What makes up the anatomy of a great homepage?
People will enter your website through a variety of channels (especially if you’re doing these 7 things): a great blog post, a service page, a paid ad, or social media. However, the most common way people will enter your website is through the homepage. To engage a visitor, your homepage has less than 15 seconds to impress — including loading time. Here’s what the homepage of your site should include to grab your visitors’ attention, keep it, and turn them into customers.
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Headline and copy
The first thing someone will see is what’s “above the fold,” meaning whatever they see before they need to scroll. Use this space to introduce your business with a catchy, brief headline and engaging copy that encourages them to keep reading. The anatomy of a great homepage begins with this space.
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Value proposition and solutions
Once they’ve scrolled farther down, you should tell them what your business does, what makes you different, what you offer them, and what problems you solve. Make your copy clear and your value obvious. Visitors want to know why they’re on your page, so tell them. If your headline is what got them hooked, this content is what will convince them.
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Calls to action
After you’ve interested your visitors in your product or service, make sure to include a call to action (CTA). A CTA will be a button or several that inspires them to do something: buy, subscribe, sign up, watch, etc. The CTA is the key element that will finish what your headline and content started. The anatomy of a great homepage always includes CTAs.
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Contact and social media info
Make sure to include your contact information and any links to your social media channels. These can be at the bottom of the page. This makes it easy and clear for website visitors to get in touch with you in whatever way they prefer, and to follow you on social media and keep engaging with your brand.
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User-Friendly Elements
Your homepage (and website as a whole should have all the elements that make it easy to use and understand. It should be:
- Accessible to those with disabilities — This is a must. Check out our guide to ADA compliance and accessibility for more.
- Responsive — It should be mobile-friendly as well as desktop, so that your headline, copy, and CTA are just as effective for smartphone users.
- Easy to navigate — The layout and structure of your homepage and menu should be simple and clear so that visitors don’t get lost in the page and don’t know what to do next.
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The Right Colors
Color can have a huge effect on your homepage and your site as a whole. Make sure to choose the right colors based on your brand and what you’re trying to achieve.
Follow this anatomy of a great homepage and you’ll have all the elements needed to convert your visitors. Need more inspiration? Check out this list of fantastic homepage examples.
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S-FX.com Small Business Solutions is a boutique web design and technology consulting agency geared towards start-up businesses, small businesses and non-profit businesses. We specialize in implementing low cost technology solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce business operating costs.
