What makes an effective home page?
Welcome messages that do not explicitly state what a company does turn potential clients away. Take a look at this homepage text. A statement such as this one applies to virtually any IT consulting business. When your homepage fails to communicate what you do clearly, your web presence turns away many potential buyers, business partners or investors.
XYZ provides the expertise and talents of their specialists all over Canada, implementing solutions and contributing to the success of your business and your projects. At XYZ, our philosophy is based on three principles: experience, expertise and commitment. Our people are highly skilled, but what distinguishes us above all are our values of accessibility, being local and trust.
Home should clearly state what your company does and why should people trust you with their business.
Elements of an effective home page
Company name and purpose
This is your company name (usually presented as the logo) and clear message about what you do. The tagline is extremely useful because it conveys a short, clear statement that is easy to understand.
Clear explanation of services or products
Ideally, your main services or products should be displayed on the home page not buried under Services or Products page. This way visitors know what you do as soon as they land on Homepage. In many cases, a clear call-to-action can be placed directly on the home page. In case of Fresh Books (above) "Try It Free for 30 Days" button is an appropriate call-to-action.
Crossroads to main sections of information
People may come to your site via any of the internal pages. They will likely go to the Homepage to get an idea of what else you have to offer and to gain an overall understanding of your company. That's why it is a good idea to use banners, icons or other navigation to highlight important offerings and additional information.
Persuasive factors
Once a visitor learns about your company offerings, he will naturally ask himself: Why should I trust them with my business? You can use several tactics to persuade your visitors:
- Display latest blog posts or news that show your expertise in the subject matter
- Showcase logos of clients that trusted you with their business
- Show testimonials that speak of the benefits of your products and services
To sum it up, your homepage should state what you do, establish trust and lead people to more information.
