Design a homepage that converts
Design a homepage that converts
1. Create customer personas that will help you identify the value proposition and content on your home page.
2. Write a clear, concise, and an easy-to-read value proposition that states who your product or service is for.
Your value proposition needs to be a concise chunk of text including a headline, sub-headline, and maybe a few bullet points, directed at a specific audience that addresses these questions: What is this site about? What can I do here? How is it useful to me? Why should I buy from you instead of the competition? For example, Stripe clearly states who their service is designed for in their value proposition.
3. Determine the action you want users to take on your homepage.
In most cases, it’s a good idea to direct users to reading more about your offer or checking out a demo, before asking for a commitment. Think about the questions going through your users’ minds when they’re on your homepage, and what content would be best to both answer these questions, and guide users to the next logical step in their usage lifecycle.
4. Create benefit-oriented calls to action that indicate what happens when they click.
Avoid empty words like Submit or Buy in favor of more descriptive terms.
5. Talk to your customers to find out what language and exact phrases they use when talking about your products, and use it on your homepage.
Having relevant information with the exact wording your customers use is important. If they find something that looks similar to what they want, they will take action.
6. Add important elements like your value proposition and call to action above the fold, and supplemental information like product information below the fold.
The fold is the web browser window’s, bottom border. Above the fold is the part of the page users see without scrolling, and below the fold is the part users would need to scroll to get to. The part of your page above the fold should, at minimum, include: Your value proposition. Some visuals. A call to action. Use the room below the fold for SEO and to add useful stuff about your product or service, and address other questions your users have. Make sure your copy is at least 500 words long and optimized for search engines.
7. Display you email, phone number, and live chat options in a prominent location, to make your site more trustworthy.
8. Use visuals like images or videos to enhance your value proposition, and give users an idea of what your product or service is like.
Use images for tangible or simple products, and video to give an overview of more complex products. For example, Blu Homes uses images to give users an idea of what their homes are like, and Project Bubble uses a short video to give users an overview of their software.
9. Add trust elements like money-back guarantees and trust symbols to reduce friction.
For example, Ice.com added 2 trust symbols, mentioned their money-back guarantee, and added Trusted since 1990 to their footer.