I’ve written this list of 5 things you must include on your website’s homepage because I know that your website homepage is one of the most difficult pages to write for your website.
The main goal of your website homepage is to send people elsewhere, likely another page you’ve got to write content for, so you don’t want to give too much away but you also want to make sure they stay on your site long enough to reach those other pages!
This post will give you some pointers on things you must include on your website’s homepage to set up your homepage to convert those visitors into customers. If you’re just starting out or looking to review your website copy, this is perfect for you!
The 5 Things You Must Include On Your Website’s Homepage
Some of these points might surprise you! Like did you know there’s a minimum word count you need to hit? Or how to ensure that your above the fold content is communicating the right message? It’s honestly so much more than a logo, a couple of paragraphs and a ‘book now!’ button.
The things you must include on your website’s homepage depend on the goals of your website but usually you’re wanting to convert visitors into customers. So let’s look at some of the best ways you can do that from your homepage.
1. What you do
This one might seem like a no brainer but are you 100% sure your homepage communicates what your brand actually does? When looking at thing’s you must include on your website’s homepage, it’s essential your homepage makes it clear what your business does.
You might find it hard to judge this yourself so I recommend reaching out to a friend or your social media network and asking someone who doesn’t really get what you do to take a look at your homepage.
They should be able to get what you do within the first 3 seconds on your page, especially so on your website’s homepage, which is why of all the things you must include on your website homepage, it’s the one to look at first.
If you’re not 100% sure it’s clear then there’s work to be done. If you’re unsure then I recommend asking someone else to take a look at your website with fresh eyes and let you know their thoughts on how well you communicate this.
Let’s say you’re a personal trainer and your homepage makes bold statements about “commitment” and “getting results”, which is great, but what results are they going to get? You could be a lifestyle coach or even a designer, like me, and be saying the same thing.
Your website design plays a big part in communicating what you do, as does having effective website copy, to ensure this information is ‘above the fold’ (before the user scrolls) and for SEO purposes it should be wrapped in a H1 tag.
2. How to contact you
Maybe you’ve got a great user journey that walks visitors from point to point to guarantee they’ll end up booking or purchasing at the end. But what about people who don’t need convincing? Of all the things you must include on your website’s homepage, this one is the most important for ensuring quick conversions.
Some visitors to your site may have already checked you out elsewhere and know they just want to work with you. So save them the hassle of going through your user journey and give them a clear and easy way to contact you right from your homepage.
You can do this in a few different ways depending on the services or products that you offer but I advise at the minimum you have 2-3 links on your homepage which take people to your contact/booking page.
Alternatively you can include a contact form, your phone number and/or social media links directly on your homepage – even better!
Make sure not to include your contact information too high up on the page. I recommend linking your contact page in your main menu (at the top of your page, near your logo) and then provided further contact methods further down to capture people whilst they’re scrolling.
3. Your branding
This one isn’t just for your homepage and while we’re talking about branding – your branding is not just a logo.
Your logo, colours, fonts and brand voice all make up your branding and if you haven’t invested in proper branding for your business then now is the time to do so! Lucky for you, I’m just the gal to help you with your branding!
Your branding should feature throughout your entire website, especially so on your homepage, because it’s one of the most memorable things about your website. You want people to be able to recognise you from social media, your website, e-mails, etc. all from your business branding.
Your logo should sit at the top of each page, to the left or centred, and be one of the first things people see when they click on your website.
Your brand fonts and colours should be used throughout your page design to ensure your user journey is clear and that content is well laid out. And they’re definitely things you must include on your website’s homepage!
If you want to ensure your website design is doing just that and converting leads where it counts get in touch and we can talk about the perfect branding and web design for your business!
Finally, all of your content should be written with your brand voice. So if you’re going for an approachable ‘I’m your new best friend’ style with your social media promotions, the same should apply to your website. Equally if you’re going for corporate based clients, stick with a more formal brand voice.
4. A minimum of 500 words
Minimum word counts are important because they’re used for search engine ranking. Pages with little to no words on them are very unlikely to show up on search engines like Google because Google uses your written content to determine it’s relevancy to searches.
Which is why minimum word counts are essential for your website. SEO gurus vary on what the best minimum word count is however the absolute minimum is agreed to be 300, however some even say 600-700 words is best.
The bottom line is that under 300 words is considered to be ‘thin content’ by Google’s standards so you should aim to be over that. And 300 words really isn’t that much and if you’ve written 300 words then you may as well increase it to 500 and really increase boost SEO!
You should use this increase in word count to effectively communicate what you do, how to contact you and get your brand’s message across to your visitors. Don’t stuff your homepage with irrelevant content to meet the minimum word counts and make sure all of the content works towards your end goal.
So whilst a solid minimum word count is definitely up there in things you must include on your website’s homepage, it’s also something you need to consider on every page of your website.
5. Eye-catching imagery
Along with your great website content you’re going to need some eye catching and on-brand imagery. In terms of things you must include on your website’s homepage, eye-catching imagery should be used on every page of your website.
The images you use should represent your brand and services, be high resolution and well placed throughout your written content. You can also use images to break up lots of written content so if you’ve got a wordy homepage then definitely add a sprinkle of imagery!
If you’re light on written content on your homepage then try not to go too nuts with images as you don’t want to drown out your written content, there’s an art to the balance between the two! Aim for one image for every 2-3 small paragraphs or content sections on your homepage.
You should focus on at least one image to begin with and work your way through the page seeing where else an image could communicate your message or help with breaking up text.
So, are you meeting these 5 things you must include on your website’s homepage or do you need to make some tweaks? You can give it a try yourself or get in touch and let’s see how we can work together to maximise your homepage’s potential!
