Homepage Guide: My 6 Must Haves
"What do I need on my Home Page?"
The homepage of your website has a lot of work to do. It needs to be fast, tell the user who you are, and how you help your customers, as well as serve as a road map for the rest of your site.
Here are my 6 Homepage Must Haves for service based businesses, so you can grab people's attention, keep them interested and increase the likelihood of them taking action either by booking a call, or signing up to your email list.
Let’s get started!
01. Relative Photo in your Hero Section
Alright, let’s start with the very first thing someone sees when they land on your site. Visual content is processed 60,000 times faster by our brain than text so make sure you've got some great high quality photos that showcases what you and your business offers so you can make a strong first impression, so visitors to your website know that they’re in the right place.
So, if you're a make-up artist maybe a picture like the one below, which shows how you help your customers!
02. A Clear Headline
Sounds silly, but literally having a headline for the section lets people know what you’re talking about and what you offer. People are always in a hurry, whether we’re looking for a service or a product, and we want to know as quickly as possible if we’re in the right place. You have about 10 seconds to impress someone before they leave your website, so make sure you grab their attention with a short, clear headline that tells them who you are and what you do.
"What exactly do you mean, Rachel?" I hear you say. Nothing complicated, I promise 😂 Just clear headlines like "More about us", or "Our Services" so that users know what you're about to talk about.
03. Multiple Calls to Action (CTAs)
Once you're got those great photos in place, clear headings and a visitor has decided they want to buy from you, (or learn more / book a call) - but how do they do it? Having multiple CTAs on your website is really good practice. If you make it easy for potential customers to take action you'll see a real improvement in your sales and bookings.
04. Free Offer
Create something of value to offer your future clients in exchange for their email address! We’ve all done this a million times, because it really pays off! It could be a free guide, a discount code, your top 10 tips on a topic you’re an expert in, the list goes on! Once they’ve signed up, you can keep your audience updated with newsletters and offers, and build a stronger relationship.
05. An "About Me" Bio
One of the best things about not buying from a big company is knowing you're dealing with an actual person. Including a short bio to introduce yourself is a great way to let everyone get to know you (and encourage them to buy from you, instead of your competitors. Most people will skim read your homepage, so I recommend 5 - 10 lines with a link to your About Me page, where people can read your story in more detail.
06. A Helpful Footer
Alright, so hopefully you’ve hooked everyone who’s landed on your site. So much so that they’ve been enjoying your homepage so much that they’ve suddenly found themselves at the bottom, without taking any action. The footer of your site can act as a secondary road map and a safety net, so when someone gets to the bottom of your homepage, make it easy for them to get to the other pages on your site! As well as increasing your conversions, it can help boost your SEO if you include your location.
For an example of a helpful footer - scroll down to the bottom of this page 😉
Your homepage is essential to a successful website that pulls in clients. Ensuring that it’s easy to skim, includes useful images, multiple CTAs and a footer which can act as a final roadmap will help your audience get to know you, and navigate your site easily - which will lead to more sales!
