A Recipe for Creating an Optimized Homepage
September 7, 2015
Think of the home page as a book cover. As we all know, first impressions are important. Inevitably, people are going to judge the “cover” before they decide to dig in deeper into the site and actually read the content. Below are some tips to help make your site captivate your users!
We read left to right, and up to down. Put all important stuff closer to the top left corner of the page. That could be the logo, product offering, or an important service worth featuring.
Create something eye-catching before the fold of the page. When someone lands on the page, what’s seen at first glance needs to be enticing to create engagement and lead them to scroll down. Some simple ways to do this are using catchy slogans, hooking them with a new product offering, or discussing an intriguing topic. The catchier the page, the more likely users will stay on the site.
Speak in a tone that caters to your readers/users. If your company target professional businesses, be sure to write in a formal, informative manner. On the other hand, if the site caters to adolescents, be sure to use language that will be relatable.
Have a call to action be blatant and near the top left side of the page. Because it’s so commonly practiced, people naturally assume that the call to action, such as a phone number or email, is on the top left. This makes it less cumbersome for users to find it rather than frantically look up and down the page for any point of contact. The longer the user is on the site looking for any form of contact information, the less likely they will convert, and inevitably lose a conversion.
Don’t overstuff the homepage with too much. Having a text/image-heavy homepage can be overwhelming with inaccessible information, which can drive users away from the site. This can also lead to a slow page speed. People on average have an attention span of 7 seconds, (even less with the younger generation). Any longer than 7 seconds could influence the users leave. Give just enough information to make them want to further explore the site.
The navigation bar should not be overwhelming. 5 is the rule of thumb for how many categories that should be featured on the navigation bar. Create sub categories to add more to the navigation bar without inundating it. Be sure to showcase the main categories rather than get too specific on the bar.
Create a homepage that changes with the current events. Homepages have the stigma to static. Don’t be afraid to change up the homepage when applicable. Some instance, showcasing information about the company hosting an event, or when a new product that is being launched would be a great thing to highlight.
Your homepage is the face of your company/brand. Make sure it captivates your users to learn more and explore the site.