“You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, and when it comes to your website, you have to do it fast. All it takes is 5 seconds, and even less, for visitors to decide if they will stay.
You have to find the right balance to create an engaging website home page. From images, design, responsiveness and more, because otherwise, you can quickly lose a potential lead.
With this in mind, your goal is that your visitor’s first experience should be a positive one.
These are the key features of an engaging website home page:
Navigation
Apply the “three-click rule”. This unofficial design rule is to expect that your visitors will abandon your site if they don’t find the information, service or product that they need in just three clicks.
This is due to users being driven by fast gratification, plus there is also a lot of competition on the internet, so they have the option to go to another site easily.
CTA
Calls to Action, or CTAs, are sort of your website’s guide to your visitors about what to do next, leading them to purchase or to explore your products and services.
Some of the most common CTAs are “Click here” and “Order now”.
As with every aspect of your website, your CTAs should be well-thought. Your CTAs can turn a passive site visitor into an engaged participant.
Here are some quick tips on how to make an effective CTA:
CTA copy
Your CTAs should have active verbs partnered with specific text related to your offer.
Examples of good CTA words are “join” and “download”.
Make sure that your copy is a clear indication of what will happen if a user clicks the button.
CTA colours
There are colour guides that you can find for CTAs, but don’t just focus on the psychology of colours.
Also consider that the colour should depend on your site’s design.
As a general rule, a contrasting colour will make your CTA button stand out, which is your goal.
CTA Placement
A good rule to follow is to place your primary CTA in the upper-right corner of your website, above the fold, as the eyes are naturally drawn to that area.
Website showing Calls to Action (CTA)
Design
Our mantra for web design is simplicity. Nothing beats a simple, clean and effective web design.
Too much clutter or a visual frenzy will drive away your audience. Take into consideration the whitespace (empty space in a page) as well as the layout and hierarchy of your website content. The arrangement of your content should be based on the prioritised elements.
Apply your branding and brand personality to your website. All of your marketing assets, including your website, should match.
Lastly, a responsive website is essential, so that your website will still look good no matter what screen size or device your audience uses.
Content
As we always say, “content is king”.
No matter how good your design is, if your website copy is not well-written, your audience will not stay engaged.
Use an engaging tone and solid content that is informative, relevant and interesting. Good website copy is a powerful selling tool.
Loading Speed
There are a number of factors affecting a website’s loading time, from your images, ads, web hosting, videos, external applications and more. This is why optimising your website is essential.
Again, your audience wants instant gratification. They will not wait for your site to fully load. Two to three seconds is the optimum loading speed. You can use a website speed tool to test your loading time or simply go to your website and observe the loading time.
Navigation, CTA, design, content and loading speed are key features of your website to focus on, as they dictate user-satisfaction.
Visit your own home page and assess it by wearing your “customer hat”. Using their perspective, are you satisfied?
