A website home page is your website “foyer”. It welcomes people and guides them to their next step in making contact with you, booking your service or making a purchase.
The biggest tip I can offer when it comes to how to write a good home page is to waste no time in stating exactly what you do, services/products you offer, what your website is about and what you can do for readers of your site.
The layout and content of this page is vital as most people will “land” on it. It needs to be easy to read, navigate, understand and have a clear “takeaway” message. For example, George is a massage therapist and school teacher based in Perth.
Keep your homepage very short but still cover the essentials. Ask yourself this question: If someone only had time to view your homepage, will they know enough about your business?
If someone only had time to view your homepage, will they know enough about your business?
Use a personal tone and tell people a story. Inform your readers straight away why you will help solve their problem. Don’t be coy! Be explicit.
Which sounds more effective to you?
Example A
This book will boost your sales and will make you known for doing what you love. It’s an insightful guide on marketing for spiritually based businesses that is an easy and enjoyable read that will help you get your business or service noticed, quickly and inexpensively.
Example B
People have been saying for a while now that I should write an ebook and since I’m a writer I thought I should do that so here is a book on marketing. It started when I wrote about blogging but then I turned it into something more and now you get to read it.
Of course, it’s absolutely crucial that you use the write SEO keywords (your primary ones) on your home page. What is it that you want to be most known for and searched for? For example, my primary keyword for my home page is “copywriter” as that is my core service and offering.
Just like writing a contact page, you need to remember where the home page fits in to the readers’ journey and how you can gently coerce your reader to follow through the pathway. Eg, a person lands on the home page, then the home page convinces them to read the services page, then the services page is convincing enough to persuade the reader to click on the contact page. And by then, your contact page hits the final nail on the head and the person decides to call you.
Tip: keep your website consistent with your branding, style and voice. That means you should use similar language to that which you use on your hardcopy marketing collateral and your social media platforms.
Don’t muck around. Improve your website copywriting by reading my book Potent.