Are you thinking it’s time to give your website a facelift?
Whether you want to reduce clutter and make your homepage more attractive, or you’re on a mission to generate more leads, your homepage is one of the first places to start in a website redesign.
Think of your homepage as the front door to your home. It is the primary entrance for visitors; therefore, you want it be eye-catching and inviting.
At the same time, you want it to be functional. You don’t want people to wrestle with a wrought-iron gate, sealed with dozens of complicated locks in order to enter your home, do you?
The same goes for your homepage. Here are three things to keep in mind when redesigning your website:
- It needs to be simple and straightforward.
- It needs to clearly communicate your message.
- It needs to speak to your target audience.
Your homepage serves several purposes:
- To attract traffic
- To educate visitors
- To generate leads
- To convert leads
You have one chance to make a great first impression (about five seconds!). Make it count!
Before You Start...
Before you start coding, you should create a framework that conveys your business’s message. One of the best ways to do this is with a BrandScript. A BrandScript is a seven-part framework designed by StoryBrand.
Next, make a wireframe of your new homepage and follow your BrandScript. A wireframe is a simple blueprint, a “skeletal framework” of your website. It is void of design elements, such as color, font choices, etc.
Once you get a wireframe, you can start moving forward with your design.
5 Key Elements To Include In Your Homepage Redesign
Here are five ways to properly optimize your homepage (and no, we aren’t talking about SEO here.) While optimizing your page with keywords is strategic, it’s not the whole enchilada. Your target visitors are humans, not robots.
1. A Tagline
A tagline is the catchphrase for your business. It needs to communicate what your business does, but at the same time, be VERY, VERY simple. It should also be easy to remember.
Brainstorm with your team and come up with a few potential taglines. Once you narrow it down to your favorite, ask each team member to memorize it. Every few days, ask them to recite it. If they can remember the tagline, that’s a good sign your customers and potential customers will, too.
2. A Call-to-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) does just what it says — it calls the visitor to action. There are two main types of CTAs, according to StoryBrand.
Ask yourself what you want your visitor to do:
- Schedule A Consultation
- Buy Now
- Schedule Servic
Those are direct CTAs.
The second type of CTA is transitional. It does not encourage the visitor to make a purchase. These are for people who aren’t quite ready to make a commitment. Good examples of a transitional CTAs are:
- Download A Free Demo
- Download A Free Whitepaper
- Watch Our Testimonial Videos
Whatever it is you want your customer to do, make sure that CTA is concise and clearly visible when people first visit your homepage.
3. Strong Imagery
Let’s be honest, if you have a bland image on the homepage of your website, it doesn’t matter how amazing your product or service is. If your homepage doesn’t immediately catch someone’s eye, that person is out the door. 
People do not gravitate toward a plain white or plain black door. But a striking red door or a bright blue door? That will get their attention.
Of course, the imagery you choose must truthfully represent your business. Unfortunately, not all businesses have a sexy product or service, like sports cars, cool tech gadgets or cosmetic surgery.
If that’s the case, opt for images that convey happy, satisfied customers using your product or service. For example, if you are a law firm or an accountant, consider using stock imagery of a business professional working closely with their clients around a table.
4. A Summary of What You Do
Most people don’t have the time, patience or attention span to read your business’s whole backstory. It may be a beautiful tale about how your great-grandfather came through Ellis Island from Germany and started his hardware store with just $5 in his pocket.
Save that story for the About Page or a blog. All people want to know is what your product or service is, and how it will solve their problems.
5. Above the Fold
You want to include the most important information above the fold on your homepage.
What is above the fold? In the newspaper world, it means the headlines, stories and images on the upper half of the front page. For a website, it’s the first screen people see without scrolling. You will want to include your tagline, a CTA and strong imagery above the fold. The summary of your product or service can go a little further down the page.
How To Put Your Plan To Action
ROI Online is currently going through a website redesign ourselves. While our website, including our homepage, is not complete, we did implement a few quick changes to better communicate what our business does and to improve sales.
Here’s what we did:
Section 1:
- Added a CTA to the top right of the screen (this is prime real estate)
- Simplified introductory message to be more direct
- Added bullet points to quickly convey what we do
- Added a second direct CTA under the initial content
Section 2:
- Simplified and cut down the content to make it easier to understand
- Showed we are empathetic (left section): we understand “good marketing is hard work” and we can offer a solution
- Showed we have authority (right section) by using a real client testimonial
Section 3:
- Included a simple 3-step plan for visitors interested in our services
Wondering Where To Start?
Whether you are a business owner or a marketing director, it’s hard to find the time to juggle all your responsibilities, let alone give your website a facelift!
While we can’t share all of StoryBrand’s secrets with you, you can learn more about its powerful process by signing up for the StoryBrand live workshop.
Ready to share your clarified message and grow your business? Contact ROI Online. We’d love to learn more about your business and partner with you in your journey to bettering your business’s marketing message.
Contact us today and get a free strategy session!
