5 Questions Your Home Page Must Answer

When it comes to the anatomy of the website, the home page is arguably the most important part. It’s the first thing people see when they arrive on your site, so making a great first impression is paramount. In order to make sure you do just that, we decided to break it down by asking the hard questions.

Does your home page give the right answers? Time to find out:

Who Are You?

When eyes land on your website’s home page, the answer to this question should ring loud and clear. If you have a website for your business, your logo should be the first thing they see, or at the very least second. The same goes if you have an online portfolio or are using the site to promote your services. Be sure to answer this from the get-go so that there’s never room for any confusion. For tips on creating a fantastic logo, check out this blog post.

What Do You Do?

It’s best to give people a clear sense of what service you provide or, more simply, what the reason for your website actually is. For example, if you’re a photographer – make it known. The same rule applies no matter what purpose your website serves. Sometimes the best way to go about this is to simply add your title, occupation or business service directly nearby your name or logo to eliminate any doubt.

What Information Can I Find Here?

Once you’ve got the first two questions down pat, this is your next stop on the road to home page perfection. Websites come in all different varieties – some choose to keep things ultra simple and information to the bare minimum, while others require a lot of pages and heaps of content. Whatever your site requires, it’s best to put an emphasis on smart navigation so your visitors can easily find the information they may be looking for. Organize your menu so it’s nice and neat and carefully lay out your site’s content to comply with visual hierarchy. Going with a fixed header can be a great way to achieve this.

What Sets You Apart?

Here’s where the word ‘brand’ comes into play. Don’t let it intimidate you – think of it more as a sentiment. What do you want people to associate your business or website with? Set the tone through your site’s design – fonts, colors, icons, and good quality images can move mountains when it comes to telling your story on the web. If you’re intimidated by design and its ever changing trends, just head on over to the Wix Blog’s dedicated web design section.

What Should I Do Next?

Once your site visitors have digested all that information, you’ll want to guide them to their next destination on your site. Where that next spot is depends on what you’re looking to achieve. But whether you want them to look over your art portfolio, product gallery, or testimonial page you’ll need to use a key web term: a strong CTA. CTA’s, or call to actions, can come in many forms. But whether it’s a button that simply says “Check out my artwork” or an icon with wording that reads “See more”, the point is always to get people clicking through to the next stop on your website’s roadmap.

Reposted from: http://www.wix.com/blog/2015/01/5-questions-your-home-page-must-answer/