What to write on home pages and why it matters

by Joe BlackburnYour home page is one of the most important aspects of your website – so making sure it ticks all your readers’ boxes is key.When you’re developing your website, one of the first pages you complete is your homepage. After all, this is where viewers land when they click on your website, so ensuring that everything is as good as possible is your first priority. In this article, we discuss what to write on home pages, why this content is so important and share some things to bear in mind when creating your website’s home page. Table of Contents What to write on home pages: a template When establishing what to write on your home page, there are a lot of aspects to consider. Including relevant information for your target audience is a key part of the process of creating your home page, and understanding how to share that information in a way that keeps readers on your site for as long as possible is crucial.Just some of the main aspects to feature on your home page include: A strong headline As with the majority of marketing content, having a strong headline is a fundamental part of your home page. In a few words, this sets out what your company does and how you do it. This piece of text should be the hero of the page, inviting a browsing reader to delve further and find out more about both your company and your specific services. Your value proposition The value proposition is the point at which you set your own company apart from the competition. For example, you need to mention your brand name and one or more of the key selling points of using your company.Whilst a customer may land on your site knowing they need a specific service, you need to position your brand front and centre as the solution. Phrasing such as “ offers great value for money” or “ offers 24-hour delivery” offers a unique selling point that customers pay attention to. A bit of detail Once you have a headline and a value proposition on your homepage, include some more detail. As you have drawn the reader into discovering more about your company, this is an excellent opportunity for letting them know as much about your company’s range of services.You don’t need to go overboard as you can create specific services pages if needed, but try to encapsulate the full gamut of what you offer on the home page. This means that prospective customers learn as much about your company as they can with every new sentence, providing more and more incentive to choose your company over alternatives. A bit of detail If you already have appropriate imagery or videos you can use, include them where relevant on your homepage. Videos are particularly on-trend. Research has found that users spend 88% more time on pages with videos.Featuring an engaging video means you have more of an opportunity to draw in the customer, informing them about your great range of services through the use of explainer videos or customer testimonials and allowing more time to convert their interest into a sale. Positive reviews from customers One of the types of information a customer is most likely to trust is a review. After all, reviews come from fellow customers without a vested interest in the success of the product. This is part of the reason that testimonials make prospects 58% more likely to make a purchase.Including reviews and testimonials on your site offers social proof and can actually convey much more about your service, with more authenticity, than you could in your own words. Your call to action Finally, featuring a call to action on your home page is key. A call to action is a short sentence or paragraph encouraging the reader to do something, in this case, buy a product from you or make an enquiry.Saying something along the lines of “Get in touch with our friendly team” or “Book a free consultation today” encourages a potential customer to take direct action at that moment. This is important, as the customer has all of your page’s information in mind, making them more likely to make a purchase through their greater understanding of the product.As your home page is effectively a landing page, your call to action is the final step in a customer’s journey through a web page and to the purchase.Read More: What’s the difference between a landing page vs opt in page? Why is the home page so important? There are a few reasons a home page is such an important part of your website.The first is that it’s your company’s opportunity to make the first impression on new online visitors. This is the stage at which you establish your brand in the eyes of the customer, so coming across as professional, welcoming and providing all of the necessary information to the customer is important. This sets the foundation of a good business relationship and helps you to make sales for years to come.It’s also a key aspect of helping you rank in the SERPs (search engine results pages), so it’s important to optimise it for the short-tail keywords you want to be found for.Finally, the home page is the gateway to the rest of your site, so the layout needs to be clear and logical. Even if you have lots of different levels and subpages, make sure your home page is ordered and engaging so that visitors want to delve deeper into your content.Read More: How to write unique content for SEO to build your reputation online What to think about when creating your home page As you’re writing your home page content, there are a few key elements to think about. These include:• Mention key points: Ensure that your homepage includes your company’s USPs. This is your most viewed page, so any key brand information must be present and acurate.• Avoid repetition: Think of your home page as building an argument for why the reader should keep exploring. Aim to ensure each sentence adds something new, and use any repetition of key phrases sparingly.• Spelling, punctuation and grammar: Eliminate any errors in your spelling, punctuation and grammar, as these appear unprofessional to potential customers.• Consider your design: Only write your content once you’ve fixed your web page design. It’s important to remember that in some cases more people may access your site via mobile, so make sure it’s responsive and that you maintain plenty of white space with short paragraphs.Getting all of these aspects right demonstrates a high level of care and attention on a home page. Featuring all of the relevant content is essential, but delivering it in the right way gives you the best possible chance of converting interest in your company into solid revenue streams.✏️If you’re developing your website further, take a look at how to write a landing page that converts.Header image: Igor MiskeEmbedded images: Kevin Bhagat, Aaron Burden Joe BlackburnJoe is a Content Delivery Manager at Copify, with experience of writing B2B and B2C content for a range of different clients. Joe has an active interest in writing about world events, history, economics and politics, with an interest in writing sports analytics articles for fun. In his spare time, Joe plays seven a side football and goes hiking.

What to write on home pages and why it makes a difference

Table of Contents

What to write on home pages: a template