paul_r
15th November 2006, 05:27 PM
Got this useful article about the design of a Homepage from one of the top professional web design companies, and thought it might help some of your thinking on your own site ...
Get Your Homepage Priorities Right!
Quick Take
Your homepage is the first page over 95% of your visitors will see
Your homepage must demonstrate relevance, or you will lose your traffic
Ensure your navigation system remains consistent throughout the site
Multiple routes to information improves navigability and search engine optimisation
Your homepage will be the first page over 95% of your website visitors will see. It is clear, therefore, that it must be more than just aesthetically pleasing. The homepage must download quickly, establish relevance, introduce your brand and be the starting point for proposed sales journeys. If you don't get the homepage right, you increase the risk of users leaving, and never coming back. This article gives a top level overview of some of the main elements you need to pay attention to...
Relevance
If your homepage does not demonstrate relevance to your target audiences, there is a high risk that they will leave the website. Use the homepage space wisely to include indicative imagery and concise intro text. It is best to avoid mission statements and senior management quotes as these do not help or add value to the user in any way. A well prepared intro text will establish the level of relevance, and will also help your search engine optimisation greatly.
Branding
Your brand needs to be firmly established on the homepage and this means more than just the logo! Try to ensure that the colours, concept, fonts, image formatting and general style are in keeping with the rest of your marketing collateral to achieve consistency and uniformity. If you are launching a new brand, make sure that you provide a clear description of your proposition so that users can determine your relevance.
Navigation
Your navigation systems need to be established as soon as possible on the site. Depending on your website structure, this can be achieved on the homepage although in some instances, secondary or tertiary navigation is introduced further along the user journey. Once your navigation is established, ensure that it remains consistent throughout the entire website.
Customer & Product/Service Segmentation
It is of paramount importance that your key target audiences have clear and relevant entry points into the website. Make sure that your homepage is dedicated to this signposting and make good use of space by adding relevant graphics and short descriptions. If you are promoting specific products or services on the site, dedicate some of the homepage real estate to giving them maximum exposure.
Multiple routes to information
Providing more than one route to specific website pages improves navigability and customer experience. Every user reacts differently to link naming and nomenclature so it is worth your while to play about with different terminology to find the most effective. Once again, dedicate more access routes to products and services which require most exposure.
Calls to action
One of your main objectives should be to instigate two-way communication with your target audiences. Facilitate this by including register, contact, arrange a call back, apply or other calls to action on the homepage. The further the user navigates into the site, the less relevant (to the journey) these activities may become.
Get Your Homepage Priorities Right!
Quick Take
Your homepage is the first page over 95% of your visitors will see
Your homepage must demonstrate relevance, or you will lose your traffic
Ensure your navigation system remains consistent throughout the site
Multiple routes to information improves navigability and search engine optimisation
Your homepage will be the first page over 95% of your website visitors will see. It is clear, therefore, that it must be more than just aesthetically pleasing. The homepage must download quickly, establish relevance, introduce your brand and be the starting point for proposed sales journeys. If you don't get the homepage right, you increase the risk of users leaving, and never coming back. This article gives a top level overview of some of the main elements you need to pay attention to...
Relevance
If your homepage does not demonstrate relevance to your target audiences, there is a high risk that they will leave the website. Use the homepage space wisely to include indicative imagery and concise intro text. It is best to avoid mission statements and senior management quotes as these do not help or add value to the user in any way. A well prepared intro text will establish the level of relevance, and will also help your search engine optimisation greatly.
Branding
Your brand needs to be firmly established on the homepage and this means more than just the logo! Try to ensure that the colours, concept, fonts, image formatting and general style are in keeping with the rest of your marketing collateral to achieve consistency and uniformity. If you are launching a new brand, make sure that you provide a clear description of your proposition so that users can determine your relevance.
Navigation
Your navigation systems need to be established as soon as possible on the site. Depending on your website structure, this can be achieved on the homepage although in some instances, secondary or tertiary navigation is introduced further along the user journey. Once your navigation is established, ensure that it remains consistent throughout the entire website.
Customer & Product/Service Segmentation
It is of paramount importance that your key target audiences have clear and relevant entry points into the website. Make sure that your homepage is dedicated to this signposting and make good use of space by adding relevant graphics and short descriptions. If you are promoting specific products or services on the site, dedicate some of the homepage real estate to giving them maximum exposure.
Multiple routes to information
Providing more than one route to specific website pages improves navigability and customer experience. Every user reacts differently to link naming and nomenclature so it is worth your while to play about with different terminology to find the most effective. Once again, dedicate more access routes to products and services which require most exposure.
Calls to action
One of your main objectives should be to instigate two-way communication with your target audiences. Facilitate this by including register, contact, arrange a call back, apply or other calls to action on the homepage. The further the user navigates into the site, the less relevant (to the journey) these activities may become.