It is not enough to get potential customers to visit your website; you need them to stay. Research shows that about 75 percent of web users admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based solely on the design of its website. Your home page is their first taste of how well-designed your website is. When trying to make an excellent first impression on potential customers, your home page is a great place to start.
First Impressions are Important
A well-designed website that promotes an engaging user experience is one of the most valuable investments you can make for your business. Your home page has a massive impact on how long your prospective customers stay on your site to learn more about your company and services. A poorly designed home page can turn visitors off and send them away from your site, serving as an indicator that it is time to redesign. Below is a list of items every successful homepage needs to keep visitors engaged and returning.
Clarity
Web usability consultant and author, Steven Krugg, say it best in his best-selling book, Don’t Make Me Think, “If visitors can’t identify what it is you do within seconds, they won’t stick around.”
Visitors must understand a basic overview of what your company does within the first 30 seconds of being on your website. Your homepage needs to clearly state who your company is and what products or services it provides. Try using a headline that answers these questions clearly and concisely. The headline you choose needs to be in a prominent location and draw the visitor’s attention immediately.
Keep It Simple
A home page with too many call-to-actions, widgets, links, and other dynamic content can be a distraction, confusing visitors. Visitors do not want to have to search through the clutter to find what they need. A useful home page should include easy to read text and headlines to make content easy to understand and navigate. If you want to detail your products or services, contain links to other pages with more information.
Use High-Resolution Images
High-quality photos can have a significant impact on the overall look and feel of your website. Visual art and illustrations are essential factors in a visibly pleasing design. Try to include photos that provide visitors with greater insight into your company.
If you do not have access to high caliber photos, you can purchase stock images from places like iStock, Veer, Getty Images, and Canva. If you shop around, you should find the perfect photos at a comfortable price or maybe even free. This article by Entrepreneur outlines a list of free stock photo websites.
Mobile Optimization
According to research, recent internet trends illustrate that browsing the web on a mobile device in the United States is higher than desktop usage at 51 percent. This statistic demonstrates why it is vital to optimize your website for any device such as iPhones, Androids, iPads, Kindles, and more. Websites that are not optimized for mobile viewing can be challenging to read, navigate and explore on mobile devices, causing frustration and encouraging visitors to leave your website prematurely.
Easy to Understand Navigation
Horizontal and vertical menu design is the ‘norm’ for designing website navigation. However, it is tempting to deviate from the familiar, do not. Navigation should be easy to understand, allowing visitors to find what they need quickly.
Website visitors are used to certain commonalities when they look at websites. By default, they will look to specific places for specific links because that is how websites are generally designed. Try not to change this order of operations around too much. Visitors know to find the ‘Contact Us’ page near the end of the horizontal menu or the bottom of the vertical one, while a blog will typically be included in the main menu bar. There is no reason to fix something that is not broken.
Transform Your Dreams— Together
If you are ready to update your home page or your website altogether, there is no reason to go at it alone. The custom website development experts at Bauen Solutions are ready to help you get started. Bauen focuses on small to midsize businesses’ unique needs, building user-friendly and easily managed websites. Our team wants to make it easy for you to update or maintain your home page in the future.
We focus on your company’s personality to create a professional, modern, easy to navigate, conversion-focused website structured to build brand loyalty and grow your market. If you are ready to make the change, we are ready to help.
