Tuesday, June 24, 2014

12 Critical Homepage Elements

12 Critical Homepage Elements
The homepage is the most important page on your website because this is where potential customers are most likely to visit first. The bulk of your traffic will come from your homepage and to make sure you are not hindering any visits turning into conversions, there are 12 critical elements you should have on your website homepage.
1. Headline
Your headline is the first thing people will see when they go to a website so it’s important that you have a clear and concise headline so your readers know exactly what to expect from you as a business.
2. Sub-Headline
Your sub-headline should offer your views a brief breakdown in a few sentences what they will get from your business. This is where you begin to show your value but remember to keep it short and stay away from telling a long story.
3. Benefits
If you can describe what your business does, that’s great however, you also need to know why your business fulfils a customers need. What makes you different and why will people benefit from buying what you have to offer?
4. Primary Calls-to-Action
To see an increase in sales, you need to have at least three primary calls-to-action above the fold of your homepage. Don’t have the same kinds of calls to actions, make sure each is unique.
5. Features
It’s all well and good having benefits on the homepage but without your customers knowing exactly what your key features are around your business, they won’t trust you. Have a list of features to give viewers a better understanding around your products and services.
6. Customer Proof
Including quotes or recommendations from customers is a great way to build your profile and give users some confidence in your business and what you are selling. Having this on your homepage will give you that extra push when it comes to a customer making a purchasing decision.
7. Success Indicators
If your business has been recognised for outstanding contributions or has won awards, make sure this is featured on your homepage. Having success indicators is just as important as having customer reviews.
8. Navigation
Bounce rates are a huge problem for websites which have poor navigation. Make sure you are offering your potential customers the best user experience possible by making sure your website navigation is as smooth as possible.
9. Supporting Image
Most people will respond to imagery more than text so its important you have a relevant and engaging supporting picture or video on your homepage to compliment your written content.
10. Content Offer
Offering an eBook, Whitepaper or Guide completely free of charge to those who want to give you their email address is a great way to bring people back to your website and to also market to in the future.
11. Resources
It’s been reported that 96% of people visiting your website aren’t actually ready to purchase from you so you, as a business need to think of other ways to bring potential customers back to your site so that when they are ready to purchase, they choose you. A good way to do this is to have a resources section where they can increase their knowledge.
12. Secondary Calls-to-Action
It is important that you have a secondary call-to-action at the bottom of your website homepage to make sure that you are covering all basis when trying to acquire a customer.

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