Have you ever stopped to consider the elements presented on any given home page? What information would you consider necessary or unnecessary? While answers to these questions may vary from person to person, there are a number of elements required for a successful home page design. These elements lead to improved clarity, familiarity, ease-of-use, and ultimately higher conversion rates. If this is something you seek for your own home page, let’s see what improvements can be made.
Elements of The Perfect Home Page Design
The following home page elements provide the opportunity to better serve your audience/customers. With that said, each element will vary in regards to necessity, depending on your specific website. Some I consider required, while others may not. Find what serves your audience best and make improvements where you see fit.
Website Identity and Purpose
First and foremost, your website needs a name and should generally display near the top left corner or centered at the top of the page. English is read from left to right, so by placing your website name near the top, users are more likely to see it.
Next, your website needs to clearly state its purpose. What value do you provide your users? This is generally present in the large space shown “above the fold”. Above the fold is a term borrowed from the days of printed newspapers where prevalent content was shown above the crease in the newspaper. In web design, this translates into content seen before scrolling down the page. Keep critical information above the fold and if imagery/video is shown, be sure that it aligns with the product or service you are offering.
Below is an screenshot of Personal Capital, a wealth management tool, showing these two elements. As you can see, I circled and labeled the website identity and purpose. Both are very clear and prominent, leaving little room for confusion.
Website Hierarchy
Your website needs to present an overview of what you have to offer, both in content and features. After browsing through the home page, users should have a good idea of what they can find and what they can do. One may accomplish this through website hierarchy, which is the organization of content. The more prominent a specific piece of content is, the more attention it will receive.
Remember, this is a balancing act, so it’s important to consider priority. Yes, it’s good to provide options to your users, but do not overwhelm them with too many competing options. Structure your hierarchy in such a way that brings value to your audience while at the same time helping your business grow.
Navigation & Search Functionality
One of the most important elements of a good home page design, or an entire website for that matter, is a solid navigation design. Many people create their navigation without giving it much thought, which often times leads to a cluttered and confusing structure. The navigation might make perfect sense to the owner, but confusing to their users.
One great approach to solve this issue is to conduct a user testing strategy called card sorting. This involves taking your ideal customer and having them sort physical cards (website pages) and order them into categories that make sense to them. After running this exercise a few times with your ideal customers, you’ll gain a clear perspective on what navigation structure works best for your users.
Depending on the size and complexity of your website, another helpful element is the search bar. It’s a fact that some people prefer the search feature over navigation, so giving that option will be beneficial. Personally, I include a search option on this website because it’s growing in size weekly, so over time will become increasingly necessary.
Featured/Teaser Content
Your home page should present your best content. Content that provides value and inspires curiosity for further exploration. Consider this the magazine cover of your websites, displaying content and featured promotions that bring value to your users.
Keep in mind that the homepage is not ideal for your company mission statement and other forms of long text. The idea is to encourage your users to explore what you have to offer and not bogged down by paragraphs of unnecessary filler. Headings, truncated text, and visuals are perfect for building interest and further exploration of your website.
Promotions/Deals
Similar to featured content, placing promotions/deals on your home page is encouraged. This can be your premium products/services, current specials, advertisements, or anything else promotional in nature. Your website is a business, so dedicating space for business offerings is a no-brainer and will keep your business profitable.
However, be sure to balance advertisements with quality content. No on likes to constantly be sold on something, so by balancing high value content with a few advertisements, you’re more likely to appeal to your users.
Call to Action
One of the most important elements of your home page is the call to action. A call to action is simply a button on your website with more emphasis than the others. This helps guide your users to a mutually beneficial situation. “Learn more”, “Sign up now”, “Join our newsletter”, “Get started”, are all examples of a call to action that lead to an exchange of value.
Clearly your website may have more than one clickable button available, but these should be designed in such a way that present them as secondary options. This gives the user an option to choose what’s most interesting to them, if they aren’t ready to follow your preferred action.
Fresh Content
One important aspect to consider when creating your home page is to keep content fresh. If a user frequents your website and nothing changes over a period of time, the user may lose interest. Let your audience know that your website is active and current by displaying fresh content on your homepage. This could be links to new articles, new promotions, updated imagery, or anything else that will keep things looking fresh. This not only keeps your home page from becoming stale, but encourages users to visit on a regular basis.
Shortcuts
Shortcuts provide the user with links to the most visited areas of a website. For example, at the moment my home page states “Where can I help you get started? Below that, I have links to topics such as website creation, online business, personal finance, and personal development. These links are located on the bottom right side of any blog article, but you have a to click a few times to get there…which isn’t ideal. I’ve provided these quick links so my readers can find articles on the subject that interests them most without making them work for it.
Registration/Login
Some websites require that you login or register to use their software. If this is the case for your business, it’s imperative you make the registration/login design very prominent. For example. Facebook’s homepage is very simple, stating what it offers it’s users and a registration form. The registration form is most prominent and encourages users to sign up. If this is the case for your website, be sure it’s clear and prominent for better conversions.
Creating the Perfect Home Page Design
As you can see, there are many elements to consider when creating the perfect home page. Deciding which elements are necessary for your business is the first step, long before any color or font choices. Now, this may take time and that is perfectly normal.
For example, I’d love to present deals on my own premium content. However, I haven’t had enough time to put something together quite yet (but it’s in the works!). Therefore, I share value where I can with blog articles, recommended tools for online business and financial success, recommended books for personal development, and anything else I possibly can. I want you to find success in your own life and my only desire is to provide you with helpful information along the way. So, while your home page may not be perfect right now, keep working and let it evolve into the perfect vehicle for serving your audience.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any feedback or any other elements you would add to the homepage? Leave any comments or questions below and I’d be happy to help where I can!
*Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to make a purchase.
