First impressions count, especially when it comes to your website. Your homepage is like your virtual shop window. It can make or break whether customers are going to walk through that ‘door’ or not.
We know first hand how much time and effort it takes to build your organic SEO rankings and optimise your website for searches.
So how can you increase your conversions in the meantime? It’s time to analyse your homepage!!
No matter what industry you are in, there are some golden rules for homepages that will ensure higher conversion rates and fewer drop-offs.
Today we’re going to go through them! Sit tight!
1. Above the fold
The ‘fold’ on the homepage is the point at which you need to start scrolling down the page. Above it is everything your audience will see before they decide to continue down, so you’ve got to make it count.
Your top section should have your business name, logo, a mission statement (what you do and who you help), and a call to action. This makes it easy for your customers to take the next step and know immediately whether you’re the right fit for them or not.
2. Keep it simple
When it comes to the design and layout of the homepage it’s easy to over complicate it. There is so much information that you want to give your customers, so you end up crowding the space with loads of images and text boxes.
But this won’t give you conversions! It will confuse your customers. As humans, our attention span is getting shorter and shorter, so the key is to give the most value in as little text as possible.
Remember that white space is a good thing. Make sure that your images and text aren’t cluttered, have a nice flow down the page and give the customer a bit of breathing room.
3. Create goals and design with them in mind
Before getting into the design of the website, it’s important to decide what you actually WANT this website to achieve. Is it getting people to your contact form? Is it educating them on a certain topic? Or getting them to sign up for your new course?
By determining your goals, you can design the layout and the copy to convince your audience to perform a certain action.
Pro tip: Write down a homepage strategy and site map before you go into your web platform. This will allow you to see if you are hitting all of the right points and whether the page is going to hit those goals you have listed.
4. Add relevant CTAs
We can’t stress this enough! Calls to action are an extremely important part of website conversions. They exist to guide customers through the website and, eventually, take the steps necessary to either book with you or sign up.
Pay attention to where you are putting these CTAs and if they are relevant. If you have a small ‘about’ section on your homepage, write a CTA button such as ‘Learn more about our process’. Or, if you are talking about a free download, have a button that states ‘Download the freebie’.
5. Use quality images
Much like Instagram, websites are very visual platforms. They say an image can say a thousand words, and it’s true! You can get your brand personality across and show your process, happy clients and many other things through rich imagery on your website.
To make them stand out, we suggest investing in professional photography, so the images are high quality and cohesive with your branding. (We offer this, so hit us up if you’re in need of some new on-brand photos).
6. Optimise for mobile
This is one of the, if not THE, most important thing to make sure you do. Please don’t ignore this step (we beg you).
Unlike 10 years ago, most people that will browse your website these days will do so on mobile. Too often, we see great companies with awful mobile websites because they have neglected to optimise.
No one wants to load a page and find text overlapping an image and mis-matched typography.
To make sure it is optimised for mobile, depending on which website builder you are using, you may be able to adjust the settings, or you might have to use custom code to tweak it until it’s right.
It might take a little longer and require the help of a professional, but trust us, it’s sooo worth it!!
And there you have it! Some of our golden rules to a highly converting website homepage.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with your website and need some help, we’ve got your back! Our team now provides fully customised website design and management, so you can focus on the things you love.
