Anatomy of a Successful Homepage

This is a guest blog post written by Michelle Pontvert, branding and web designer located in Paris.

Knowing that to include, and what not to include on your website’s homepage can be overwhelming. Some sites seem to put everything, as in their whole site, on their homepages. While others take a more minimalist approach. Neither of these approaches is right or wrong, but there are some common guidelines both would do well to follow.  

A compelling Homepage “Hero” section 

The very top of your homepage that visitors see before scrolling down is THE most impactful part of your website. This small but mighty section is what helps people decide if you can help them or not, and therefore if it’s worth sticking around to learn more about you and your offerings.

You need to grab people’s attention and clearly show what it is you do, how you can help them and what action they should take next if they are interested in going deeper. 

For an in-depth guide to creating a successful homepage “hero” section grab a copy of my free Homepage “Hero”Section Checklist.

Make a clear offer 

Make it abundantly clear what it is you are offering. If you can make it clear that you are offering exactly what they want, your website has already done 90% of its job.  

A great way to share your offering is with a powerful headline in your “hero” section. You can also reiterate your offering further down the homepage, especially if you have several different products or services.

Empathize with their struggle 

Most products and services offer a solution to a problem. So by sharing the kinds of problems your clients are struggling with you show them that you get it, and that you feel for their frustrations.

It may seem a little mean to bring up your potential customer’s pain points, but it is one of the best ways to show them that you can truly help them since you actually understand their struggles.

Share the results they can get with your help

Now that you’ve empathized with their problem, you can share how your product or service can help them. This is a great way to share what their lives will look like after they’ve worked with you / used your product.

This is a great place to share a few testimonials from your happy customers! If you can show their faces, even better! It really helps if you can connect your glowing reviews with real people who your potential clients can identify with. 

Make a connection 

Once you’ve talked about your offering and shared what life could look like for your potential customer with your help, now is the perfect time to introduce yourself.  

Sharing a photo of yourself, even if you aren’t selling a 1:1 service can be a great way to build trust and create a connection between your customers and yourself.  

A good way to think about writing your “about me” sections is to keep your mission and your customers as the main focus. Speak to why you help the people you help, why you created this offer and what it means to you to help them overcome their struggle. This takes the pressure off of you writing about yourself, but also keeps things interesting and engaging for your potential customers.

A clear-as-day call to action

Tell the people what they should do now!

Help your interested potential customers take the next step forward. Give them a quick win and move them towards your end goal, without being overly pushy or aggressive.  

 If your ultimate goal is to have people buy a product from you, then send them to your product page. If you are selling a service, take them to your detailed service page.

The idea is to keep them on your website and to help them learn more about your offering, so if it is a good fit for them, they’ll move forward again in your sales process to either buy from you or book an inquiry call. 

Quick tip: Make sure you keep your interested potential clients on your website. Don’t send them off to social media sites, that would be a step backwards in terms of getting to know your offerings and we don’t want that!  

Show don’t tell – when you can!

Beautifully photographed product photos will do a lot of the selling for you, so make sure to feature them prominently on your homepage.

If you are selling a service then your customers will want to connect with you, and what better way to build that connection than by showing your smiling face! I know, it can feel uncomfortable sharing your photos online but this is truly one of the best ways for people to connect with you.

Share relatable social proof

It’s scary to be the first person to try something, so help reassure your potential clients by sharing testimonials from your previous clients or places where your work has been recognized. This helps establish you as an authority and as an established business worthy of their trust.

There are a ton of other little details to keep in mind when creating a successful homepage, but if you follow these guidelines then you’ll be most of the way there!

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