5 critical elements of a well-designed homepage – and how to know when yours needs an update

The homepage of your website is a bit like a shop window. It’s often the first introduction a visitor will have to your business, so it’s important to ensure it’s a true reflection of your brand.

The critical elements of all well-designed homepages

In order to make an excellent first impression on your visitors and accurately guide them through the rest of your website, there are a few important elements that every homepage needs to have.

1. A perfectly crafted headline

Your homepage’s headline is a tricky one to get right. It needs to be clear and straight to the point, while providing an accurate description of what your visitors can expect from your website.

1. Idiot-proof navigation

Alright, we don’t really mean idiot-proof, but your homepage’s navigation does need to be super clear and user-friendly. You need to guide your website visitors through their next steps and make sure they can find what they’re looking for with ease.

When it comes to the internet, people have surprisingly limited patience. If they can’t figure out how to get where they need to be on your website within a few seconds – they’ll probably just give up. And just like that, you’ve lost your lead.

1. Primary and secondary calls-to-action

The aim of your homepage is to entice visitors to peruse the rest of your website.

You’ll want to include primary calls-to-action to direct people through the different stages of the buying cycle, as well as secondary calls-to-action for those who aren’t quite ready to click “purchase” just yet.

In the same vein as the previous point about navigation, without appropriate CTAs, your visitors could easily get lost and confused, or even frustrated. Best to avoid that if you can.

1. Showstopping visuals

Your perfectly crafted copy will do a lot of the work for you on your website, but no homepage is complete without supporting visuals that grab your visitors’ attention.

Whether you choose still imagery or video, make sure your visuals clearly indicate what your business offers, and try not to use stuffy stock images if you can.

1. Benefits and features

Keeping the copy short and sweet, it’s a good idea to utilise your homepage to display some of the benefits, features or services your business has to offer. It’s also a great place to put a punchy statistic, interesting fact or quote from a happy customer. Don’t overdo it though, the homepage should remain clutter-free where possible.

How to know when your homepage needs an update

Now you know some of the elements that add up to a great homepage, could it be time to update yours? If you’re not sure, ask yourself the following questions…

1. Does the design or imagery make you cringe?

If it does, it might be because it’s a bit outdated. The internet moves fast and developers are constantly coming up with new and exciting ideas when it comes to web design. If you look at your homepage and it makes you cringe, it might be time to consider refreshing the design or updating the imagery.

1. Does it look rubbish next to your competitors?

When considering an update, a good place to start is looking at your competitors’ websites. What does yours look like in comparison? If they’ve got a fresh, well-designed, and easy-to-navigate homepage (and you don’t) then they’re already one step closer to closing the deal with your potential customers.

1. Is your bounce-rate unusually high?

If your bounce-rate is high, or your traffic is slowing, it could be down to poor user experience on your homepage. Remember what we said about people on the internet and their patience?

If visitors are landing on your homepage and immediately clicking off, consider why that might be, and whether your navigation or CTAs need improving

1. Does your homepage load properly?

Well-designed homepages should load very quickly and easily. If your images or videos are taking too long to show, or your navigation leads to 404 error pages, it’s definitely time to look at how you can improve the situation.

1. Can you remember the last time you updated it?

If you can’t, then now is probably the time. Websites need to be updated in line with new developments, current trends and user-experience technologies. If you don’t keep your homepage regularly updated then it’s likely it will start to look old-fashioned and out-of-touch quite quickly.

At Wildish & Co, we’re a creative studio that specialises in brand strategy, visual and verbal identity, campaigns & digital design. If you think your website needs some work, schedule a call and let’s chat about how we can improve it together.