What Should and Shouldn’t Go on the Front Page of Your Website

By Affiliate Deborah Gallant, Owner of Bold Business Works

Your small business website is like the storefront display of a retail location.  If you were trying to attract passers-by to a shop window, you’d make sure it showed your “best” merchandise in an attractive environment that says “come on in.”  The front page of your website needs to function just like that showcase window, regardless of what you sell—products or services.

The front page of your site is (usually) the point of entry for a first-time visitor.  You only have 8 seconds (though I didn’t research or verify this much-circulated factoid, it seems about right) to grab a web visitor’s attention.  That is not very long.  Make sure all of your copy and content is oriented to immediately grab the attention of your best prospects—the people you can help the best.  Be bold, be brave, don’t just blend in with a “vanilla” website that rehashes the content of your marketing brochure.

Here are my top tips on what you should have on the front page of your website:

  • Your phone number.  You want to make it really easy for people to contact you so they can buy what you are selling.  If they can’t find the phone number, they won’t call.
  • A sign-up box.  A web visitor in and of itself is worth $0.  But a web visitor who gives you permission to market to him/her is really worth something.  Because then they are in your sales funnel.  But…most people won’t just give you their email address without “getting” something in return.  Which is why you need…
  • offer.  A something that is downloadable and catchy and cool and showcases your talents and knowledge in your area of expertise.  And makes them willing to give you their email address (see above.)  Make sure you automate the “offer” so you are not in the business of manually sending the offer items.
  • Easy, intuitive navigation to find deeper content within your site.
  • Big fonts, bullet points, easy-to-read explanation of what you do.
  • Some graphic elements, images, colors, fonts, pictures that convey your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in a very easy to understand (8-seconds) way.
  • If you can only sell your product or service in a localized area (like you are a chiropractor or therapist) then make sure the front page of your website announces your location FRONT AND CENTER.  Don’t waste time enticing people who cannot actually buy from you because you are too far away.

 

And what should you avoid on the front page?

  • Music.  Annoying as all get out.  If you’re a musician or need to showcase music, make it optional with a Click to Play button.
  • Flash Animation.  In most cases, this substantially slows down load time (remember, you only have 8 seconds) and can’t be seen by the search engines anyway.  And if you absolutely must must must have flash animation, give the user a way to “skip” the intro and also write the code so that once a person has seen it once, it doesn’t play on every visit.
  • Slow loading graphics.
  • All text.
  • Dark background with white letters.
  • Teeny tiny type that no one over 40 can read.

Keep in mind the front store window analogy and you’ll focus on what would draw in your best prospects in 8 short seconds

 

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