When someone lands on your business’s website, they’ll often come across the homepage first. This means that, in order to grab people’s attention, earn their trust, and ultimately make more sales, you need to work hard to ensure that your website’s homepage makes a positive first impression.
Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to achieve this. In this article, we’re going to outline some tips.
Let’s get started!
Make it very easy for people to take the next step
Once people land on your homepage, you’ll want to direct them towards your products or services as quickly as possible. To do this, you need to make it very easy for people to take the next step from your homepage! Not only will this help make finding your products or services easier for the website visitor, but it will show them that you respect their time and want their experience with you to be convenient.
There are a lot of different ways you can help customers take the next step from your homepage. For instance, you could:
- Offer a sophisticated search tool that can take them to the exact products or services they need
- Highlight your contact options so people can easily get in touch with you
- Have a clear and easy-to-use navigation menu that will help people find what they need quickly and easily
- Create clear calls to action that tell website visitors what to do next and where to click to do so
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that make it easy for website visitors to take the next step from their homepage for inspiration.
Firstly, Kenna Real Estate, a real estate agency in Colorado, makes it very easy to take the next step on their homepage. As you can see in the image above, a website visitor can start searching for houses simply by plugging in a location and their desired price. This doesn’t take much time or effort and visitors will have no question about what to do next. This shows that Kenna Real Estate cares about their customers and their time, giving a great first impression.
On your website, consider doing something similar, if possible. What information do you need from your customers to help them out? If you can collect a few details and provide them with exactly what they need, you’re sure to impress them.
Rainbow Movers, a southern California moving company, does something similar on their homepage, too. With just a few clicks, a website visitor can quickly get a quote. The process is quick and easy, leaving a great first impression and making it easy for the website visitor to take the next step with Rainbow Movers.
On your website, consider offering a similar solution that will allow you to give customers a quote based on just a little bit of information. Doing so will leave a great first impression and remove any roadblocks that might have been preventing people from taking the next steps with you.
Finally, W3Layouts makes it easy for customers to take the next step from their homepage, as well. To start looking at website templates, a user simply needs to type in a word related to the type of design they’re looking for and pick a category. Easy, right? And it requires no signup or commitment to browse. This search feature makes it easy for customers to take the next step, leaving a great first impression.
On your website, consider whether you could create a sophisticated search tool in order to help your customers take the next step with your business. Doing so will make a great first impression and help your website visitors to find what they’re looking for!
Highlight positive reviews you’ve received from past clients
If you’ve received positive reviews or testimonials from past customers, highlight them on your homepage! These will serve as concrete proof that you’re good at what you do. Product-based businesses might want to use star ratings that make it easier to compare similar items, while service-based businesses might want to use longer testimonials that can provide more context about the work they have done.
The best way to get reviews from your past customers is to simply ask. To get product reviews, reach out with a post-purchase email. Ask them to leave a review, and perhaps offer a discount as an incentive. To get service reviews, reach out to your past clients and see if they would be willing to conduct a short interview with you for your website.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that highlight positive reviews on their homepages for inspiration.
GroomsShop, a retailer of groomsmen gifts, uses star reviews on their homepage. They show off reviews for several of their top-selling products. This allows people to quickly compare their most popular products based on how many people have left reviews and how highly they’ve been rated. As you can see, all of their products that have reviews are highly rated, which will make a great first impression on website visitors!
On your website, show off star ratings for your products. If you do so, you can impress your website visitors and make them want to make a purchase!
On the other hand, GSD Painting Contractors show off their positive reviews a bit differently. Towards the bottom of their homepage, there is a carousel of reviews from different clients who have worked with GSD, largely noting their beautiful work. This makes a great first impression on website visitors. People looking to hire painters and decorators will see that GSD is highly regarded and potentially want to work with them!
For your website, reach out to people you have worked with in the past and see if they would be willing to provide a positive quote for your homepage. Doing so will leave a great first impression on your website visitors and potentially get you more sales.
Use imagery that will help customers connect with your business
Imagery can be very effective for helping customers feel more connected to your business, excited about your products, and tempted to make a purchase. On your homepage, you’ll want to use effective imagery that can show your business in the best light possible. There are a lot of ways you can do this, including:
- Using product imagery to show how different items work
- Using images of your staff members to humanize your business and build trust
- Creating illustrations, diagrams, or infographics that help customers better understand what you do
- Using images of people who represent your customers to help website visitors imagine themselves using your products or services
When choosing or creating imagery for your website, the best strategy is to take and edit your own photos. This will give you the most control over what your products look like or how your company is represented. If you’re in a pinch, you can use stock images to show who your ideal customers are but, generally speaking, it’s best to use original imagery.
Showcase any awards or qualifications relevant to your work
If you, as a business owner, have received certain qualifications or awards that prove you’re great at what you do, showcase these on your homepage! These awards and qualifications will serve as concrete proof that you’re an expert in your field and showcasing them on your homepage is a great way to earn your customers’ trust and ultimately get you more sales.
If you would like to find industry awards to apply for, use a tool like Awards Finder. They have application links for thousands of awards that you could show off on your homepage! Just be sure to only highlight the most relevant awards and qualifications you’ve obtained, as this is what people will be looking for.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that highlight awards on their websites for inspiration.
Purple, an online mattress retailer, shows off their awards on their homepage. They have been awarded #1 in customer satisfaction for two years in a row by JD Power. Think about how important awards like this are for mattress companies — people take their sleep seriously and, before they buy a mattress online, they want to be sure that they’ll get quality sleep. That means that these awards can make a great first impression on website visitors!
Think about what industry awards would be particularly meaningful to people who visit your website. Getting nominated or winning these awards can go a long way towards building trust with your potential customers!
Billie, an online razor subscription company, does something similar on their homepage. The image above shows that they received Allure’s 2018 “Best of Beauty” award. Allure is a very highly regarded women’s beauty magazine, making this quite an accomplishment! People looking for razor subscriptions online might be overwhelmed by the options they have, but seeing that Billie razors are award-winning makes a great first impression and can encourage them to purchase.
If you have a lot of competition in your niche, awards offer a great way to stand out, especially if they’re from a well-respected entity! Display these by your relevant products to make a great impression and encourage people to buy your items.
Highlight what makes you better than your competitors
The main reason you want to give off a positive first impression is because you want website visitors to shop with you rather than your competitors. This means that, on your homepage, you need to focus on highlighting what helps you stand out from the crowd.
Show off what unique selling propositions you have. What is it that people come to you for over your competitors? You can also do things like show off what kinds of results you’ve gotten for past customers or highlight what unique promotions you’re offering.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that use this tactic well for inspiration.
Serenity Lodge Recovery, a rehabilitation facility in California, uses data to highlight what makes them the best. For instance, a 2020-2021 Vista Research survey of more than 400 Serenity Lodge patients showed that their patients had an 87% completion rate and a 93% satisfaction rate. This is compared to the nation’s overall 53% completion rate, which shows point-blank that Serenity Lodge Recovery is great at what they do, making a great first impression.
On your website, consider how you can use numbers and facts to prove that you’re the best in the business. People trust statistics and, if you have any numbers that just go to show that you’re the best, they’re sure to make a great first impression and earn you more sales.
Lush, a handmade cosmetics company, uses their homepage to show what makes them different from the competition. In the carousel above, they highlight how they incorporate values into their products, including by fighting animal testing, creating 100% vegetarian products, and using “naked” packaging whenever possible. This is a great way for Lush to stand out from its other cosmetics competitors and build trust. These values make a great first impression, particularly among people who are looking for more eco-friendly and ethical products.
On your website, highlight your values like Lush has! If you are doing work to make your industry more ethical or eco-friendly, pointing this out on your website can make a great impression and lead to more sales.
Add engaging elements to keep people interested
You don’t want someone to land on your website and leave right away because they’re bored — you can help to avoid this by ensuring that your homepage has some engaging elements that will keep people interested. This could include video content, interactive elements, or exciting copy! If you need help with your website copy, check out the copywriting services at Loganix. We can help you create engaging content and boost your rankings in the search results.
To keep people engaged, be sure that your most exciting and engaging elements are readily visible on your homepage. If this is one of the first things website visitors see, they’ll be more likely to interact with your site and get a positive first impression of your business.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of websites with engaging homepages for inspiration.
San Antonio Injury Lawyers, The Law Offices of George Salinas, has engaging content in the form of a video at the top of their homepage. The video shows people’s experiences with the firm and shows how the company has been able to get justice for a lot of past clients. Testimonials in general are great for earning the trust of prospective clients, but providing them in a video format is also great for making the website a lot more engaging.
On your website, use video content to engage your website visitors! Doing so will help keep them on your website for longer, building trust and encouraging them to spend money with you.
Finally, Airbnb, a vacation rental service, provides unique and engaging content on their homepage, as well. As you can see in the image above, the beautiful imagery evokes a sense of exploration and, if a website visitor isn’t sure where they want to vacation, they can simply click “I’m flexible” to get recommendations for their next adventure. Even if a website visitor knows where they want to go when they get to Airbnb’s website, they might get more ideas or simply be inclined to book now after seeing the site’s inspiring imagery.
On your website, use engaging content to help get your website visitors excited about using your services. There are a lot of different ways you can do this — consider mimicking Airbnb’s strategy of using beautiful imagery and interactive content to draw people in.
Summary
You only get one chance to make a first impression — when you run a business, this could make or break a sale. In this article, we outlined several different ways you can ensure that your homepage gives a great first impression, including by offering engaging elements, showcasing great imagery, putting your reviews and testimonials front and center, and more.
Need more help improving your website? Check out the W3Layouts blog. They have articles on improving mobile apps, boosting your SEO, and so much more.
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Author bio & headshot:
Aaron Haynes is the CEO of Loganix, an SEO fulfillment partner that supports marketing agencies and professionals. The company specializes in helping businesses to improve their online visibility and ultimately make more sales. The Loganix blog has a lot more information and advice, so make sure you check it out if you found this article helpful.
