What to put on your home page (and what to leave off)
Visitors decide in seconds whether they are in the right place. Five things your home page must answer right away.
· 2 min read
Most small business websites have the same problem: they talk about the business instead of answering the visitor's questions. A person who lands on your home page wants to know three things fast. Am I in the right place? Can I trust these people? What do I do next?
Build the page in this order and you will answer all three.
1. A headline that says what you do and where
The first words on the page should make it obvious. Not "Welcome to our website" and not a clever slogan.
- Weak: "Quality you can trust since 1998."
- Better: "Roof repair and replacement in Springfield and Greene County."
If a stranger could read your headline and still not know what you sell, rewrite it.
2. One clear next step
Decide the single most valuable action a visitor can take, such as calling, booking, or requesting a quote, and put a button for it near the top. Repeat the same button further down the page. Do not offer six choices of equal weight; people who are given too many options often choose none.
On a phone, make the phone number tap-to-call.
3. Proof that you are real and good
People believe other customers more than they believe you. Add:
- Two or three short reviews, with names, copied from your Google profile.
- Real photos of your work, your shop or your team.
- Anything that shows you are established: years in business, licenses, memberships.
4. What you offer, in plain words
List your main services or products with a sentence each. Link each one to its own page if you have more to say. Use the words your customers use, not industry terms. Those are also the words they type into Google.
5. The practical details
Hours, address or service area, phone number and email. Put them in the footer of every page too. Make sure they match your Google Business Profile exactly.
What to leave off
- A slideshow at the top. Few people wait for the second slide, and it slows the page down.
- A long company history. Save it for the About page.
- Stock photos of smiling strangers. They signal "generic."
- Anything that plays sound or pops up before the visitor has read a word.
The five-second test
Show your home page to someone who does not know your business. After five seconds, take it away and ask: what do we sell, and what should you do next? If they can't answer both, fix the top of the page before anything else.
Do this today
Open your website on your phone. Read only what is visible before you scroll. Does it say what you do, where, and how to contact you?