Your home page is the single most crucial page of your site. This is the page that will be the primary entry point for a majority of your visitors. It is also the page that sets the stage for the rest of the site giving visitors a birds-eye view of who you are, what you're about, what you can do for them, what you offer, and how they get the information needed.
The importance of making sure your home page is user-friendly cannot be understated. This page, more than any other, has to pull together so many elements without being overbearing or overloading the visitor with information overkill. Despite the over-reaching purpose of the home page, simplicity is the key. Provide the necessary information and usability elements and you'll lower your bounce rate and improve site conversions along the way.
*** Site identification ***
The home page’s first function is to convey to the visitor what site they are on. Company name and logo must be clearly and obviously displayed.
*** Identify page ***
Visitors should know that they page they have landed on is, in fact, the home page. A quick glance at the page should make this obvious.
*** Site overview ***
Home page content should provide an overview of who you are and what you do. It should go on to introduce the main areas of your site, giving visitors the opening to continue through to the information they came for.
*** Calls to action ***
Use textual and image links that convey a distinct call to action that drives the visitor to the desired destination.
*** Splash pages ***
Splash pages should never be used. These pages serve very little purpose and tend to annoy visitors.
*** Minimize content ***
Home page content should be kept to a minimum. This page should serve as a jump off point (enticement) to direct visitors to the deeper sales content pages.
*** Minimize scrolling ***
Vertical scrolling should be kept to a minimum. Ensure that most important information is visible "above the fold".
7 Ways to Make Your Home Page a Home Run for Usability - To learn more about this author, visit Stoney G deGeyter's Website.
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Stoney G deGeyter
(Visit Stoney's Website)
Stoney deGeyter leads a spectacular team
of seasoned marketing experts at Pole
Position Marketing, a Search Engine Marketing Company.
Stoney started PPM in 1998 by finding the
brightest minds in the industry and
nurturing within them an intense desire to
become leaders in their respective fields.
With this team of professionals, he has
built a wildly successful website
marketing company that succeeds through
both personal and professional integrity.
You can read Stoney’s blog posts at the E-Marketing Performance blog and
more of his work on several well-known SEO
and marketing news sources including
Search Engine Guide and Web Pro News.
Stoney has authored two website marketing
books: E-Marketing Performance: Effective
strategies for building, optimizing, and
marketing your website online and Keyword
Research and Selection: The definitive
guide to gathering, sorting and organizing
your keywords into a high-performance SEO
campaign.
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