Home
>
Web Design
>
Ten Steps to a Winning Home Page

Ten Steps to a Winning Home Page

There's no doubt about it - the first page your site visitors see is the most important page of your website. If your home page isn't appealing, chances are the rest of your pages will never even be seen by your visitors. It helps to think of your home page as the "front door" to your online business. Will it invite people to come in and look around, or persuade them to take their dollars elsewhere? Here are ten tips for making your home page a winner:

1) Don't keep them waiting. Obey the "Eight Second Rule" (the one that says your Web page should load in eight seconds or less even over slower modems). Otherwise the viewer will probably lose patience and click the "stop" button.

2) Identify yourself. The first order of business is to identify your company and products or services. Let the viewer know they've arrived at the right destination and give them an idea of what you have to offer.

3) Make a good first impression. Your color scheme, design, graphics, and text should all contribute to a favorable first impression and convey the right corporate image. Your site visitors will probably decide within 5 to 10 seconds whether to stay and look around, so you've got to keep them interested.

4) Provide a preview. Use links, text and graphics to give the viewer an idea of your website's contents and encourage them to explore the rest of your site.

5) Don't make a splash. Don't make your first page a "splash page" (meaning a large graphic containing little or no text that's designed to act as a gateway to the rest of your site). Your visitors won't be impressed and neither will the search engines.

6) Lead the way. Provide obvious ways for your visitors to move to the various sections of your website (links, a site map, site search feature, etc.). You want them to come in and look around, so make it easy for them to find their way.

7) Don't waste the space. A monitor screen doesn't give you a lot of space, so use the available space for content with the maximum impact for your home page -your product line, main benefits, competitive advantage, etc.

8) Don't link away. You work hard to get people to visit your home page, so don't lose them right off the bat by giving them the opportunity to link away to another site. Put reciprocal links, ads, etc. on other pages deeper within your site.

9) Start selling. From the moment a visitor arrives at your home page, you should begin leading them toward the sale. Write concise but powerful copy that goes beyond telling to selling and emphasizes benefits to the user. Consider posting a special offer on your opening page.

10) Be kind to search engines. Including accurate title, description, and keyword meta tags in your HTML code, plus relevant content, will go a long way toward getting your site indexed properly by search engines, and that will lead visitors to your virtual doorstep. Remember that many search engines use "spiders" to explore your website automatically, so your home page must include links to the other sections of your website.

Jane McLain is a Web developer and SEO specialist and the webmaster of eclaunchsite.com, an online resource center for netrepreneurs with tools and information to help you plan, build, launch and grow your e-business.

spotless home service Arlington Heights ...

In The News:

SpaceX is reportedly pursuing access to 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a major wireless carrier rivaling Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Tech advocacy groups warn that foreign nationals at AI companies like OpenAI and Google pose a national security threat amid a lack of federal oversight.

Singapore researchers built the world's first touchscreen woven into clothing, surviving 50 machine washes while displaying images and responding to touch.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A startup founder woke to $449 in unexpected OpenAI and Anthropic charges after stolen API keys were exploited during the "Black October" cyber wave.

Educational Testing Service hackers stole millions of California student records, but families who moved out of state years ago may also be affected.

Apple's iPhone Duo screens are cracking near the hinge just days after its $1,999 launch, and iFixit's CT scans may reveal what's going wrong.

Travel expert Katy Nastro says 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles vanished from her account after someone redeemed them without permission.

Google AI Overviews can't be permanently turned off, but adding -AI to your searches and using the built-in Web filter can help bypass AI summaries.

Attaxion researchers found 30 fake Texas campaign merchandise stores traced to just two sellers hawking gear for competing Republicans and Democrats.

GM plans to debut eyes-off driving in the Cadillac Escalade IQ by 2028, but safety testing reveals how long distracted drivers take to regain control.

Data brokers assign labels predicting your health, finances and religion based on browsing and purchases, then sell those profiles to businesses.

Elon Musk says he'll give one SpaceX share to every kid in America in 2027, but key details about eligibility and distribution remain unclear.

ClearSpace UK's robotic spacecraft with giant claws will chase down dead satellites at 17,000 mph, with a 2029 launch from Scotland planned.

A fake Social Security statement phishing email uses the SSA logo and a convincing layout, but the sender's domain instantly exposes the scam.

A clean credit report doesn't mean your identity is safe. Six ways criminals can steal from you without triggering a credit monitoring alert.

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old retired professor, was arrested after blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot on a Philadelphia sidewalk for months.

The Midnight Mimosa malware campaign hides inside cheap Android phone firmware, giving attackers powerful access before owners even turn devices on.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Meta's Muse AI was built to manage tasks, but users are developing romantic AI relationships and even calling the AI companion their girlfriend.

A Minnesota murder suspect's notebook listed 11 people search websites, raising urgent questions about data broker opt-out and online privacy risks.

Google Universal Cart tracks price drops, surfaces promo codes and uses Google Wallet to match your best credit card rewards before checkout.

Safari's Notify Me feature and Google's price-tracking tools can monitor products and send alerts when prices drop on your iPhone or Android.

George Weiner built PACspam.org to trace who sends nonstop political fundraising texts after blocking numbers repeatedly failed to stop the messages.

A dedicated VPN IP address may reduce frustrating CAPTCHAs and bank login security checks by giving websites a consistent connection to recognize.

Ten Steps to a Winning Home Page

Web Design