There are standard mistakes of creating homepage content that newbie web designers usually do. Two extremes are obvious here. Either they put too much content on the main page and get extremely stuffed and cumbersome web page or they half-ass it completely and get in result something totally embarrassing and old-hat that reminds the early 90’s. If you do not want to make these mistakes and wish to learn more about the right must-have homepage content, this article prepared by the team of developers and designers of Sunshine Digital Marketing Agency is for you. If you need a consultation, you get it here absolutely for free.
Is the homepage content any different from that of the other website pages and how?
You must have heard these popular clichés that the home page is the most important page on your website or that window to the soul of the company and reflects everything the company stands for. In reality, these clichés should be taken with a pinch of salt, because the real statistics has evidence that from the point of leads and traffic homepage is less important than other pages.
There is a clear tendency that users come to the website “sideways” via search and social media, not through the front door. It means that people do not just find you by a query “Company X”, but by the query “Company X how to cook spaghetti”. Considering all this, Sunshine Digital Agency recommends other companies to rely more on the idea that every page should to be a as useful as the homepage providing easy navigation through the whole website and enough information to make visitors want to learn more.
So what is the role of the main page, then?
Even if the other entrances can be more popular, homepage still remains the organization front door and homepage content needs to be taken seriously. It is a place to make your ultimate commercial statement and unique selling proposition. Visitors take your main page as the hotel lobby. Although they might enjoy the originality of the design for a few brief moments, if they travel a lot (or surf the web in our case) and stay in hotels very often, they get tired of all the design and concentrate on their ultimate purpose there. What they really wish at the moment is to get to the swimming pool, restaurant or their room. This backs the idea that the homepage should not be a place where you want visitors to linger, unless, of course, lounging and lingering around is what they really wish for. You want users to move along.
Your homepage content is all the little signs, stands with descriptions and hotel personal that helps a visitor to quickly find out the way to the room. The homepage content should not be cumbersome and take too much time to load. When your website offers a whole catalogue of different products and services, it can be extremely difficult to stay concise and promote just the one and only message across on your home page. A clear message not only gives an explanation of what you can do for users, but holds their attention and intrigues them to learn more. Here are several key ways to send your message and develop friendly homepage content to get visitors through the front door (imaginary and material).
How do we best protect a virtual valuable like our homepage against the attacks of enormous demands — navigation, narratives, pictures, infographics, testimonials, you name it? Just like other marketing components, it all comes to creating (and maintaining) a clear and thorough strategy that determines the goal of the homepage, what actions are in line with the objectives, and how to evaluate the productivity of those actions.
The essence of that strategy must be the accumulated knowledge and insights into how your target market thinks. Once you provided that, you are free to create your homepage content to cater to those users.
Cater the content to the visitors
Your homepage content should be devoted to your website visitors’ needs and what you can give to them. It should not all come down to YOUR COMPANY or boasting and touting to provide “the highest quality product in the industry.” Create your homepage content from your visitors’ perspective, and ensure it provides the best bets for all-important customer’s milestones:
- What does it hold for me?
- What does this business provide that can simplify my life?
- How can I get engaged, take part, or pay for the sale?
Always keep in mind that your website is your round-the-clock online sales team sweating all day and all night to provide information, help with problems and eventually get people buying your products and services.
Be direct and succinct
Do not forget that you only have several moments to catch visitors’ attention on your home page and make them want to learn you more. Based on this presumption, your homepage content needs to get to the point from the start. It is recommended not to write your complete company story on the home page. This may seem critical to you, but it’s more suitable for the About Us or About <company-name> part. Concentrate on your key products or services, propositions or content and add calls to action. Communicate boldly and be super attentive to people who you are trying to impress.
SEO keywords aren’t always the key to opening the door
Tons of business jargon and articles jammed with repetitive keywords isn’t going to entice people want to buy anything from you. It is too commercial and cheesy.
Make content divided into paragraphs to be quickly read or scanned and apply bulleted lists and graphical calls to action. Do not stuff every paragraph with keywords. SEO techniques if abused are pretty transparent and annoying, too. Keep content regularly updated by selecting a different bunch of products to accentuate each month. Always remember to highlight new updates or events!
Set-up a Search Query Box
Search is an essential part of any large website. When people need to scour your website quickly, they generally try to find search box. Make your search box sized at least 27 symbols, so it can provide enough place for numerous words without restricting people’s search requests too much.
Create a window title with good visibility in search engines and bookmark lists
Start with the TITLE tag with the entity name, then add some information of the website. Don’t begin with things like “The” or “Let us introduce ourselves” unless you want to be categorized under “T” or “L.”
Make it beautiful, but not at the expense of speed
The visual representation of your homepage is crucial to engaging and keeping customers, but don’t use images that detain page loading period. Don’t choose images with large file sizes. Even if you resize the image once you’ve published it, that doesn’t change its file size.
Redirect skillfully visitors to other sections of your website
Consider interacting with people on the home page by redirecting them into other parts of your website. Mention briefly at least three other parts of your website that potential customers would be interested in. Talking briefly about special offers, new or updated products or services, your blog or videos is a very good option. You can also split products or services out by a defined target market so those different clients understand better where to go.
Remember, your home page is of high importance, but all of your site’s pages need to function smoothly together to create a nice alley for users that will entice them want to return again and again. If you dig deeper than the superficial, you will understand that no one needs an independent homepage content strategy. This is no difference — the homepage should simply be another part of your comprehensive marketing strategy. This is the magic from which your website’s strength come from, homepage and all. And consequently, as more people come to a website from paths other than the front door, when planning a webdesign and content, companies need to regard every page on the site like a homepage.
