You only get to make one first impression. So it’s up to you to provide users with a great browsing experience.
Between shrinking attention spans and increasingly fierce competition, that’s often easier said than done. Until now, that is.
Here are five essential elements of good homepages that your site needs to incorporate.
1. Quick Loading Times
Not only do you only have one chance to win over most visitors, but you’ll only have a few seconds to do so. Research shows that people are only willing to wait three seconds for a website to load.
Therefore, you’ll need your site’s homepage and all of its contents to load almost instantly. Yikes.
But before you scream in agony over massive overhauls to your website, you should know that a few adjustments can make a world of difference. Here are a few tasks to help you get started:
- Optimize images and your URL
- Update plugins
- Cache server data
- Shorten or compress content
- Avoid redirects
These changes, as annoying as they might be to make, will fundamentally change your user experience for the better.
2. Easy Navigation
The only thing as frustrating as a slow-loading website is a website that’s next to impossible to navigate.
As you start optimizing your website, think of how you can streamline your site navigation. The simplest way is to implement a search bar next to your navigation menu.
On that note, make sure your navigation menu includes clear indicators. Don’t make visitors guess what they’re about to click on, because odds are; they’ll hit the ‘back’ button before moving forward.
3. A Clear Introduction to Your Business
Seeing as this will be many people’s first exposure to your business, your homepage needs to answer the five Ws:
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- When is your business open?
- Where are you located?
- Why should customers care?
By the time a visitor leaves your homepage, they should walk away with more answers than questions. Take a clear, direct approach to this information.
4. Links to Other Pages
Links are wonderful resources for two key reasons.
First, not everyone is going to use your navigation bar. You can implement links as a means of moving visitors from one area of your site to the next, thus furthering your sales funnel.
Links are also a crucial part of search engine optimization. Google assesses a site’s backlinks when determining how trustworthy and reliable a website is. So incorporating links into your homepage can help your visibility.
5. Contact Info and a Call to Action
A good homepage leaves people wanting more. Once a customer knows you, why should they reach out?
Remember, it’s up to you to provide answers.
Make sure your business’ contact information is in an easy to spot area of your homepage. Many sites feature the contact info in a corner at the top of the page or directly at the bottom.
Everything You Need to Know to Create Good Homepages
Good homepages are easier to build than you might think. As long as you incorporate these five elements, you should notice better search rankings, improved customer satisfaction, and more sales.
For more advice on improving your website, make sure to check back with our blog!