Build A Better Website: Take Your Home Page From Trampoline To Magnetic Selling Tool

In the “Build A Better Website” series, we’ll dissect a website page by page and put it back together with purpose and great content so that each page of your site can build trust, earn credibility and drive revenue for your business.

Bounce.

Fun to do if you’re playing in the back yard or working out at the gym, but not as much fun when it applies to your website. In internet marketing-ese, Bounce Rate refers to when people visit your site and then summarily leave without bothering to check anything out.

People can bounce from any page – not just your home page, but in many cases your home page is their first impression. It’s the entrance point to your site, via an advertisement, social posting or search listing. And if people are getting to your home page and bouncing away, well, they may as well not have visited at all.

Figuratively speaking, wouldn’t you rather have a home page that’s a magnet for customers instead of a trampoline that sends them bouncing off to a competitor?

Here are some tips for building a home page that grabs people and draws them in. If you’re lucky, you’ll have the opportunity to consider these before you build your site. Otherwise it may be time for a redesign!

Get To The Point

Have you ever been to a website and scanned the home page trying to figure out what the site was about? It probably used words like “synergy” and promised to help you “leverage” something vague into something even more vague.

If there’s only one thing you do to change your website home page today, make it this: state your purpose, clearly, succinctly and loudly.

There’s almost no such thing as “too obvious” when it comes to websites. If you can’t say what you do in a single sentence then stop building your website and practice your elevator pitch instead.

Here’s an example of a home page done right.

Source: MailChimp.com

Do you have any doubt as to what this company does?

I want you to sit down and think about this right now: how can you communicate your site’s purpose, your product or service offering, in a single sentence?

Don’t get hung up on making it the most brilliant sentence ever written. Don’t for a moment worry about being clever, funny or unique. Just state your purpose.

There’s nothing particularly clever about this headline but there’s no question about what this company’s services are.

Source: Wanda

Could they have said something clever and “copywritten” about creating visual impact by leveraging digital media using a solutions-based approach?

Um, I guess so. But I’m glad they didn’t. I bet every time they look at their Bounce Rate (or lack of it) they’re glad, too.

Now, I’m not trying to pick on anyone, but can you tell what this next company does?

Source: Kyan

Are they artists? Tech people? Interior decorators? If you read the fine print there’s something about coding so perhaps they build apps or sites? But the visual doesn’t exactly clue us in. Neither does the vague tagline.

With dwindling attention spans and a crowded online marketplace, you’d do yourself an incredible service by thinking long and hard about making the “what you do” statement on your home page short and simple.

Keep It Clean

This can apply to any page of your site but it’s especially important for your home page where the tendency is to “throw everything out there”… you know, in the event someone opts not to click to another page.

But consider this: if you state your purpose clearly then someone is far more likely to click to a product, service or “About” page than if you’d tried to cram every important detail up front.

In fact, usability studies have shown time and again that people will click… and click… and click… and keep right on clicking… as long as they think they’re on the right path.

So if you’re worried that you need to put all 12 of those rock-solid benefit points on your home page and make sure people get a good picture of your experience and also list each of your 4 service areas – you can take a deep breath and relax. There are other pages for those things. Other pages that would serve those things far better than your home page. And people will click to those pages if you don’t scare them off first.

I thought this was a beautiful example of a home page for a photographer.

Source: Alan Grant Photography

There’s no long explanation but you know this guy’s a photographer. There are no long lists of services but you get from the small photos which types of photos this guy takes. In fact, there’s not much at all – just some work that speaks for itself and some links you can click through for more information. Does it matter how many years this guy has been taking photos? Did you need a testimonial on that home page? But I bet you’d click through anyway.

Stop Trying To Sell What You Do And Start Selling What Your Customers Need

Everyone has a list of products or services somewhere on their site, right? Among some of the advice I’ve given you about building a good website, I’ve encouraged you to clearly outline your services and describe your products so people know what they’re getting and what the benefits are.

But I want you to take this a step further and think about what your customers really want and need.

If you’re a florist, your products may be daisies and roses but chances are your customers want get-well baskets and birthday bouquets.

Do you own a spa? Your product may be massage and pedicures but your customers probably want something more like a weekend getaway, a quick pick-me-up or a night out with the girls.

Here’s a website that segments people by action – whether they want to buy, learn or subscribe.

Source: Really Wild Flowers

If you’ve ever tried to find a financial planner or research anything financial on the web, you know how you almost need a degree in financial planning just to figure out those websites. A whole lot of them list services by type, so they’re great if you know what the heck a Mutual Fund or an IRA is. As for me, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a 401(k) and A-OK!

This site does it better by putting services into language a customer can understand.

Source: Financial Pathways

It can take some time to figure out how best to present your products and services but it will be time well spent. Consider how you can subdivide your target market into groups based on interest, need or even price range. Then, instead of leading them to a generic product or service page, lead them to one that specifically addresses what they’re looking for.

Tell People What To Do Next

Don’t assume that just because someone got to your website that they know what to do next.

This might sound counterintuitive – after all, you just spent a lot of time making it very clear what you do and offering your services in an attractive and relevant way. So why wouldn’t someone know that they should visit your service page, check out your product, learn more about you, shop or contact you?

Do you want the ugly truth? Because people don’t like to think.

I don’t like to think. I think all day long. I make about a zillion decisions large and small, from “Do these earrings match this shirt?” to “What’s the best way to segment my client’s website audience so I can design a good home page?”

By the time I visit your website I’m a zombie, even if I visited it for a reason.

That’s why websites with big “Start Here!” buttons and loud “Subscribe!” boxes win every time.

You know those popup windows that ask us to subscribe or download the free eBook? We hate those things. We complain about them constantly. But contrary to what we say, what we do is sign up and download. Why? Because we’re told to.

We go on autopilot. We don’t have to choose whether or not to subscribe because that box is sitting there telling us to subscribe.

Now, I’m not advocating for popup boxes (I’m one of those stubborn people who will specifically not sign up if you stick a box in my face) but I am telling you to come up with a call to action and make it loud and clear.

You can do it tastefully. But do guide your visitors toward an action that you want them to take.

Barring the creepy smiling girl, this is a good example of telling people where to click next.

Source: SurveyMonkey

This site not only speaks right to a pain point but puts an action-based solution right in front of you. I bet this site gets more leads than the one that buried its service request form on a secondary page somewhere.

Source: Two River Technology Group

Think in terms of verbs. If you look back at the visual of the flower website, you’ll see that they segmented their visitors and provided calls-to-action at the same time. If you can find a way to make your page both specifically segmented and actionable you’ll go from magnetic to practically a force of nature.

A Few Don’ts And Permission To Experiment

There are just a couple of things I implore you not to do. They’re common things that seem to have gained hold as “the thing you do” on a home page but as far as I’m concerned they’re just trampolines in disguise.

Don’t treat your home page like an art project. Yes, your home page is where you can get a bit creative and splashy. But don’t get so caught up in “designing” it that you forget its business purpose. You know those giant carousels full of stock photos? Lose them. The big custom graphics and gigantic headers? Ditch them. If you’re sacrificing space to show off your creativity then you’re just sacrificing space.

Don’t use a Flash intro. Flash intros say, “Hi, I’m a website from 1998.” Flash intros take time loading… loading… loading… Flash intros are not visible on some mobile devices. But mostly Flash intros are boring, don’t drive people closer toward your business goal and exist to turn a website into an art project. Just don’t do it.

DO try different techniques. I’ve given you a few ideas that you can use to attract and keep visitors on your site (and get them to take action) but you don’t need to do every one of these things – nor are these the only things you can do.

Sometimes a strategic testimonial is called for. Sometimes a service list is needed. Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit to see what works for you.

Check your Bounce Rate regularly. If people are coming and going, it may be time to rethink your home page layout. Make a change, wait, and measure. See if things have improved. Keep improving in increments until you’ve got the traffic and conversions you want.

Is your home page inviting visitors to stick around? Or are they all but pole-vaulting to the nearest competitor? Can you think of one thing to do to try to improve your Bounce Rate?