When it comes to building a successful website, the home page is one of the most important pages.

Think of the homepage as a summary of your website that people will use to find the information they are looking for. As people scroll, your homepage will act as a guide that helps take them to different pages on your website.

Because your homepage acts as a guide, a strong structure and flow of information can make a huge difference in how people interact with your website, and ultimately, the overall performance of your website.

Although every website is unique, most websites can follow a similar overall structure to build value and most importantly, convert your website visitors into high-quality leads.

Here is a home page design structure that works incredibly well for most businesses.

Hero Section

First and foremost, your hero section needs to act like a hook. This is the first thing that most people will see on your website so it needs to have three key elements

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. How can I buy from you?
   

It also needs to be fast loading so people don’t click off while waiting for it to load. Hero section load times can be an absolute killer, so it’s important to test content here and optimize accordingly. 

Lastly, make sure your menu is easy to use and intuitive to navigate so people can find what they are looking for as fast as possible.

Credibility/Results

As people start to scroll, it’s important to build as much trust as possible before you ask them to take action. 

Create a simple review section or a quick portfolio overview to add credibility and show people that your business is the best choice for their needs. A good example here would be a section with client logos to show prospects who you work with.

People will see this and if they recognize some for the logos, they will instantly trust you more.

Details About What You Do

This section is when you can start getting into the nitty gritty details of what you can offer people and how you can help them. 

For businesses that only have a few services (ex. basic landscaping or yardwork), creating a section for services that both shows and tells people what you can do for them is a great way to help guide people to what they need quickly. 

For businesses that offer quite a few services (ex. healthcare), create a section for each category of services! For example, instead of creating a section for every single type of heart procedure, create a section for “heart health” that directs people to a heart overview page.

As you build each section, keep the words to a minimum and make sure people are directed to another page. This will help with bounce rates and time spent on the site, which will help with your SEO!

Soft Call To Action

By now, people who have scrolled this far have a pretty good understanding of what you do and how you can help them, so it’s time for a call to action to encourage them to call or fill out a lead form. 

This should be a simple, quick, and easy way for people to raise their hand and say they are interested in working with you.

Don’t push too hard here, but make sure you give your prospects a way to get in touch with you before they finish your homepage.

More Results/Testimonials

If they haven’t clicked through to another page and if they haven’t used your soft call to action, it’s time to build more trust.

Add in some results/testimonials/case studies here to show people the depth of your experience. Written testimonials, video testimonials, and/or proof of success will give your business third-party validation that can build massive trust with new people.

Value Add

Maybe your prospect is more of a DIY kind of person. That’s ok too! Showcase some of your resources or blogs to give your audience a more in-depth look at what you can do for them. 

Oftentimes, people will try to do it themselves, then realize that they should leave it to the professionals (aka hiring you!).
If you are just starting with your blog or resource center, try to offer as much practical advice as possible to really show your audience that you’re genuinely interested in helping them achieve their goals.

Strong Call To Action

Now it’s time to push hard for the lead submission! Build a strong call to action with a high-intent lead form to get interested people to give you their contact information. 

Keep in mind, the more qualifying your do on the lead form, the lower your conversion rate will be. It’s best to find a balance between highly qualified leads and tire-kickers.

To increase your conversion rate, you can also offer some type of promo or special offer to really get people to take action. If you decide to create an offer, make it something that will actually be valuable for your audience. Remember, more value = more trust = more conversion.

Give it a try! 

Footer

Last but not least, the footer.

Keep your footer simple with links to the rest of your site and your basic contact information. This whole section should act as a secondary menu to help people navigate through the rest of your site.

To help build your email list, you can also add in a basic email submission form to endurance newsletter submissions.

Now that you know exactly what your home page needs, it’s time to put in the action to dial in your home page. 

Does your home page have all the elements that we listed out? If not, there’s definitely room for improvement!

If you need some help or guidance getting your home page optimized, get in touch with the 253 Media team today!