Professional Homepage Design: 5 Tips For Local Businesses
Unfortunately, people do judge books by their covers. In terms of your website, your book cover is the homepage design. For local businesses, your homepage is your storefront, your business card, your job interview.
Sharing your website is like showing up for a job interview. That is to say: first impressions matter. Therefore, it’s important to know how to design your homepage to capture that first impression, keep the visitor engaged with the site and convert them into a paying customer.
We have put together 5 tips that will help you effectively design your homepage to accomplish your goals.
But first, here is a simple infographic. Continue reading for details on each point.
How to Make Your Business Homepage Design Shine Brighter Than the Rest
[thrive_headline_focus title=”1. Simplicity is Key” orientation=”left”]
Many established and large-scale businesses don’t worry about cluttered homepages. They have instantly recognizable brands that site users don’t mind sifting through the ads, widgets, and thumbnails to access the information they need.
However, as a small business, you should try to keep your homepage design simple and clean. The page should communicate your product or service either with a stand-out image or a simple slogan… something that gives the user a clear picture of who you are and what you have to offer. More than anything, your homepage should elicit a positive reaction from your visitors, not confuse them with flash and clutter.
Check out this website homepage design that we created for Preferred Duct Sealing of Iowa. It has a simple layout with clean lines and clearly defines what the company is about and what services they offer.
[thrive_headline_focus title=”2. Avoid Never Ending Scrolling” orientation=”left”]
Keep your home page on point. You don’t need to go into every aspect of your company in detail on the homepage. Instead, provide the basics and a link or button to learn more. This way the user can decide which product or service they would like to learn more about.
[thrive_headline_focus title=”3. Display The Right Links” orientation=”left”]
Although it’s best to keep your homepage design simple, you’ll still need to include links to relevant information. The top navigation menu is a good place to start: about, service/product, contact, etc. In other words, people need to know what your business is all about, how you can provide what they need, and how to contact you.
[thrive_headline_focus title=”4. Keep the Most Important Information Above the Fold” orientation=”left”]
Above the fold? What’s the fold? Great question! Wikipedia says,
[pullquote align=”normal”]Above the fold is also used in website design (along with “above the scroll”) to refer to the portion of the webpage that is visible without scrolling. [/pullquote]
This information is going to be the very first thing your potential client sees after the page loads. Providing the most important information that your customer is seeking in the cleanest and simplest manner “above the fold” is key!
It’s also pivotal to your local business that you display your contact information above the fold so that customers can always see how to get in touch with you. A great place to put this is in the header, this way your information will show on every page of your site.
[thrive_headline_focus title=”5. Attach a Featured Image to Your Homepage” orientation=”left”]
Have you ever attempted to share a website on Facebook only to find that a thumbnail image would not attach? When people link to your site, especially to your homepage, make the link pairs with a compelling image—the click-through rates will be much better.
It may be difficult for a business to conceive of an image if it offers an abstract service. Therefore, at the very least, make sure your logo pops up alongside your link.
Professional website design for local businesses is pivotal to the success of their online marketing strategy! Follow these simple tips for your business homepage design and you’ll be on the right track to a successful website!
