Website Content Tips – Part 1: Homepage

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When building your website from scratch or improving your existing website, there is always a thing that drives you mad: the website content. Today, and for the next 4 weeks, we’ll be giving you the right tips. By following our checklists you won’t lose that sale anymore!

Homepage content planning

When designing your homepage, you need a plan. The homepage is the most visited page of your website, it’s the most likely landing page and, obviously, it’s the page that decides whether your visitor is going to turn into a buyer or not.

  • Display: your homepage is your shopfront. Make it attractive or no one will come in. Visitors don’t read, they scan, they’re impatient. So, no clutter. Q: What would you display in your shop window?
  • Brand: visitors don’t buy your product immediately. Unleash your brand: they’ll remember you, and therefore they’ll be back to buy or recommend you to others. Q: Are your logo and design memorable?
  • Message: the homepage is not about you, it’s about your audience. Put “you” in the About Us page. Give the users what they are looking for. Q: Can you convey your message in 3 seconds?
  • Action: visitors get lost when landing on a new website. Use your homepage to make them do what you want them to do. Q: Can the user find what you want them to find?

Homepage content checklist

Planning done, it’s now time to execute it. Here are your key tips to turn your homepage into a perfect shop facade.

Homepage Display – what the user needs to SEE

Headline: use a big headline to describe your USP e.g. “Websites that works”
Teaser paragraph: use a short paragraph of text below the headline to tease further
Scrolling: place your main content in the visible area, where scrolling is not needed
Clutter: use a lot of white space to “relax” your visitor
Navigation: design a simple and effective navigation bar
Text: use short sentences and split your text into short paragraphs
Keywords: highlight your main keywords in bold font, that’s all the user reads!

Homepage Brand – what the user needs to REMEMBER

Logo: use colours and words to help the user remember
Tagline: include your slogan to enhance memory
Main image: choose one big, effective image – the visitor won’t forget it
Promotional words: avoid using “best”, “great” or other promotional words
Jargon: be clear, use plain words, don’t mess with your user

Homepage Message – what the user needs to HEAR

Benefits: list your product’s benefits with 3 bullet points
Differences: say briefly why you’re different from your competitors
Testimonial: include 1 testimonial and a link to the testimonials page
Business Address: build user trust
Phone number: build user trust
Company registration: build user trust

Homepage Action – what the user needs to DO

Call to action: “sign up”, “register here” or “buy now” to drive the user
Main 3 links: include 1 to 3 links to your most profitable products
Search box: make the user do something at least!
Buying process: describe how EASY it is to purchase your product
Payment gateways: describe how FAST it is to purchase your product

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