There's no doubt about it - the first page your site visitors see is the
most important page of your website. If your home page isn't appealing,
chances are the rest of your pages will never even be seen by your
visitors. It helps to think of your home page as the "front door" to your
online business. Will it invite people to come in and look around, or
persuade them to take their dollars elsewhere? Here are ten tips for
making your home page a winner:
1) Don't keep them waiting. Obey the "Eight Second Rule" (the one that
says your Web page should load in eight seconds or less even over slower
modems). Otherwise the viewer will probably lose patience and click the
"stop" button.
2) Identify yourself. The first order of business is to identify your
company and products or services. Let the viewer know they've arrived at
the right destination and give them an idea of what you have to offer.
3) Make a good first impression. Your color scheme, design, graphics, and
text should all contribute to a favorable first impression and convey the
right corporate image. Your site visitors will probably decide within 5 to
10 seconds whether to stay and look around, so you've got to keep them
interested.
4) Provide a preview. Use links, text and graphics to give the viewer an
idea of your website's contents and encourage them to explore the rest of
your site.
5) Don't make a splash. Don't make your first page a "splash page"
(meaning a large graphic containing little or no text that's designed to
act as a gateway to the rest of your site). Your visitors won't be
impressed and neither will the search engines.
6) Lead the way. Provide obvious ways for your visitors to move to the
various sections of your website (links, a site map, site search feature,
etc.). You want them to come in and look around, so make it easy for them
to find their way.
7) Don't waste the space. A monitor screen doesn't give you a lot of
space, so use the available space for content with the maximum impact for
your home page -your product line, main benefits, competitive advantage,
etc.
8) Don't link away. You work hard to get people to visit your home page,
so don't lose them right off the bat by giving them the opportunity to
link away to another site. Put reciprocal links, ads, etc. on other pages
deeper within your site.
9) Start selling. From the moment a visitor arrives at your home page, you
should begin leading them toward the sale. Write concise but powerful copy
that goes beyond telling to selling and emphasizes benefits to the user.
Consider posting a special offer on your opening page.
10) Be kind to search engines. Including accurate title, description, and
keyword meta tags in your HTML code, plus relevant content, will go a long
way toward getting your site indexed properly by search engines, and that
will lead visitors to your virtual doorstep. Remember that many search
engines use "spiders" to explore your website automatically, so your home
page must include links to the other sections of your website.
Jane McLain is a Web developer and SEO specialist and the webmaster of
EClaunchsite.com, an online resource center for netrepreneurs with tools
and information to help you plan, build, launch and grow your e-business.
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