As the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” or, in the case of websites, the homepage. However, that’s exactly what most visitors do when first arriving at a homepage, which means that your homepage can quickly lead to visitors bouncing away or encourage them to engage more with your website. Below are 7 elements that can make or break the first impression your homepage gives. Analyzing your current use of these elements can help you discover how to improve homepage conversions.
1. Compelling Images/Visuals
Images are the first aspect of the webpage that will capture a visitor’s attention. In fact, as reported by Shopify, “it only takes 13 milliseconds for your brain to register an image and 50 milliseconds for your brain to form a first impression.” That’s one reason why images, especially hero images, are so important. Images and videos can be powerful tools in creating your brand and conveying your brand’s story. They can draw visitors in to want to learn more about what you have to offer. Poor images can also be a quick turn-off to visitors. Ensure your hero images, as well as other images and visuals used, are compelling and complement the next element on our list, your value proposition.
2. Clear Value Propositions
Another aspect of your homepage that should be easily recognizable is your value proposition. Ensuring that visitors understand the purpose of the page/site and the benefits they will receive for converting will motivate them to decide to either engage more with your site or to convert. You can reinforce the value proposition throughout the homepage whether through headlines, body copy, or both as you encourage your visitors to move further down the conversion funnel.
3. Action-oriented Call to Action (CTA)
The CTA is what lays out an actionable step for visitors to take, turning their interest into a conversion. Ensuring CTAs stand out and are distinguishable is important so that visitors easily see them and the invitation they extend to take the next step.
4. Trust-building Social Proof
With so many fake businesses and customers who are leery of being hoodwinked or of receiving sub-par goods, social proof, such as testimonials and reviews, is a great way to build trust and user confidence. Visitors unfamiliar with your brand and your product(s) like to know how the service or product you offer has benefited others.
5. Simple Navigation
Website users appreciate easy-to-navigate encourages sites, whether on desktop sites or mobile sites. They want to be able to find what they are looking for without feeling as though they are jumping through hoops or having to search too much. Complex navigation can cause user frustration and confusion, neither of which encourage users to stay. Keeping navigation intuitive and simple will help visitors move further down the conversion funnel.
6. Optimized Mobile Homepage
Don’t neglect checking your mobile view of the homepage as issues, such as slow loading speeds, cut off words and images, form or CTA issues, etc., on mobile can arise that will have a negative impact on your mobile conversion rate. Neglecting to optimize your mobile view can cause you to miss conversions. Find out more about mobile conversion rate optimization here.
Conclusion
Your homepage is an important part of your website as it may be the first impression some visitors have of your website and even your brand. Fortunately, you can improve your homepage conversions without necessarily having to start over from scratch with your homepage. By focusing on these elements and by utilizing the tactics of conversion rate optimization, your homepage can captivate your visitors, invite them into your brand, and set them on a path to become customers. Click the “Free Evaluation” button to get started with optimizing your website to improve your conversion rate.
