The homepage tends to attract more opinions than any other page on a website. Everyone in the business wants their bit on it, so it slowly fills up with sliders, announcements, awards, a welcome message and a photo of the office dog. A good homepage does less, and does it better.
Meanwhile, a new visitor arrives with three questions. What do you do? Is it for me? What should I do next? A good homepage answers those quickly, in that order, and then gets out of the way.
The first screen does most of the work
The part of the page visible before anyone scrolls matters more than the rest. On a phone that’s not much space, so be ruthless.
- A clear headline that says what you do and who for. “Commercial electrical contractors across Merseyside” tells people more than “Powering your future”.
- A short supporting line that adds the most useful detail: your area, your speciality, or what makes you different.
- One main call to action, such as “Get a quote” or “Book a call”. A second, softer option is fine. Five is not.
- A relevant image, ideally a real photo of your work, team or product rather than generic stock.
If a stranger can read your first screen and describe your business back to you, it’s working.
A sensible order for the rest of a good homepage
There’s no single correct homepage, but most service businesses do well with something close to this:
- Services or products: a short overview with links through to the detail pages.
- Proof: reviews, recognisable client logos (with permission), accreditations or results.
- How it works: three or four simple steps, so the process feels less daunting.
- About: a brief, human paragraph about who’s behind the business, linking to the full about page.
- Useful extras: recent work, a featured article, or an FAQ if customers have common worries.
- A final call to action: repeat the main action for people who’ve scrolled to the bottom.
Each section on a good homepage should earn its place. If you can’t say what a section helps the visitor decide, it probably doesn’t need to be there.
Things worth taking off
Some homepage features are so common they feel compulsory. They aren’t.
Rotating sliders
Carousels that change every few seconds are a classic compromise: they let five people each have “their” message on the homepage. In practice most visitors see the first slide and move on. One strong message beats five rotating ones.
Welcome paragraphs
“Welcome to our website” wastes the most valuable space you have. Visitors know they’re on your website. Tell them something useful instead.
News that isn’t news
A “latest news” block showing a post from two years ago makes the business look quiet. If you won’t update it regularly, leave it off.
Auto-playing video with sound
It’s annoying, it slows the page down, and it often gets muted or closed immediately. If video helps, let people choose to play it.
Your homepage isn’t a summary of everything you do. It’s a sorting office that sends each visitor to the right place quickly.
Write it after the other pages
This sounds backwards, but it works. Once your service pages, about page and case studies are written, the homepage becomes a matter of picking the best bits and linking to them. Writing it first usually produces vague copy, because you haven’t yet worked out the specifics. It also stops the homepage promising things the rest of the site doesn’t back up, which is a quick way to lose a visitor’s trust.
Check it on a phone
Most homepages are designed on a large screen and approved on a large screen. Then most visitors see them on a phone. Before you sign anything off, open the page on your own mobile and scroll through. Is the headline readable without zooming? Can you find the call to action with your thumb? Does the first screen still say what you do?
A quick exercise
Open your current homepage and list every section on it. Next to each, write the question it answers for a visitor. Anything without an answer is a candidate for cutting, because a good homepage only keeps what helps. Then check your first screen against the three questions at the top of this article.
If the list turns out to be longer than the useful bits, a website redesign might be due. We can also help with the words themselves through our website content service.
