Your Most Important Page
Your homepage is probably the most important page on your website, so it deserves careful attention when you design it. These are the most common reasons a homepage fails to do its job.
It Doesn't Say Clearly What Your Business Does
Within ten seconds of landing on your homepage, a visitor should know exactly what your business does. If your product or service is even a little complex, explain it plainly, so nobody leaves because they could not work it out.
Contact Details and Social Links Are Hard to Find
The purpose of your website is for people to get in touch with you, one way or another. Your contact details and social media links should always be in a visible place.
It Plays Music Automatically
Background music that starts on its own is, at best, a distraction. At worst, it annoys visitors enough to make them leave.
It Pushes Visitors to Enter Their Email
Nothing makes people leave a homepage faster than pressure to hand over their email address before they have even seen what you offer or read your content.
The Navigation Is Confusing
If visitors cannot tell how to move around your site, they get confused, frustrated and leave. Navigation should look good, but above all it must be practical and lead people easily to your other pages.
There Is No Search
When navigation is missing or unclear, a site without even a search box only makes things worse.
It Doesn't Work on Smartphones
A growing share of your visitors see your homepage on their phone. You cannot ignore them, so make sure your site is easy to use on mobile devices.
It Has No Calls to Action
Give visitors a reason to interact with your page: invite them to read more, learn more or download something valuable. Without calls to action, you simply miss the chance to turn visitors into leads.
Time to Act
If your homepage makes one or more of these mistakes, it is time for a redesign. If you would like advice on web design, get in touch with Etherlogic.
