Killer first impressions: how to layout, write + design an attention-grabbing website home page
Summary: An ineffective home page can have people jumping-ship in the first few seconds of landing on your website. How can you design and write something that stops potential buyers in their tracks? These are my 6 golden rules for your home page layout.
It’s not unlikely that the first page someone lands on when they find you online will be your home page.
It’s a place to introduce the rest of your content on your website, your services, your personality, your passion for what you do. And it gives the website-scroller the opportunity to find out more.
Think of your home page as a little tasting menu, of all the good things yet to come.
But an ineffective home page can have people jumping-ship in the first few seconds.
That means two things: you’ve lost a customer. And your competitors have most likely gained one.
So it’s integral that you nail your home page.
What can you do to make yours stand out?
How can you stop potential buyers jumping-ship?
The key is appealing to your prospects: your future customers.
Imagine you’ve got a flat tyre. You knock on someone’s front door. Whether it’s a friend of a friend, a neighbour you see in the street everyday, maybe even a total stranger’s house.
What you don’t want is the person who answers the door to be timid and speaking so quietly you can’t hear them and they’re kinda hiding behind the door frame.
You don’t want someone to answer the door and immediately try to sell you a new car. You also don’t want the door to open and for there to be no one there at all.
That’s kinda creepy.
When we land on a website, we want a warm welcome. A helping hand, a supportive ear to listen to us.
When someone lands on your website, we need to hold their attention and say ‘Hey there — I can help you. What I have to say is worth listening to.’
We are essentially asking them to invest their time and attention in us.
If they don’t think their first impression of you is that intriguing or appealing, it doesn’t matter how great your testimonials are, how well structured your processes are, your amazing shipping price + delivery guarantee, your incredible staff.
They’re not going to get that far to see it or read about those things.
A bad first impression can have quite an impact…
So let’s make sure you’re reeling in the right people and starting off on the right foot, when it comes to pushing them towards those all important website conversions.
Your website is your digital front door.
So you cannot be certain who’s going to come knocking.
Yes you probably have an idea of your ideal customer, but within each and every target marketing segment there are different types of decision-maker.
Some are quick-thinking.
Some need more reassurance and time to mull things over. Some people follow the crowd, whereas some people want to be trend-setters.
You need to be prepared for all these different types of decision-maker to show up, unannounced.
Remove the barriers that are stopping prospects from moving deeper into your website — these are my 6 golden rules for writing, designing and creating a layout for your home page.
GOLDEN RULE #1
Layout the page to communicate your message quickly
— FOR THE SPONTANEOUS DECISION-MAKER —
These are the skim-readers.
They don’t have the patience to scroll far.
These people make a decision in a matter of moments.
So they aren’t going to read every single sentence on your website.
They are going to scan and pick out the bits that stand out the most: headings.
The role of a headline is to hook someone, grab their attention, then motivate them to keep reading. Until they get to the next heading. The role of the next heading is to move them onto the next section… And so on. You get the idea.
Therefore, your headings are monumentally important.
ACTION STEP #1
Copy and paste ONLY the headings from your home page onto an empty Word doc. Or write them down on a fresh page of your notebook. Close down your internet browser/laptop. Then read what’s on the page.
What do just those headlines say about you and your business?
If your list reads ‘Our Services’, ‘How we work’, ‘About me’, you’re failing to stand out from your competitors. There’s no clear message standing out. Spontaneous decision-makers want to be able to feel the transformation you’re selling.
Conversion copywriting research states that headings or section titles that use intentional messages (clearly and quickly showing what’s in it for the customer) are more successful in engaging customers, therefore getting them to stay on your site longer.
Use these prompts as a starting point for brainstorming new headings for your home page (and any other page of your website, for that matter):
In a particular section, what problem is this feature, product or service helping a customer overcome?
What are they craving, that that your product/service/approach can quench?
Which key feature can you pull out from your deliverables list as the thing that they want most?
Take a look at the central part of the page I wrote to promote Bespoke Conditioning’s new training app for schools.
We undertook research to understand what school PE teachers (our focus audience) wanted — even craved — for the sports teams they are responsible for.
Each of the headlines focusses on something that the teacher truly wants. So even if someone is skim reading, they know they value they’ll get if they invest (without needing to read every single sentence).
GOLDEN RULE #2
Ask yourself why. And why. And why again.
— FOR THE COMPETITIVE DECISION-MAKER —
Like the spontaneous decision-maker, they are fast-moving. But they are more logical than emotional. So they are more motivated to act if they see clear benefits of investing in the thing you’re offering them.
To reel in competitive decision-makers, you need to show them what they’re getting. And why it’s important.
ACTION STEP #2
List the services or products (or desirable features of those products/services) that will exist on your home page.
So let’s use an example — each package you offer includes a follow-up call after your project has ended.
Then ask yourself: ‘Why should my prospects care about this? What will it help them overcome/achieve/reach?’
In our example, we might say that it’s important because the client can have progress reviewed by you and, together, you can plan the next steps after you finish working together.
And I’ll ask again: why is that important?
Because it gives the client a better plan for long-term improvements.
Can we squeeze one more ‘why’ in? Because it means they’re less likely to fall back on old habits/patterns/ways of doing things.
I did this exact exercise with Krissie of Mindful Commerce when I was asked to refine their messaging to get more businesses to sign up to their business directory.
You’ll see in the opening to this page, we’ve dug a level (or two) deeper into the benefits for prospects, that are reflected in the headings.
GOLDEN RULE #3
Use your website as a mirror for your prospects
— FOR THE HUMANISTIC DECISION-MAKER —
Our third type of decision-maker is going to move much slower.
They are drawn to emotion-filled content that empathises with them.
They want to feel seen and heard in their struggles, problems or desires.
They want to feel a more intimate connection with a brand before investing in them.
You can hold a mirror up to show (1) you understand their struggles/problems/desires, and (2) prove that your solution works for people just like them in a number of ways:
ACTION STEP #3
First, use testimonials from people that resemble your ideal client. Give context to their situation. And if they can compare their before and after working with/buying from you, even better.
*N.B. Your ideal client isn’t one of these 4 decision-makers. Your ideal client can be all of these decision-makers.
You can even link to case studies that dive into these struggles/problems/desires and the transformation you provided.
Secondly, you can use visuals that give insight into what you do: your service in the context of people partaking in it and enjoying it. Or people using it and enjoying it. Think happy faces here.
I know it sounds basic, but having people and faces in this image is so effective: if someone who arrives on your website can immediately see your product or service in action, it is easier for them to imagine themselves in that scenario, benefiting from your product or service, which is an awesome technique when trying to build that trust factor with your audience.
Above you can see elements of Noted PA’s website. I chose these testimonials as these past clients resemble the types of business owners who will be reading this page. If they can see themselves in the page (and similar struggles) they are more likely to engage with the brand. The website designer also chose this hero image for similar reasons.
GOLDEN RULE #4
Don’t be scared of writing more than your competitors
— FOR THE METHODICAL DECISION-MAKER —
Methodical decision-makers are slow and logical. These guys want all the details. They’re gunna do homework, being a bit more cautious with how they spend their hard earned cash.
But a new web design trend *despite its growing popularity* is the arch-nemesis of the methodical decision-maker…
Minimalism.
What’s wrong with this?
First of all, small businesses get scared of using too many words. They are hesitant to write more than a sentence per section or banner of their site.
The idea that ‘people don’t read websites any more’ corroborates this. But with more people trying to invest in products and services that are more ethical and sustainable, we can’t get by on just some swanky images on a 200-word home page.
Then there are the small biz owners who tend to copy what their competitors are doing for inspiration... When their competition is using this minimalist approach and said competitor seems to be booked up/super popular/getting featured left-right-and-centre, their ‘success’ is often directly attributed to using minimalist approach.
A minimalist, portfolio-type website does not create connections with customers. Their customers are buying on aesthetic. And aesthetic alone.
Said competitor’s ‘success’ has not come from their website, but another platform or marketing strategy.
It seems enough of their audience are spontaneous decision-makers, making choices from superficial aesthetics, what the brand looks like, their ‘vibe’.
They’re buying off face-value, not emotional connection.
These brands are most-likely ignoring half of their market potential (i.e. those methodical AND humanistic buyers).
It’s the methodical and humanistic buyers — with their detailed research and need for a deeper connection — who become truly invested in a brand.
They go all in.
They’re more likely to become rave reviewers and repeat customers.
The absence of persuasive or emotive copy on the website of a ‘minimalist’ brand is holding them back.
Don’t let it hold your brand back too.
ACTION STEP #4
List out all the hesitations and objections someone has before buying from you. What are the pros and cons to the alternatives to you (i.e. your competitors)? What anxieties are holding future customers back from leaving their old solution behind and making the effort to switch to you instead?
Talk to customers, look through conversations, support tickets, reviews and testimonials to find your answers.
Then address these in your web copy to overcome resistance to investing in you.
Yes, it’s likely you’re going to be writing more on your home page than some (if not most) of your competitors. But you’ll be digging into their deepest desires, leaving no stone unturned, no anxiety ignored, no obstacle unmoved.
This is the intro section to the home page for Indigo Wild Studio that I wrote and designer. Instead of doing what most wedding photographers do (and getting to the services straight away), the copy pin-points the hidden desires of the readers. Later on the page we dispel and worries or hesitations the reader might have, meaning there’s nothing holding them back from clicking deeper into the website.
GOLDEN RULE #5
Let your words do the designing for you
To appeal to all 4 decision-makers, we need to give equal weight to copy AND design. One without the other leaves holes in your website (for prospects to leak out of, empty-handed).
Good design and thoughtless copy = people are drawn in in first couple of seconds, but there’s little emotional connection.
ACTION STEP #5
Write first, then fit design around your words.
There’s nothing worse than designing your website, adding in all your pretty photos and graphics and then not having the space to say what you want in the adjacent text box you created before knowing what you were going to say (and in how many words/sentences it was going to take you to say it).
GOLDEN RULE #6
Give your copy space to breathe
On the flip side, good copy and bad design = a headache, it’s hard to navigate, with too many ideas shouting out at once.
When a website has more than one idea or message on the screen at the same time, it can create a feeling of overwhelm for the reader.
We can only suspend so many ideas or thoughts in our head at any one time, so if we are asking the reader to consider multiple ideas at the same time, this can be off-putting.
Busy and overwhelming design, where content is competing for your attention, can reflect on the experience of working/buying from you, as too much effort, a bit frantic and not well organised.
ACTION STEP #6
Give each section or banner or idea on your website room to breathe. We want just one idea for one screen.
So don’t be scared of white space.
By adding a larger gap/border between sections, this allows the scroller to have the brain space to understand each separate section individually, removing any overwhelm, or indecision as to what to pay attention to on the page.
If there aren't loads of different bits of info all vying for your attention, there’s just one thing to focus on at a time, people enjoy using your site.
Readers will be actively listening to what you have to say.
They’re paying more attention, and so become more invested in you. That’s the key to building more trust (instead of people feeling confused — even if they’re a good fit — and leaving in favour of an easier-to-use site).
Want to make the rest of your website shipshape when it comes to customers
(now that you’ve nailed your home page)?
Take your clients’ hands and walk them through booking/buying from you with the free Website Builder’s Blueprint.
Discover the most impactful content for each of your main 4 web pages.
Use it like a website audit, to highlight new content to add to your main pages.
Or feel prepared starting from scratch, using the Blueprint as your copy checklist.
