A homepage that engages visitors is both a challenge and an art. You want to make them click on an ad or two, but you also want to leave them wanting more.
The days of a homepage being a single page are long gone. Instead, the homepage has become a multipurpose page that serves as the foundation for an entire brand’s website. This kind of versatility is excellent and allows us to target many different types of users with just one page. We can use this to our advantage when designing homepages by understanding how each kind of user will interact with our design and then optimizing.
Here are five simple secrets for creating a homepage that will keep people coming back for more every single time.
Navigation
Suppose you’ve ever hosted a party in your home. In that case, you know how important it is to direct your guests efficiently throughout your house so they can find the bathroom and get back out to enjoy themselves. A cluttered and disorganized environment only frustrates people looking for a quick way to get to their destination, which is unsuitable for your website.
To ensure visitors can navigate your site quickly and efficiently, avoid overloading your homepage with too many links or using too long links. Some sites place navigation on their homepage that automatically opens a new window or tab, which leaves their homepage open yet still unnavigable. Instead of making it difficult for visitors to find what they’re looking for on your site, offer clear links that direct them directly to the desired page.
Call-to-action or CTA
A call-to-action (abbreviated as CTA) is a button or other form of text that prompts visitors to take the next step in a sales or conversion process. Call-to-action buttons are often used on landing pages, emails, and websites to encourage visitors to contact a company for more information or purchase. However, according to the Delhi School of Internet Marketing, 70% of small businesses fail to use powerful calls to action.
Call-to-action buttons can be text, graphics, or both. They should be prominent and visible on the page so potential customers don’t miss them. The call-to-action can also be an image, such as a logo or picture of your product.
Design
Designing a homepage that is engaging and compelling is a challenge. Nearly everyone has a homepage, so the competition is fierce. Homepages are like mini-portfolios; they need to capture the viewer’s attention.
It’s not enough anymore to have a bland, text-heavy page with some images thrown in for good measure. It would help if you stood out from the crowd to attract the right clients for your business.
The design is the first thing that people see. It sets the tone, conveys information, and represents the brand. This is why it’s so important to get it right. If you plan to hire a web design company, these are the questions you need to ask.
Content
We’ve all seen sites with little to no content. They might have a catchy headline or an eye-catching picture, but there is no readable text to go along with it. This can be frustrating for users because they feel like they were duped into clicking on the page and ended up at a dead end. Having a great-looking site is not enough; you need something that makes people want to stay on your site and explore more.
The content on your homepage needs to be carefully planned out. You want to ensure that you are providing your users with the information they need and want while showing off what makes your company different from others in your industry.
An engaging homepage should be chock full of content from the first thing someone sees. You want users to quickly find what they’re looking for and get them on the path to becoming customers. This can be accomplished by using headings, subheadings, bulleted lists, bold text, and plenty of white space to break up content into bite-sized chunks so users don’t get overwhelmed with information and have the ability to quickly scan your text for what they’re looking for.
Loading Speed
Say you’ve got your content, design, and user experience down pat, but what happens when someone loads your site for the first time? This is where a site’s performance comes into play.
In today’s world of instant gratification and impatient web surfers, your site needs to load as quickly as possible—it’s no longer good enough to have a site that loads in 30 seconds. According to Potent, there is a big impact on loading speed in the conversion rate of your site. According to Portent, a site that loads in 1 second has a conversion rate 3x higher than one that loads in 5 seconds.
Ready to create a beautiful one?
Creating an engaging homepage can be a challenge. Still, we hope we’ve put together some helpful tips to make the process easier. For beginners, it might be tempting to start with a minimalist approach. But sometimes you need to get creative to get noticed. Identify what works for your business and brand, and don’t be afraid to try new things; most of all, have fun! To help you out with a more unique and on-brand homepage contact us today.