How to Structure a Homepage

by Anton Likhnekevich - July 26, 2019

Potential customers often start exploring your business from the home page. On its design, functionality, usability and information content depends the user's first impression of the brand. In this article, you will learn how to design the main page of a website.

What goals a homepage is supposed to achieve

First of all, a home page more often than others becomes for business the first point of contact with a potential client. Therefore, it should produce a favorable impression on users. Secondly, a homepage plays the role of an information hub; using this page, the user must understand where to look for the necessary information at the moment. Thirdly, a homepage should provide the user with basic functionality, for example, the possibility of registering and logging into an account, requesting a callback, quickly buying a top product, subscribing to a newsletter, etc.

 

The ideal homepage should have the following characteristics:

• Clear Information. On a homepage visitor must find a short and clear answer to a number of questions:
• General information about the business (what is this company/website);
• General information about the products (what you can buy here);
• Information about the benefits (why you should buy companies’ products).

If we are talking about the main page of well-known brands, for example, Apple or Microsoft, you can skip information about business and benefits.

• Resonance with the target audience. A homepage must address to potential and existing clients in the same language. Avoid professional slang and do not over-praise yourself.
• Persuasive value proposition. You should briefly tell the visitor why it is worth cooperating with you. By the way, this information can be transmitted not only by words but by pictures as well.
• Usability and functionality. The homepage should be intuitive and easy to use. Easy navigation, registration and authorization forms, the ability to request a callback, adaptation to mobile traffic, the ability to buy some products from the main - these are just some of the components that make the page usable and functional. At the same time, the main page should not be overloaded with content, controls and functional blocks.
• The presence of a call to action. The main page should elegantly invite the user to take the necessary actions for the site owner: from going to the website section or subscribing to the newsletter to requesting a callback or purchasing.
• Relevance. The main page should constantly change and meet the actual needs of the audience. This can be achieved by automatically updating announcements of articles and news, rotation of products presented on the homepage, other forms of dynamic content.
• Visual appeal. This is an obvious requirement, but site owners sometimes forget about it. The first impression of the site occurs within fractions of a second after landing. It depends on the visual characteristics of the landing page.

How to make a logo

The logo in the upper left corner of a website is not just an element of branding, it also performs the function of the navigation center. The user can instantly return to the homepage page from any page of the resource by simply clicking on the logo.

Do not waste time and money on complex graphic design. You can independently make a beautiful text logo. Simply select a visually appealing font and write the name of your company. Pay attention to the logos of famous companies.

How Navbar should look like

Designing navigation, remember that every visitor to your site has visited thousands of other resources. He came across only two types of menus: vertical and horizontal. User can find the "Contacts" button almost with his eyes closed: it is at the far right in the horizontal menus and the lower in the vertical ones. Do not reinvent the wheel, keep your usual navigation.

Does It Need a Footer?

Some site owners consider a footer to be an atavism, preferring to it a fashionable endless scrolling. This is not the best solution for the main page. Footer structures the homepage. It is also a place to store technical information, such as license information, copyright, visiting counters, contacts, etc. Therefore, do not leave the main without a footer. Please note, in a footer, you can publish information about prizes and awards, links to reviews and other information that forms confidence.

How should the value proposition look like?

The value proposition is a key element of the main page. It is a text in the form of a heading, subtitles, one or two paragraphs, and one or two lists. To state the value proposition, answer the following questions in writing:

• What is this site about, what kind of business is it?
• What can be purchased on this resource?
• Why are the benefits, what are the advantages over competitors?

Do not try to publish the answers on the homepage. Users are overloaded with information, so they don’t have time to read boring texts about the company, which produces the best products and sells them at the lowest prices.

Try to shorten the answers to a few sentences. Structure the text, try replacing some thoughts with images.

Help the visitor choose the action you want

The more options a visitor can choose, the more likely he is to choose nothing. Therefore, do not overload the main page with a variety of sentences, conversion forms, and buttons.

If you can not confine one offer to the main one, help the visitor choose the right option. Highlight the action you want. This can be done due to the size and color of the button or form, their location or description.

Images on the Homepage

Images provide visual appeal of the page. If you are in real estate, jewelry services, expensive cars or massage services, you can easily find photos that make users want your product immediately. What if you sell insurance policies, factoring services, terminal servers or trading training? Do not try to buy stock photos with joyfully smiling people. Better make real screenshots of your programs, take a picture of real clients or employees in the office.

Improving Homepage is an endless process

Home page must be constantly improved. Use A/B testing to test new varieties of the page. In pursuit of perfection, avoid traps: do not overload the main page with unnecessary elements.