Your home page- It’s the first impression of your business for many visitors, setting the tone for the conversation between you and your prospective customer. While there’s a lot to say during this initial greeting, it’s best to take things slow. Instead of shoving content down your visitors’ throats only to see your bounce rates skyrocket, let’s focus on the essential elements that your home page needs to create a positive user-experience and build trust.
1. Logo Placement
Keep the logo in the upper left side of the page, as this area of the page tends to attract the most visual attention when people land on your website and lets them know that they’re in the right place.
2. Contact Info
Make it easy for people to contact your business by featuring the phone number in a prominent location on the page. Take that one step further by adding a call-to-action near the phone number so people know why they should call you today.
3. Primary Call-to-Action
This is the conversion trigger- the key action you want visitors to take. The call-to-action typically sends visitors to a Contact page where they complete a form to receive a given offer (or it may simply be telling visitors to call for a consultation). In any event, the call-to-action is a way of converting your website visitor into a lead.
4. Intuitive Navigation
A website’s navigation is like the table of contents. It serves as a reference for the content of your site, and should segment visitors based on their persona or need. The most important pages on your site should be featured in the navigation, though it’s best to cap the horizontal navigation to 7 tabs.
5. Unique and Descriptive Photos
Images help communicate the essence of your offer, painting a visual representation of the text-based description. Perhaps your resort is situated between breathtaking views of the region. You can visually communicate this unique selling point by displaying stunning images of the region and help prospective guests get a feel for staying at your resort.
6. Brief Text Copy
Give your visitors an easy welcome to the website with a concise and descriptive overview of your offer. This not only helps to set the context for your visitors, but also provides search engines with rich content to index.
7. Secondary Call-to-Action
If your primary call-to-action is the most important action users can take on the site, then your secondary call-to-action represents an attempt to maintain top-of-mind awareness. Examples of secondary calls-to-action include Email Subscription Forms and connecting with a company on social media.
8. Trust Symbols
Trust is a key element of your website that tells people whether or not your business is credible. Featuring awards, testimonials, professional certifications and affiliations in an unobtrusive manner can increase your perceived trust and keep the conversation going with prospective customers.
