Have you ever met someone and, right out of the gate, decided, “This person is not my cup of tea?” Or, a better example – you are working with a contractor, someone who is supposed to be a subject matter expert, and when you ask them questions, they don’t really answer the question you are asking but instead talk about their vision of what they want to be. In either of these situations, I assume your initial impression is you’d rather hang out with someone else or get someone else to do the work. This is a lot like your website’s home page.
The home page of a website should serve as your first impression and is your most vital tool.
Unfortunately, often the home page highlights the business rather than providing the information the viewer is interested in. By doing so, the viewers of the website could take numerous clicks to determine if the product or service you are offering is even suitable for them, and they can nix you as an option within seconds and move on to your competition.
Here at Reval, before even discussing your website, we take a few steps back and determine the purpose of your website. When defining your purpose, we discuss the goal(s) you wish to achieve. Whether you want to grow your email list, receive messages, or sell a product – any goal can be catered to. It just needs to be defined. Once we have your goals defined, we begin to design your website based on those goals. Don’t worry – we walk you through exercises such as journaling to help form solid goals.
Through our design process, we stick to the five golden rules for your home page and first impression. These five goals ensure you capture your ideal customer’s eye and provide the information your viewer wants. Let’s break them down:
Rule 1: Communicate the purpose and identity of the website and business.
Now that we have identified the goal of your website, we can display its purpose; depending on your industry, this can look very different.
Rule 2: Provide easy navigation to the rest of the website’s pages and sections.
Easy navigation includes reducing the number of clicks to get to different pages within your website. We ensure that every viewer can be directed to the goal we are trying to achieve.
Rule 3: Highlight the most important and relevant information, products, or services offered.
As much as companies like to know who you are – your mission, vision, and values – those are not going to be the items that draw a customer in when doing an initial search of your actual products or services offered, so be sure to showcase them.
Rule 4: Engage the user and encourage them to take a desired action.
This action could be one such as purchasing, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting the business.We provide designs with numerous calls to action, which drives interaction with your site and increases SEO.
Rule 5: Provide a positive user experience through visually appealing design, clear and concise content, and fast loading times.
These rules often seem straightforward, but we once worked with a client who said, “my goal is to inform my clients of what we do and to get in contact with us.” Well, their website told a different story. Their homepage highlighted their mission and vision – not their services. It took three clicks to send them a message and another three clicks to determine their services. The goal of the website was not noticeable. When thinking through your website’s homepage, it is essential to first define your goal(s) and then follow our golden rules to ensure you execute your goals and a good design. Reach out to Reval today for a free audit!
