Recommendations for creating a perfect homepage
The homepage of the site is its face, so the making of it should be taken responsibly, because there will be a lot of work, from design and text content to the technical side of the site.
It won’t hurt to take into account the preferences of your target audience, because even the relevance of the content will play an important role.
Today we will tell you about the importance of the homepage design, share tips on how to fill it best, what elements to include and more.
Why is the homepage so important?
As we mentioned above, the homepage is the face, business card and introduction page of the web resource. Here, the customer should easily get information about your company, be able to contact support without any problems, the homepage should interest the customer, showing the benefits of your business. Therefore, among the main tasks of the homepage we can mention the appeal to the audience and introduction of the company and the display of basic products or services.
Types of homepages
Based on the direction and subject of the site, there are several types of homepages of the web resource. We offer you to learn about the main types.
🟪 Online store
Online marketplace websites are usually structured complexly, so the homepage should be as informative as possible. Here are a few sections to add to your homepage if you own an online store:
- Lists of products. It is convenient to provide them in a form of catalogs together with popular filters (price, color, material, etc.).
- Top products. List of the most popular products from different sections.
- Sales. List of discounted products, products with special offers (2 for the price of 1, etc.), cut prices and so on.
- Order forms. In addition to a convenient template for ordering, you should also add basic contact information and address.
Websites like this often have customized sales automation.
🟪 Services website
These websites describe various services provided by companies. It is important to add the following sections to the homepage:
- List of services with links to individual pages with more detailed descriptions. If your company provides only one service – then it is better to leave a more detailed description of that service on the homepage.
- Price list. However, it is better to leave a list of prices of the best offers on the homepage, and submit the full price list on the additional page.
- Photos of your works. Usually, visual materials appear more reliable.
- Benefits. You need to reassure the customer that your company is the best and is exactly what they need. Among your advantages, you can mention the experience of your employees, quality equipment, fast delivery and more.
- Contact information.
It also won’t hurt to add some useful information sections, such as “Materials” or “Tools”. Here you can tell what equipment you use in your work. This way you will be able to let the customer get to know your company better and encourage them to buy from you.
🟪 Product site
The homepage of this type of website is aimed at attracting users to a specific product for future purchase. What sections should be placed on the homepage of this website?
- Description of a specific product;
- Information about the company that owns this product;
- Price list;
- Contact Information;
- Calls to action (usually via the “Buy” button);
- Photos and videos of products;
- Reviews and recommendations;
- Special offers and discounts.
If this product is a separate project and part of one online market, then it is better to leave a link to the main resource.
Homepage: mandatory filling components
Let’s try to understand which sections and segments need to be added to the homepage so that it is informative and useful enough to attract potential buyers.
So, what is definitely worth adding to the homepage:
- Headings and descriptions of products and services;
- Contact information and feedback forms;
- Calls to action with further ability to perform it;
- Laconic design;
- Logo;
- Understandable navigation;
- Header and technical information;
- Nice color palette;
- Relevant news;
- Graphics and multimedia;
- Photos.
🟪 Headings and descriptions
A lot of attention should be paid to this, as the headlines are the first thing a user sees. They shouldn’t be too long, one sentence is enough, the headlines should be laconic and contain the idea of your business. Different creative headlines work well, you can use questions, quotes or slogans.
But other than the headlines, you also need to pay attention to the texts that your website contains. They should be grammatically correct, with a logical structure, laconic, contain relevant and interesting information. The descriptions of products or services should include the main benefits of them. Successful texts will only help you to promote in search engines, as they can contain important keywords or persuade consumers to buy.
🟪 Contact information and feedback forms
Users should be able to easily find contact information and quickly contact the company. Contact information is best placed where it will be immediately visible, such as in the header of the website.
Another useful feature will be feedback forms. Small windows that appear in the lower right corner of the screen with an offer “We will contact you” will help your customers get answers to their questions even faster.
🟪 Calls for action with further ability to perform it
Add buttons on your website that will stand out among the text and will carry the calls you need: “Show details”, “Buy this product”, “Call us” and more.
These call buttons should motivate customers to take a specific action. Try making them noticeable, bright, and the text short and as informative as possible.
🟪 Laconic design
Use the useful advice: the design should not interfere with the client. It should be light, minimalistic, without too many bright and complex elements that could distract from basic information. Each design is developed separately for a specific target audience with their own needs and preferences.
It is also important to adapt the design elements for different devices.
🟪 Logo
The most important thing for the logo is its recognizability and simplicity. After all, the logo embodies the whole concept of your brand. This is probably the first thing a user sees and what they will see and associate with you most. You can use a creative symbol or company’s name decorated in an interesting way as a logo.
In addition, the logo has another useful feature – navigation. With the help of the logo button, the user can get to the homepage from any other page of the website. These buttons are usually located in the upper left corner, or in the center.
🟪 Understandable navigation
Do not try to invent extraordinary and confusing navigation, because most users are already used to certain standards. Usually, the simpler the navigation is, the easier it is to use the site.
🟪 Header and technical information
Important steps in creating a website page is designing the “beginning” and the “end” of a page. The beginning or so-called “header” contains brief information about the website, menu and logo. And the end of the page – “footer” contains additional technical information, interesting links and more. Do not forget about the design of header and footer.
🟪 Nice color palette
Useful tips for creating a good color palette:
- Do not use too many colors on the website, especially if they are opposite and bright. This can distract the user.
- Harmony in colors and shades.
- Use the same set of colors for all elements of the website.
Try to use one color scheme for all pages of the website.
🟪 Graphics and multimedia
To diversify the content, do not use just text, but entertain your users with a variety of photos, videos, graphs or tables. It is much easier to understand dry text with visual materials.
Do not overdo it, filling with too many multimedia elements, because too many such elements can distract from the text and the necessary information.
Don’t forget about the copyright, it’s best to buy multimedia elements on special stocks.
What else can you fill the homepage with?
Let’s see additional aspects that can diversify the page:
- Video;
- Relevant news and replenishment of the range;
- Photos of the company’s management.
Video content is very important today, many users prefer to watch a short informative video instead of reading a long and boring description of the company. Therefore, with the help of professionals, you can make a creative video introduction of your company,
When you regularly update the News section, users understand that the site is “alive” and the work is well-established. It creates more trust and a desire to stay. Regular updates on the new items will also show customers your activity.
Photos of the team or workplace, company leaders and the workflow also create more trust among consumers.
Conclusions
A well-designed homepage can ensure the success of the entire site. Here are some tips for creating the best homepage. Don’t limit yourself to these guidelines, use your own creative ideas and you will be able to create a unique page that visitors will want to return to again and again.
Don’t add too many extra elements, convenience and laconism are your friends in creating a homepage.
Remember that the homepage is the face of your resource, so think of a strategy, research the preferences of the target audience and success will come soon.
