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Making the most of your home page Most web sites fail because their home
page consists of a single large, slow-loading graphic rather than fast-loading HTML text that contains news value. This article can help you re-examine your home site--the "front door" to your web site.
Think small instead of large
The
solution is to think small, so you can include more information on your home page, particularly the top-half which is what most of your web site visitors encounter first. In many ways, the top half of the home page
is the most important part of your Web site. Your home page represents the first—and sometimes only—chance you have to make a good impression and ensure that readers will spend a lot of time at your Web site. A
well-designed home page tells a lot about your business and should have six essential characteristics. It should:
- Introduce
your business.
- Describe
the products or services you offer.
- Share
your firm's philosophy or positioning, i.e., the customer benefits or unique selling propositions that set your firm apart from the competition.
- Project
an appropriate image through your choice of words, colors, typeface, and layout.
- Start a relationship
(hopefully, culminating in a sale) by capturing the visitor's e-mail address and offering visitors reasons to spend time at your site and return frequently.
- Communicate urgency
by offering fresh information and meaningful reasons for visitors to act now.
Problems
Many home pages sabotage the web site they introduce because the text and graphics elements they contain are too large. On a home page, large is bad because the law of
physics state that the larger the size of the objects occupying a given amount of space, the fewer the number of objects that can fit in the space. Too often the top half of a home page consists of a large
logo plus the firm's address and phone number, without any further "selling" of the firm's position, products and/or services, or information contained in the site. Often links to information elsewhere on the
site are only visible if the site visitor scrolls down the page—which few visitors will bother to do unless the top half of the page gives them a reason to. Links are frequently too large and vertically arranged in a
single row below the firm's logo. This limits the number of links visible at a single time. A better alternative is to use smaller links and arrange them in a two- or three-column table, thus permitting more links to be
visible at once. Remember: when viewing your Web site on their computer monitors your visitors' attention is focused on a relatively small area. Unlike a newspaper ad, which must be large to be noticed, big online
logos and headlines aren't needed to compete with adjacent ads and editorial matter. Benefits of small
Explore the following advantages of using a small size:
- Speed
. Small means faster loading graphics and text set in your "signature" typefaces.
- More space to promote
. Small means more teasers, i.e., links to information elsewhere on your Web site.
- More information
. More Small means more room to begin the relationship by immediately offering valid information.
Learning from Magazines
What magazines can teach Web site designers
Think of the top half of your home page as the front cover of a magazine. Take time to visit a
local magazine store and survey the covers on display. Notice how most of them contain more than just the publication name. Just about every front cover of every successful magazine lists the titles of several articles
inside the issue, as well as a prominent photograph or "teaser" promoting a feature article inside. In addition, there's often a tagline positioning the magazine apart from the competition, e.g., "Slot
car racing—and only slot car racing." The top half of your Web site should perform the same functions. Home page elements
The following are some of the elements that
should appear in the top half of your home page:
- Introduce yourself
. This introduction can take the form of your firm's logo and motto, or a title or headline that emphasizes the benefits that clients and/or customers enjoy.
- Project an image
. The colors, layout, typeface, and visuals used on the top half of your home page should reflect the image you want to project as well as the types of visitors you want to attract. Think in
terms of opposites: do you want to appear affordable or expensive, formal or informal, established or contemporary?
- Links
. The more options you offer, the more likely visitors are to click one of your links. Accordingly, as many links as possible should appear on your home page. One option is to group them along the top
or left-hand edge of your home page.
- Begin to sell
. Immediately focus your visitor's attention by describing a featured product or service or a recent success. All it takes is a single, small photograph and a paragraph or two, plus a
"continued" link to convert a Web site "surfer" into a serious Web site visitor. So, don't be afraid to immediately describe a product, discuss a current challenge or offer other information
that will establish your credibility in the eyes of a Web site visitor.
Conclusion
There's more to creating a successful Web site than just centering your logo or graphic as large as possible on the home page. Just as magazine sales depend more on
the front cover than the contents inside, the success of your Web site begins with the top half of your home page. Test yourself Ask yourself these questions to make sure you're
taking full advantages of the top half of your home page:
- Does your home page do a good job of introducing your firm? Is your logo large enough to be noticed, yet not so large that it prevents you from including the other elements of a successful home page? Does it
include e-mail, phone, fax, and city/state/Zip Code contact information?
- Does your home page describe the products or services you offer? Is it immediately obvious what business you're in?
- Does your home page position your firm relative to the competition? Does your home page emphasize the customer benefits that set your firm apart from the competition?
- Are you properly "dressed" for the occasion? Do the colors, layout, typeface, and visuals reflect the image you want to project? Are they appropriate to the market you want to reach?
- Do you begin "selling" on your home page? Is there a visual or the beginnings of an article that will arouse enthusiasm for your product or service, expand your market, and enhance your credibility?
- Does your home page communicate urgency? Does it contain time-sensitive information, such as commentary on current events, listings of upcoming events, or special time-limited sales and promotions?
Acknowledgement
This article is an expansion of one that originally ran
on the Microsoft /SmallBiz web site August, 1997,
and is reproduced courtesy of the Microsoft Corporation. |
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