Why Your Homepage is Important
The main purpose of a homepage is to:
- Clarify Benefit to Visitors
- Who is your product or service for?
- What does it do and how can it help them?
- Establish Trust
- Point The Way
Having a strong homepage builds trust with visitors and helps you turn a curious visitor into a potential client. A good homepage will make it easy for potential customers or clients to understand how you can help solve a specifc problem. It will also help them take the appropriate next step.
Summary of Findings
Total Score: 50% (16/32)
You have tremendous opportunity to make your homepage be a valuable asset that contributes to the growth of your business and impact of your hard work.
Bad News: Your homepage is not doing a good job of conveying the value your business is creating.
Good News: It’s not difficult to bring you from 50% up to 100%. You just need the right tools and support. You are only a few moves away from having a homepage that drives the growth of your business.
Homepage Evaluation Details
Top Section
Score: 2/4
Finding: The copy and imagery on your homepage are vague to both the solution you are offering and the market you are offering it to. There is no obvious call to action above the fold.
Recommendation:
Your top section should clearly answer the questions:
- Who is this for?
- What problem does it solve?
- What do I need to do next?
Have a simple and clear headline/sub-headline that conveys your solution for your customers. Include imagery that supports the transformation you help your customers or partners make. Provide a clear and simple call to action that takes them one step closer to their desired outcome.
Imagery
Score: 3/4
Finding: Your images demonstrate the product or service in action, but they do not clearly illustrate the ideal “After” of your target market. You only have 1 image on the homepage.
Recommendation: Your main image should position the customer as the hero and clearly demonstrates the ideal “After” of the target market. All additional images should support the themes and messages within the copy of your page.
Top Menu
Score: 2/4
Finding: You meet the basic requirements of a top menu, but can improve significantly. Your navigation is simple. Your logo is displayed in the header (although out of proportion). You have a call to action (CTA) which is your phone number.
Recommendation: Ensure your company logo is visible, navigation is limited to the bare essentials, and the primary CTA holds a prominent position on the top-right of the page.
Calls To Action
Score: 2/4
Finding: A call to action is present, but the action and/or next step is vague.
Recommendation: Make sure your page maintains a consistent primary and secondary call to action. The visitor should know the exact action they need to take (ex. Click a button, fill out a form, call a number; etc.) to progress to the next step.
Body
Score: 2/4
Finding: Your text and image are company-centric (i.e. they position the company as the hero), and fail to connect with the challenges the visitor is experiencing and how your product/service can solve those specific challenges.
Recommendation: Update your text and images to clearly and succinctly communicate the value your product/service provides to your customers. Expand on HOW your product/service works, WHO will benefit, and WHAT the visitor needs to do next. Clearly label your sections, and make sure the copy is in line with your core messaging and customer avatar guidelines (if you don’t have these I can help you set them up).
Trust
Score: 1/4
Finding: You are not displaying customer logos, customer quotes, or customer stories.
Recommendation: Logos, quotes, or stories from existing customers should be featured prominently on the page to show new visitors your successful track record.
Footer
Score: 1/4
Finding: The footer is lacking essential information and navigation to the most important pages of your site.
Recommendation: In addition to all important and essential information (i.e. expanded navigation, physical address, links to Contact Us, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, etc.), the footer can also be a resource for content and case studies.
Responsiveness
Score: 3/4
Finding: Your site is somewhat responsive. Some elements are not appearing properly. The messaging and CTA are not displaying optimally. A visitor on their phone or tablet are likely to experience some level of frustration when visiting your site.
Recommendation: Make your homepage fully responsive, keeping your headline and CTA visible in the first frame.
Action Items
Follow this workflow to build a homepage that resonates with your potential customers and supports the growth of your business.
Main Steps
- Start by clarifying your most important market segments. I recommend completing a customer avatar and core messaging worksheet for each market segment.
- Clarify the primary and secondary offers you will provide to each segment.
- Use your primary customer avatar and best practice guidelines (templates available upon request) to update the copy of your homepage Top Section.
- Add a “How” and “Who” section to your homepage.
- Add/imagery imagery that underscore the benefits your solution provides.
- Add case studies or logos of reputable organizations you’ve worked with.
- Bonus Tip: Require an email address to access case studies so you can proactively reach out to the interested party.
- Update your calls to action to meet best practices.
- Create a plan to raise awareness for your service and bring the right people to your homepage.
How would a better website help you reach your growth goals?
Share your goals and I’ll let you know what your growth potential is:
