If you’re considering a website redesign or are wondering how to generate more leads from your website, there are several critical elements you must never forget to include.
Let’s first take a look at the homepage. Ah yes, “thee page of all pages.” It’s undoubtedly one of the most important areas on a website. That’s understandable; it’s a company’s virtual front door, and, in most cases, it gets the majority of the traffic. While homepages generally get the most love, I find it surprising that so many do a poor job of generating leads or sales. With so much dedication and attention, why is the performance of these homepages so lackluster?
The answer is simple. A homepage needs to wear many hats and serve many audiences who come from many different places. It’s unlike a dedicated landing page, where traffic from a specific channel should be given a specific message to take a specific action. Landing pages have a higher conversion rate because they are targeted and most relevant to the visitor.
But how can you increase the conversion rate of a homepage if it’s not targeted?
In order for a homepage to work, it needs to meet its purpose and contain key elements that attract traffic, educate your visitors, and convert browsers into buyers. The 12 critical elements I’m about to discuss will help you do just that. As an added benefit, I’d also highly recommend getting a free marketing assessment to receive a customized analysis of your website so it's more tailored to you.
12 Critical Elements Every Homepage Must Have
Does your website's homepage have all or most of these elements? Are there any I missed?
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Andre 11:40 AM on January 27, 2012
Good to see HubSpot creating their own Infographics. Even put a Call-to-Action in it...now that's the HubSpot we all know and love. Great new best practice. Thanks!
Ryan - Millicorp 11:49 AM on January 27, 2012
Love them all, might I suggest a lucky number 13 and add social media accounts. 90% of all home pages have these and the good ones have the fan/follower number to go along with the SM icons to add a little social proof.
Cheers!
Juan Carlos Gomez 12:10 PM on January 27, 2012
As Ryan mentioned, I thought that "Social Media" was mandatory as well as "NAP" when ever applicable.
Tela 12:22 PM on January 27, 2012
Some of these features aren't applicable to ecommerce sites so don't really make the cut in an "All Sites Must Have" post. Good points for many site types, but these don't make sense for a site like Storables:
5: Features: These are really just the products on an ecomm site.
10: Content Offer: This is counter-productive many times and will divert customers from a sale. Depending on the category, seeing an offer that appears "spammy" or is not related to the type of site could cause confusion for customers.
Fred Schechter 12:54 PM on January 27, 2012
Is there a free wordpress theme based on this?
Susan Black (Niven) 2:20 PM on January 27, 2012
Great list, thanks! But I was surprised that "links / follow buttons for social media channels" was not included. Everything else I've seen from Hubspot (my primary source of inbound marketing info) says that those should be there.
Twitter Admin Pro 1:11 AM on January 28, 2012
Fantastic infographic; however, I must point out that there is a grammatical error at the very bottom right under "Secondary Calls-to-Action."
hina 7:37 AM on January 28, 2012
nice one keep it up
Patrick 9:52 AM on January 28, 2012
Very nice! I agree with those that also suggest social media connections.
Internet Marketing Consultant Colorado 12:10 PM on January 28, 2012
Great post! I think where most websites fall short is the headline. Lotta graphic-heavy websites these days that lack copy that pulls in the visitor. Headline changes have made the biggest changes for our sites.
Duane Tinker 5:19 PM on January 30, 2012
Texas Dentists beware that the use of testimonials in advertising is currently unlawful. This little known fact tends to cause a lot of dentists pain with the state dental board. While the SBDE is reviewing their stance on the use of testimonials they are currently prohibited and this is vigorously enforced with disciplinary action. Just thought I'd make you aware if you didn't already know this.
Will 12:30 PM on January 31, 2012
Great post, it's always nice to see another persons perspective on landing pages especially as important as the homepage!
TheMarketingJD 6:42 PM on January 31, 2012
I like this layout. Very clear and easy for a visitor to take action based on their needs.
Maura 7:21 PM on January 31, 2012
Good points, but rushed - apparently didn't clean up the edit on number 12. Add a #13 - proofread your homepage before posting.
Protibale MD 11:01 PM on January 31, 2012
Love it. Similar to the one we are using for my Profitable Medical Practice Book.
Tom Buswell 8:38 PM on February 07, 2012
I work mostly with restaurants, an industry group which is notorious for terrible websites. Although there are other important elements a restaurant website needs to include, this graphic offers wonderful insight into the benefits of careful page strategy and simple, clear design. Thank you for all the wonderful resources you provide!
Steve Chipman 11:25 AM on February 14, 2012
Great post, Jessica. Per my mantra, "do exactly what HubSpot says to do", this week, we're testing out a structural near clone of this home page example -- minus an eBook, which is being authored now and minus a video, which will need to be scripted and produced.
And, oh yeah - we're still working on the awards and recognition part, so customer logos will have to do for now.
We'll see how what we have so far changes visitor behavior compared to the previous approach.