Do you have a website, or are you looking to build one?
No matter what stage you’re at with your business, you can always stand to learn a little bit more about the nuances and tricks required to get the most from a website. After all, for many businesses, their website is the first and most spectacular way to make a great impression with a new customer, so it’s important to get this right.
A homepage is the first thing people see, and needs to be pretty spectacular (both in terms of design and in terms of user experience) in order to encourage a new user to keep on using your web page. And we see the same thing time and time again: your marketing strategy is thoughtfully designed, and meticulously executed, your branding is exciting and leaves people wanting more – and people are starting to come to your website to see what all the fuss is about. But then we ask the question – “are you sure that your website is laid out correctly, and that the content and information on your site is enough to keep people engaged? Does your website convert?”
And often people either say, “I don’t know,” or “I think so?” So to that we say, not good enough! We want your legions of adoring fans finding your website and converting sale after sale because the customer journey is so compelling that they just want to buy! Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do that – we can help you. Right here.
Preparing Your Website
For those that are yet to begin building their website, it’s important that everything is built on a strong foundation. The main function of your homepage is to draw the attention of users to other areas of your site. So, if those other areas are out of order or function poorly, the next steps in homepage optimisation aren’t going to be as effective as they could be.
Businesses such as Host Geek, who offer web hosting in Singapore and Australia, are a fantastic place to turn for hosting and domain-related services. This is also the time when you should be considering the services of a web developer or designer to ensure that your website’s theme and aesthetic is universal across all pages.
Your Headline
Ok – so we’re starting with the basics here but you need to make sure you have got this right. A strong headline is very important, and you need to make sure it’s compelling. Marketing research has found that headlines can improve or reduce your conversion rate. And you basically have between six to 12 words to make a very strong impression.
So how do you go about writing a killer headline?
You write a heck of a lot of them and you try them all out. Also remember that writing for your whole audience is impossible. Instead, try to write to satisfy the core 20-30% of visitors who are actually likely to convert and buy after visiting your site. Write about 20 headlines and then compare them all. After you have written that many, try and write 20 more.
You’ll find that, by keeping the question “What does this site offer to me (as your customer)” in your mind, you’ll write better headlines. Because after all, your headlines needs to answer that question immediately. So if you sell the best cartoon socks on the internet, your headline should be “The Best Cartoon Socks on the Internet” – obviously not that simple, but you get the idea.
Benefits
Let people know what they are going to be getting by visiting your site. You need to show people the benefits of your products or services. List why the product you have matters.
Calls to Action
Make it disgustingly easy for your customers to, once they have enjoyed reading about your benefits and snappy headline, to BUY BUY BUY. You want to make your call to action simple, clear, easy to follow. A call to action asks something of a customer and demands action. Clickable buttons are the most popular ones, or it can be something like calling a number. But hey. Let’s stick with the buttons. You need to make sure you experiment with colour, size, shape and positioning to get the best results.
Keep it Simple
Don’t clutter up your homepage with a heap of information – instead make sure that the customer journey demands that you are encouraging people to move through your site finding information out as they go.
Cater to Your Customers
Think about your audience, and make sure you have selected the right kind of theme, colours and wording that they would like. It helps to have an ideal customer in mind when you are writing your web content as it sculpts your content more compellingly.
There are obviously a million-and-one other things you need to have on your homepage, but hopefully this has given you a fantastic introduction to what you should be considering. Good luck!
