Your website home page is your quick snapshot of the who and what your business is about; it is like a virtual storefront. It would help if you aimed for curb appeal and functionality. If a user comes to your site and cannot immediately determine what service or product you offer, they will not remain.
Website Home Page Basics
Z, not X, marks the spot
The average western-hemisphere user reads in a Z-pattern. Therefore, make sure the layout of your content the website home page with that in mind. Navigational elements should be along the top of the Z. There is a reason that most sites have it in the left/right-hand corner or across the top; the users use it!
Function over finesse
If you have a choice of functionality or fancy, go with functionality. Fancy items such as video can add bulk to your website home page. And bulk increases load time, which is a bad thing. Also, a simple navigational element is better than multi-level, many sub-menus ones, especially true with a mobile site.
Above the fold
Above the fold is a throwback expression to when we got our news from the newspaper. It refers to ensuring the critical, essential information is available on the front page near the paper’s name banner. The same holds for a website home page. It is good to keep in mind for blog articles, too! The who/what/why all needs to be at the top without the user needing to scroll to learn the basics.
KISS
Keep it (a) simple site, at least when it comes to the home page. Most visitors arrive at a specific location within your website versus your website home page. There is no need to put every single element of your business on the home page. Like a storefront on the main street in a town, this is just your site’s front door.
Finish strong
The footer is a great space that you can carry over to all of your site’s pages. The footer can include a quick link to contact you, bring the user back home, access to important legalese items, and so forth. This is a valuable piece of real estate on your website home page. Don’t forget to update the copyright information in your footer!
That’s a wrap!
Use these t tips for a website home page, and you will be off to an excellent start for your business’s little corner of the internet! One last piece of advice before you start designing yours, do some competitive analysis. Visit your competitors’ sites and figure out what you like and dislike from their sites. Use this as inspiration for yours! Okay, that was a fib, one more piece of advice – – have people try out your design and figure out if you have reached high functionality to serve your ideal client. Do it with the desktop and mobile versions of it.
Need some help? That is what I am here for; comment below or contact me!
