5 essential elements every website homepage should have

When someone visits your website for the first time, there’s a limited opportunity to convince them to stay on your site, click through your pages, and make return visits in the future. No pressure, right?

While there’s no perfect formula for a homepage that’s sure to capture the attention of every person who visits your site, including these five key elements can vastly increase your chances.

Clear navigation

The navigation bar is one of the highest-trafficked areas of any website, and if you’re not highlighting its most important aspects, your visitors might get frustrated with the experience and abandon your site in favor of something that caters to their needs with more clarity. Not sure which pages you should highlight in the nav bar? Here’s where looking at your website’s analytics can help. Check out which pages are getting the most attention and determine if it makes sense to put them in a category that is accessible from your homepage.

A clear CTA

A visitor stumbles upon your homepage and likes what they see—but now what? CTAs, or calls to action, give visitors a clear path to follow while on your site and pushes them along the sales funnel. When you’re trying to create your main CTA, identify which specific action you want people to take when they visit your website: Do you want them to purchase your product? Schedule a consultation? Or visit your business in person? Make your CTA something that clearly shows your visitor what that next step will be.

A value proposition

When someone is visiting your website, it’s incredibly important to include a value proposition, or a brief statement that explains the purpose of your business or website and addresses what problems you can solve for your reader. Without a value proposition, it becomes more difficult for your visitor to identify from the get-go if your website or business can be of help to them.

Interesting visuals

Humans are visual creatures by nature, and having visuals that break up a page will keep your content fresh and interesting. Include a high-quality stock photo, relevant graphics, photos of your products, or even a creative color scheme to add dimension and variety to your page. Images are especially important if you’re selling products online, so remember to take the time to incorporate nice looking photos that will engage your audience.

Contact information

Contact information is obviously important if you’re a brick-and-mortar business, as people need to know how to locate you. But even online websites or businesses can benefit from having contact information on the homepage. Provide a phone number or email address for visitors to reach out with questions and comments.

Reviews and testimonials

If you sell products or services, having reviews for your content is pivotal to your success. If you aren’t a well-known brand (which is the case for most small businesses), your visitors will want reassurance that they can expect quality products or services from you. Ask your past customers to write testimonials, point out any positive media coverage your company has received, or include your best-reviewed products on your homepage.