What is your Homepage Supposed to even Do?
Everybody knows you need a website, but… Why actually? What is it there to do? Chances are, if you don’t know the answer to that question, your website isn’t doing anything. Every page on your site has a purpose and none more important than your homepage.
Your homepage is almost certainly the most important page on your site, and in many cases, it's the only page you need. In fact there is a growing trend of making the homepage the entire website. (Hey kid! Want a one-page website? We got some right here! 👇👇👇👇👇)
Big picture, your homepage is there to help your target audience get more involved with you and your brand. It should tell them they are in the right place, and then tell them exactly what they need to do next.
And that’s it!
Your Homepage is Not Google:
Your website is not a knowledge dump of everything you have ever learned about your area of expertise. You see this kind of site with professionals who have a lot of specialized knowledge. They are so passionate about their fields and they just want everyone to have access to all their knowledge. So their websites look like a library card catalog.
You’ll see navigation bars with 20 (not an exaggeration) links in it, drop down menus, indexes of links leading people off the site. I get it. You want to share, you want people to know what you know. But, Google already exists, your clients know how to use it. You aren’t there to help them navigate the internet. If you have a focused blog that consistently provides valuable information to your target audience, that’s another matter. But blasting unsuspecting website visitors with everything you know is not the way my friend.
Your Homepage is Not About You
Even if you factor in as a big part of your homepage, your homepage is not actually about you. Is that confusing? Let me explain. Ultimately, your homepage is about your site visitor. They are busy folks, and they’ve got a problem. That is why they are on your site. They are looking at different solutions to this problem and somewhere in that search they found themselves on your website.
On average, they will give your website about 15 seconds to figure out if they’re going to explore further. You have a very small window of opportunity there to show them that you might be part of their solution.
That might feel overwhelming, but it’s not impossible.
The First Screen your Visitors See
You start by setting the stage. Make the first thing people see on your website welcoming for your Ideal Client. You do this mostly through design elements, images, colors and fonts. This is why it is so important to dial in your Ideal Client Avatar. Read more about this here.
Then, use your words, be direct and simple: tell them who you are and what you do. “I help [target audience] with [problem] so they can [result].”
Then tell them how to work with you. “Contact me” on a button. All this in your very first screen, with no scrolling.
If that section of your homepage is working, then people with a problem that you can help with will either hit your button, or keep scrolling to find out more. Everyone else will bounce, and that’s a good thing! You don’t want to waste your time talking to everyone about your solution. Just the people who will love it. That isn’t missed sales, it’s just time saved for everyone involved. Good job!
Commence Scrolling
Okay, so you’ve got some folks scrolling. You’ve shown them they are in the right place to get their problem solved, so now it’s time to deepen the relationship and tell them why you are the one to solve their problem. Write some empathy copy. Tell them you understand what they are going through, you probably went through it yourself once. Show them that you know what a pain their problem is and that you’ve been there and done that. Notice that even though you are writing about yourself here, it’s still about them. You only show up as a character in their story. Not the other way around!
Tell them what their lives will be like once you’ve solved their problem. And tell them how you will do it.
Give them some testimonials by people who have tried your solution and benefitted. Now they are just about ready to make the decision. This is where you put the solution in their hands and see if they give it back. Show them the packages, and give them a button to opt in.
Still Thinking?
There will be some people at this point who are intrigued, they are in your audience and they like what you are saying, but maybe now isn’t the right time or they need to think about it a little bit. Here is where your secondary call to action comes in. How do you keep this person in your loop while they think about how they will solve their problem? This might be a mailing list or a freebie download.
There are many ways to do the job of the homepage, but if every element is not directed towards getting your target audience more involved with you or your brand it needs to go. In particular, if it is not directing an audience member toward one specific action, it’s just noise.
In summary:
Make your homepage welcoming for your target audience by nailing your Ideal Client Avatar.
Get rid of everything that isn’t driving your site visitor toward one specific action
Make it about them. You are a character in their story.
Give undecided people something to do while they are thinking, but don’t lead them away from the one specific action you want them to take.
