwhelming!
So forget the birds and learn about the 20 “bees” of a homepage Designed 2 Impress:
1. Be branded. Your corporate name, logo, tagline and corporate personality should be depicted explicitly. Use your colors, your font and your tone!
2. Be a solution. Specify what you bring to THEIR table. How is your skill going to impact their lives in a positive way? What are the benefits of hiring you?
3. Be a tease. Your homepage should be just an overview of who you are and what you offer. Add deep inviting links to the pages where you expand on this information.
4. Be confident. I highly dislike “I hope…” and “I think…” statements. Let your passion show, your personality shine and your expertise sell. Sound like you mean it! (I know YOU will..., I guarantee YOU will..., I assure YOU will..)
5. Be generous. Offer something free, give value and don’t ask anything in return - except their e-mail address, that is ;).
6. Be consistent. People love familiarity (and so do search engines). Keep your navigation where it’s at and the look and feel in general intact.
7. Be interesting. Present a tip of the month or a “holiday theme” from time to time and in a consistent way, to keep past visitors coming back.
8. Be credible: Add your contact information from the get go. Why hide it a click away? Add a privacy policy and copyright information to your page footer.
9. Be professional: Function is great, but beauty is important. An attractive, uncluttered design speaks for itself.
10. Be googly: Adding keywords gives your visitors clues that they are on the right place and it also helps with search engine visibility…(you knew that!)
11. Be mysterious: Finish a short paragraph with “Learn more…” so they can visit other pages within your site upon click.
12. Be welcoming: But forget “welcome to my website”. Make them feel at home (no pun): “mi homepage es su homepage”. Make it all about them!
13. Be short: I don’t mean 4’11 :) but be sure to keep all critical information “above the fold” or in one screen shot, no scrolling necessary. Bulleted lists are brilliant!
14. Be light: Your homepage should load fast, with no delays.
15. Be visible: Drop down menus are often ineffective because your links are hiding. If they don't mouse over it, forget it!
16. Be graphic: A picture says a lot of words – not sure if it’s really 1,000 – a video says even more. Adding a response-pulling graphic or video is a magnificent way to add drama to your homepage.
17. Be educational: Give a tip, a curious fact, or something they can remember. It’s all about positioning and giving value.
18. Be allover: Your homepage button should be visible and clickable back. You should also link your logo to your homepage because your visitor will expect it to be that way.
19. Be loved: Add a testimonial or two to let people know clients are happy with you. Maybe this could be the video you’ll include and the dynamic content you’ll post.
20. Be social: Add icons or text links to guide your visitors to your blog, Twitter profile, Facebook profile, Activerain Profile, YouTube Channel, etc.
As you can see, your store front plays a major role in your online presence success. When you present a branded homepage that is clean, professional looking and easy to scan, your visitors will take the time to navigate through your site. They don’t call it the “index” page for nothing!
Follow these tips and have the best homepage ever! Now, since though a search engine your visitors will enter your site from just about any page, why don’t you go ahead and apply some of these rules to all your pages? There’s nothing like home sweet home!
For more information, connect with me:
My Website| Positive Mommies Network | E-mail | Facebook | Twitter
About the Author:
Elayna Fernandez is a proud mother, founder of the Positive Mommies Network, , blogging/social media/web design instructor, and marketing/branding strategist. Her company, Designed 2 Impress, is dedicated to assisting individuals and small businesses in creating successful and consistent brand and achieve their marketing goals.
Thank you for taking the time to reading my post. Have a powerful day!
This article is intended to educate and it constitutes the sole intellectual property of Elayna Fernandez and Designed 2 Impress. Any full or partial reproduction or duplication without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited and will be considered copyright infringement.
