The 10 Things You Need On Your Website’s Homepage.
Successful entrepreneurs have high-converting websites. Follow this fool-proof homepage recipe to optimize your website and turn site visitors into paying clients.
Your website is your business’s online home. And your homepage is the front door. You want it to clearly and persuasively portray how you can help your ideal audience.
What is the purpose of a homepage? Many new business-owners and entrepreneurs attempt to DIY their website and wonder why it isn’t converting clients. The purpose of a homepage is to pose your solution(s) to your ideal audience’s problem. They have come to you in search of a solution. Now you need to convince them that you do have what they are looking for.
But this is no small task. So, between building countless websites for clients, researching best practices, and analyzing the sites of successful entrepreneurs, I have come up with a fool-proof recipe for homepage success:
The MUST-HAVE elements of a
successful homepage:
Headline, sub-headline and CTA
Products/services
Testimonials
Relate to audience, pain points
Email opt-in
CTA’s everywhere!
Credentials or features
Mini-about
FAQ
Professional photos
1.) The Headline, sub-headline, and CTA
This is the most crucial element of your website. If you get this wrong, your site visitors won’t stay long enough to see what else you’ve got. There are a few different headline formulas you can try out but I always recommend keeping it simple like this one below:
The Headline: explain in plain and simple terms what you do + what makes you different
The sub-headline: state who your product or service is for.
The CTA (call-t0-action): What is the main thing you want your site visitors to do?
EXAMPLE:
Squarespace Website Templates for the Entrepreneur on a Mission to Spread Goodness, Truth, & Beauty.
This example is from my own website. It isn’t quite as clear-cut as the bare-bones formula because I offer both products and services. But it does include the main elements of a great homepage header.
There are many ways to write a headline for your website’s homepage. As long as you keep it simple and clearly explain how you can help, you’ll be off to a great start. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right on the first try. Great headlines can take some trial and error. It’s okay to try out new headlines until you find something that feels just right. However, try not to change it every other week because you need time to check analytics and see if one is more effective than another.
For two headline formulas that are sure to hook site visitors, click here.
2.) Your products or services.
Next, you need to clearly layout your services and packages. You don’t have to go into extreme detail here because you will link away to your service or product page. List out your main offerings and who they are a good fit for. Then have CTA button to learn more about that service or book it.
Depending on your site goal, this might not actually be the second section of your homepage. If most of you sales come from email marketing, you will want your lead magnet as the second section. You might even switch things up and have your lead magnet as the header of your website if you are really trying to get leads.
3.) Testimonials from clients or customers.
Social proof will do wonders for your business. Adding a slider of testimonials from your clients will help potential customers see your value. You can talk yourself up all day long but a review from a third party always carries more weight. You might even want to try video testimonials if you have clients who are willing to get behind the camera.
Nowadays, people don’t make a purchase without reading reviews on Amazon, Google, or wherever they may be making a purchase. It is no different for services, courses, or whatever your offer may be.
Asking for testimonials can be feel awkward sometimes. But if you have a simple form on your website or even a Google form, you can email it to your client or customer and ask them to fill out a quick survey. Be sure to mention that it will only take them 2 minutes. If you are having trouble getting clients to fill it out, try offering an incentive such as a free resource or a drawing for a gift card.
4.) Relate to your audience!
There are many ways you can do this. A common way that people relate to their audience is to simply write “Sound familiar?” or “This is for your if:” along with a bullet-point list of key pain points your ideal client is dealing with.
This straightforward approach might not be for everyone. You can also try incorporating this more subtly throughout the website.
5.) Your opt-in or lead magnet.
Like I noted earlier, this doesn’t necessarily need to be the 5th section on your website. You may want to move it higher depending on your site goal. But one thing’s for sure: you need a lead magnet. Email marketing is basically a non-negotiable nowadays.
6. CTA’s Everywhere!
You need to sprinkle CTA’s everywhere on your homepage (and entire website for that matter.) A customer will likely not be ready to “buy now” or “inquire today” at the first CTA they see. So, you need to be there when they are ready. There should be a button with your primary CTA visible with every scroll.
You should have no more than 2-3 calls to action on your homepage. Any more than that, and your site visitor will be confused on what their next step should be. They should be able to easily discern your core offerings and choose the one that best suits their needs.
CTA Sprinkles 😝
7.) Credentials or features.
If you or your business have been featured anywhere, it needs to be displayed on your homepage. This is as simple as writing “As seen in” or “You might’ve seen us in…” and displaying the company logos below. I ~tragically~ have not been featured anywhere except for Paige Brunton’s blog 🙃, so I do not have this on my website.. YET. The example below is from Marie Forleo’s website.
8.) About You!
Don’t go crazy here. No one needs to know your whole life story. This should be a small section with a button link to learn more if people want to. Let your personality shine through and write about your story as it relates to your audience and their pain points. If you have been through the same thing you are helping people solve, tell them! This will give you more credibility on the subject.
This example is from Jenna Kutcher’s site. Jenna uses this mini about section to relate to her audience. She knows that her audience is multi-passionate and want to live their “dream-life” but they don’t know how. And she relays it all in a couple small paragraphs.
The number one takeaway for your mini about section: relate to your audience!
9.) FAQ
Ah the good old FAQ. I love a good FAQ because they answer your customer’s hesitations or concerns right at the gate. Done right, your potential customer will feel relieved to have their concerns met and feel free to buy from you.
10.) Professional Photos
Professional photos are a non-negotiable for your website. Especially if you are the face of your brand. If you’re on a budget, try and find someone who will do a service trade with you. Otherwise, it is worth the price to invest in some quality headshots. As for other photos, try using unsplash or pexels for royalty-free photos.
Comments or questions? Send me a message at sarah@magdalenedesignco.com
My name is Sarah and I’m your gal for Squarespace and Small Biz Tips.
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