Your business website is an essential element of your overall marketing strategy. It should be a strong representation of your business as a whole, which means that it must look professional, clean, simple, and helpful. The homepage of your website could be the first impression that many customers have of your business, so getting this page right is essential. If your homepage has been letting your business down, use these tips to get it up to your usual high standards.
- Get outside help. Unless you’re a developer yourself or an expert on web design, you’ll need professional support to make sure your homepage is functional and looking great. Use a Web Development Company to create your ideal business website – they’ll focus in on your homepage and ensure that it’s designed with the utmost professionalism. They will also keep your site up to date with all of the latest tech developments and design trends, which will improve the customer’s perception of your business.
- Simplify things. It’s tempting to throw a ton of information onto your homepage to try to get your message across as quickly as possible, but this strategy can easily backfire. Most website visitors are looking for a design that’s simple and clean, not complicated or messy. There should be a reasonable amount of white space on the page, and any elements that aren’t really necessary should be removed or moved over to a different page. The first impression of your site should be one of simplicity, not confusion.
- Keep your speed up. One of the major failings that many small business homepages have is their speed. A slow loading homepage will immediately irritate your customer, and they’re likely to give up altogether and look elsewhere for what they need. Check your website’s speed regularly and upgrade your hosting if you’re getting consistently disappointing speed rates.
- Create a mobile-friendly homepage. Turn on your phone, and head to your website. When you see your website’s homepage on your phone, does it look good? Is it readable? Does it adapt to the size of your screen? If not, you could have a serious problem. The way your homepage looks on a small screen is crucial to the success of your website, and it could have a major impact on your business.
- Update the content. Many small businesses neglect their homepage content and focus purely on the blog section of their site when making updates. This is a big mistake – the homepage is the first thing your visitor will see, and it looks unprofessional and unhelpful if you’re advertising an event from a year ago on the front page. Regularly update the homepage content so that the information is current and useful to your reader.
- Highlight your contact information. Many of the customers visiting your website will be looking for contact details so that they can get in touch with you. Make sure it’s straightforward for them to do so by placing your contact details in a fairly obvious place on your homepage. If you want to create a separate contact page with an embedded contact form, go for it, but you should still put your basic contact details on your homepage to make things as easy for your visitor as possible.