Creating an effective homepage is often the basis for a successful website. The homepage has the power to convince visitors that your business is professional, specialized and well-organized.
As your homepage is the starting point for users, you should make sure that it conveys your company accurately. Visitors to your website need to know they have arrived in the right place and should immediately recognize what it is that your company does.
Visitors have a series of questions that they want answered immediately by your homepage:
- What does your company do?
- What are your company’s products?
- How can I view these products?
- Where can I buy?
- Who are you?
If you can answer these questions via your homepage, then you are able to capture the customer’s interest straight away.
Don’t over-clutter
There’s no need to shoe-horn every bit of information onto your homepage. For instance, a simple tagline can provide information on who you are and what your company does: “The Pot Plant Company – for unusual gifts that keep on giving”. This states who you are, what your service is and includes reference to the quality of your product. A tagline can sit neatly underneath your main logo or branding, leaving plenty of space for other information to be included.
A picture paints a thousand words
Use imagery on your homepage to represent product categories, rather than provide overwhelming lists. A click-through from the image to the relevant site page means the user gets to where they want to go simply and easily. Make sure the image you choose is relevant and represents the product, so as to avoid misdirecting customers, or relying on stock images.
The homepage is a springboard
People viewing your homepage will want to take a variety of different paths further into the website. Therefore navigation is a strong element to any homepage. Make categories clear, include menus to aid sub-categories and provide a search option. By making sure your homepage is intuitive and organized, you are able to ensure customers can find what they want to, without being lost in a sea of clicks.
Simplify the search
Divide your areas of interest into Categories and Products. This way, users can get a feel for what they are looking for, explore your product range and be presented with alternatives to what they may have had in mind, without being bombarded or forced to mine through irrelevant information.
Promotions
The homepage is a great place to introduce special offers or seasonal promotions. However, it is more effective if you use the homepage as a teaser, capturing the customer’s interest and then leading them to a specific site area to learn more.
Case studies:
www.amazon.co.uk: Intuitive navigation on side and top menus, one main featured product, other product images relevant to various categories. Seasonal promotion on click-through to product page.
www.apple.com: One main feature product, with large image. Additional click-through categories below, intuitive menu at top.
www.johnlewis.com: Large image detailing specific products and promotions, encouraging click-through for further details. Prominent search function. Drop-down top menus for products and categories.
