It's Your Home Page, Not Your Company Profile Page!
That's right, your home page is not a place to be presenting your company history or your company philosophy. Your home page needs to be as direct and to the point as possible, but not about who you are, rather about what you offer and why you are better.
The home page is like the cover of a book
Would you pick up a book if the cover was a diatribe about the author? Would you even look twice if the cover looked more overwhelming then you had time for? The answer is probably no, or at least I hope so, otherwise you have a lot of time on your hands!
The cover of a book usually has a very catchy title, the authors name, and most times a picture to give you some insight as to what it is all about. You may also see a brief intro like "the best thriller novel you'll ever read". Within a few seconds you are able to get a sense for what that book is about and whether it will suite your reading needs. It's not until the inside or back cover that you get a bio of the author.
What should my home page be then?
It should be that intro that serves to quickly and effectively inform your visitors of whether they are at the right place or not. Take for example the website image below, the first thing you notice is the company logo is in the top left corner (A). This allows you to see if this is the right company and/or what company website you are at. The second thing you notice is a brief intro of what the company does and what products/services they offer (B). After that you see a group of content buckets (C) that represent important areas of the website. Content buckets are meant to guide visitors to the most important areas of the website, cutting down on search time. Along the left side you have the product/service navigation (D) which allows visitors to dig more deeply into the area of the site that interests them. And last but certainly not least there is a clearly visible call to action (E).
Within seconds a visitor has been able to identify, understand and assess the site and the company. They know right away whether the site will offer what they want.
KISS - Keep it Simple Stupid.
As with most things, the best approach is to keep things simple and straight forward. Don't add more then you have to, just get your message across and let the rest of the site handle the "fluff". Keeping it simple is something that is truly under-rated especially when it comes to websites, but you'll learn in time that some of the most simple sites are the most effective.
Remember: You're selling your products/services not your company history.
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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Labels: internet marketing, web site design
posted by Ignite Media LLC at
Monday, October 27, 2008
1 Comments:
Definitely an important point. You need to drive it home very quickly what your website will allow the user to do, who you are, what you're offering, etc.
I like to think of it this way: your website is a tool. It's not a marketing tool for you, it's a tool for your customers to find what they want. If it doesn't help them do that quickly/efficiently, they'll use another tool.
Do it properly, and while your customers are using this tool to get what they want they'll have a positive and memorable experience - which is what brands are built on.
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