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What Makes a Great Home Page?
5 principles to keep the right visitors on your website for longer
by Sarah Marshall, SEO Website Copywriter
As a website copywriter, I often see the same issues on the Home page for service-based businesses:
- Too much information
- Too many calls to action
- Confusing structure
- No keywords in headers
- Not enough focus on the target audience.
Completely understandable as you can’t be expected to be an expert copywriter, designer and SEO on top of everything else freelancers and founders have to do.
Let’s look at how to fix these common mistakes with five principles to give you a great Home page. One that keeps the right visitors on your website for longer.
Principle 1. Don't overwhelm visitors with information
Your Home page is the Tourist Information Office of your website. It’s there to tell newcomers they’ve arrived in the right place, show them you understand why they’re there, and point them towards their preferred attractions.
So, once they know they’ve arrived in the right place, here’s how you convince visitors to stay in your online town.
- Recognise the problems they’re facing
- Introduce your solutions (i.e. your services)
- Show some testimonials and possibly some accreditation
- Give a flavour of who you are and what makes you different from others
- Tell them how to contact you.
And that’s it.
The Tourist Information Office doesn’t give the full tour; they just share the highlights. Visitors know they can find more information in the leaflets on the shelves.
It’s the same with your Home page. Think of it as the introductory overview and give a few clear signposts to your main attractions and perhaps one special offer. People know they can find more information on the navigation bar.
Showing them too much too soon feels confusing and overwhelming. And that’s when people leave your site.
Principle 2. Limit your calls to action
As people move through your website, the number of calls to action should eventually dwindle down to one: to book your services. But the Home page has to work harder than most because visitors arrive there for different reasons and from different places.
Some may have found you on Google, others through social media, and some through word of mouth or from meeting you online or in person.
They might be curious about you or your services. Perhaps they came for a free resource or because they signed up to your newsletter. Or maybe they are ready to book a call or pay for your services.
Ask yourself what is it you really want visitors to do? Although it’s tempting to share everything you’ve created, what you really want is to convert visitors to clients. So eliminate distractions.
This includes any sections with arrows that people have to click to go left or right. Keep everything visible on the main screen. (This will help you limit information as well.)
Prioritise a limited number of calls to action and structure them so it’s easy for visitors to find what they came for.
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Principle 3. Have a clear structure
I see lots of Home pages with irrelevant sections, different sections saying more or less the same thing, and chaotic ordering. An endless scroll that doesn’t lead visitors through an easy, logical progression.
Here’s a good basic outline for your Home page:
- Hero section (H1, first H2 and possibly one more phrase)
- Insight into your target audience’s problems and the solutions
- Testimonial
- Overview of your services
- Mini bio
- Credibility strip: brand logos / certifications / accreditations
- Testimonial
- Final call to action
- Footer
There is some flexibility in this order. You can put your mini bio before your service outlines, add another testimonial or move your credibility strip towards the top.
Or you could include another contact button in the hero section. They can find the Contact tab in your menu or navigation bar but you want to make it easy for them.
And always end the Home page with a final call to action that shows why it matters. What are they going to gain, change or learn by clicking?
You probably know that keywords are important and you’re going to learn more about them in the next section.
But remember to keep the headers engaging. SEO is what you’re using to get found. Your copy needs to keep your visitors reading once they arrive on your page.
Principle 4. Use keywords in your meta tags, H1, H2s and body text
Your headers aren’t just for style, they’re for search engine optimisation (SEO). When Google crawls your site, it looks at your meta tags, H1 and H2s to match relevant information to users. You should only have one H1 per page but you can have several H2s.
Each page on your website should have a different primary keyword or key phrase. For your Home page, this will probably be related to your overarching job title(s).
Lots of websites use vague or complex descriptions in their H1 header. Words that no one is searching for on Google.
Or they have generic headers and meta tags that make it impossible to show up in search results. (How many “website copywriter” Home pages do you think there are on the internet?)
People search for simple, specific titles so use keywords that make it very clear to search engines, AI and prospective clients what you do and who you do it for.
If you add a location so much the better. Even if you have international clients, showing your location builds trust. Either way, make sure those keywords are in there.
For example,
- home interior designer Barcelona
- French to English translator for the fashion industry
- brand photographer Somerset
- international career coach for mid-life men
- graphic designer for creative freelancers and brand agencies.
- Notice that all these examples use the job title, not the service. People search for people, not job descriptions.
And some of them include the ideal client profile, niche or sector. This helps people know instantly whether you’re the right person for them.
If you have a Gmail account, do some keyword research using the free Google Keyword Planner in Google Ads. Don’t use AI to do keyword research.
Underneath the keyword-rich H1, have an H2 with the benefits-driven phrase. This is where your brand voice can really shine. But be sure to use your primary keyword here too.
You can use H3s (and even H4s) for sub-sections and paragraph text for the rest.
Principle 5. Focus more on your target audience than on you
In every section, you should be thinking about what your target audience needs and wants to know to take the next step.
Often service providers are trying to demonstrate their credibility, knowledge and experience on the Home page. The real focus should be on what you do and who you do it for.
You do want to hint at the benefits and outcomes of working with you, but your visitors can discover more about that as they move through your website.
We’ve already looked at the hero section (the headers at the top of your page). Let’s take a brief look at how to focus on your audience in the other main sections of your Home page.
The problem-solution intro – step into your clients' shoes
This is your chance to show you really understand your audience. You want them to be nodding away saying, “Yes, that’s me,” and, “Ooh, that sounds like just the thing I need.”
Think about your previous clients (or your ideal future clients) and see if you can answer some or all these questions.
- What made them search for your services?
- How did you help them?
- What did your services help prevent?
- Why did they like working with you?
- What have they tried before that didn’t work
- Why would working with you be different?
These questions help with your service pages as well. For your Home page, look for common threads that apply to all your offers and different audiences.
Service outlines – give visitors a reason to click
You only need a brief outline of your services so they are informed and curious enough to click to the service page most relevant to their needs.
For instance:
One-to-one coaching
For better life-work balance
Group coaching
For better teamwork
Leadership coaching
For better companies
Practical tools to help stressed managers navigate busy schedules without sacrificing your mental and physical wellbeing.
Focused in-house workshops to identify individual strengths, improve team communication and work towards shared goals.
Each short description reinforces who the service is for and outlines its main purpose. Different audiences – an individual, someone from human resources or training – can clearly identify which option matches their needs.
Keep it clear and simple. Save all the details for your service page(s).
Mini bio – focus on how you help clients
Tell visitors who you are with a brief introduction. But, as with the service outlines, save your full story for the About page.
On your Home page, visitors are looking to see the face of the company, why they should trust you and what makes you different from other service providers. Because they are probably looking at other options.
Introduce yourself but focus on your approach to helping clients.
What makes you different from competitors? What is the transformation your clients feel after working with you?
Testimonials – show why they should trust you
One or two of your best testimonials will confirm in your visitor’s mind the rest of your website is worth visiting and that you have experience. Don’t worry if you don’t have any, just add them as soon as you can.
Pick the ones that most closely relate to your preferred projects or client profiles. Then cut the fat to keep the lean meat of the quote. Make it specific and use the third person. Keep words that paint a relatable picture.
Go from this:
“You helped us see how we could make the downstairs more functional. We’re really happy with the new layout, especially all the new storage. The kids’ backpacks aren’t all over the floor anymore and the games are all tucked away behind cupboard doors. Compared to before, I can’t believe how much more peaceful our home feels. Thanks again.”
To this:
“We love the more functional layout, especially the storage. The kids’ backpacks aren’t all over the floor and the games are tucked away behind cupboard doors. Home feels much more peaceful now.”
Credibility – a subtle symbol goes a long way
If your qualifications are essential for your clients to trust you, then you can mention them in your mini bio.
Often, though, your qualifications or accreditations don’t mean anything to some of your audience, so don’t assume they will read or understand your credentials.
Adding qualification badges, brand logos or association icons is a great way to give visitors subtle confirmation of your professionalism and experience without taking up too much space or attention.
When in doubt, always go back to purpose
We’ve covered a lot in this article and hopefully you’ve got a clearer picture of what should be on your Home page.
But if you get stuck, think about that image of the Tourist Information Office. Visitors make snap decisions about whether they’re in the right place, so that’s the most important job for your Home page.
However, once they know they are where they’re suppose to be, your clear signposts will tempt them to explore the pages that interest them. And prospective clients will often come back for a second or third visit before they decide to book a call.
So just be patient and don’t overwhelm them with information. Keep things clear, simple and reassuring, and you’re well on your way to having a great Home page.
Need help with your Home page?
Even with all this guidance, I know writing bout your own services can be complicated, so I’m here to help you.
I can rewrite your Home page for you
Or we can do a Website Copy Clinic
Leave it to me to worry about structure, SEO and strategic messaging while you get back to business.
I’ll give you a personalised action plan with step-by-step suggestions to upgrade your own Home page.
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