ROCKS DIGITAL  BLOG

Harley David Rubin

Now, Take My Homepage….Please!

Do you consider your website’s homepage an engaging window into your business? Or is it more of a joke?

“Hey kids! What’s the deal with homework? You’re not workin’ on your home!”

— Jerome Allen Seinfeld

Homepage Icons
Image Credit – Rawpixel.com/shutterstock.com

Think of your company’s website as a stand-up comedy act. Basically, your homepage is the “opener” of your performance; you only have 10 to 20 seconds to grab the attention of your audience.

If you’re successful in doing that, they’ll keep reading and start clicking through your site to learn more about you.

So what do you need on your homepage to keep them from leaving just when you’ve started your act?

It’s all about your “material.”

If you have a simple goal — keep your visitor’s attention — then keep it simple. But like a good standup routine, you want to start strong (and finish strong).

Think strategically, and put yourself in their shoes. What would you want to know? Maybe stuff like this:

Other elements on the homepage include the navigation bar(s) and menu(s), which you covered when building the site. But don’t forget to include clickable links within the copy, as well as helpful widgets like an email subscription form.

Homepage appearance counts.

Most old-school comedians went with the suit-and-tie look. Today, most acts have a “come as you are” wardrobe — but whatever they wear, it fits their personality and material.

While there are countless website designs to choose from, your homepage needs to accomplish more than any other page on your site. For starters, it has to fit your company brand, your industry and your target audience.

And it IS all about your audience. So make sure the focus is where it needs to be on your homepage, and that the design basically leads the visitor’s eye to where you want it to go.

Another important consideration is how your visitor is viewing your site; it could be on their desktop or laptop, their tablet or their smartphone.

That’s why responsive design — which means that your design will adjust for optimal viewing on whatever device is being used — is where it’s at. Especially since the majority of people today use their phone for pretty much everything. So you definitely want to think mobile!

Pro Tip #1: You will be tempted to “make the logo bigger.” Not only will you annoy your graphic designer and website developer, it’s just not necessary. Resist this temptation.

Pro Tip #2: Stick to one font. Too many different fonts just confuse everyone’s eyes and dilute your brand look.

Pro Tip #3: Do a yearly review of your entire site and update when necessary. Design styles and technology trends change — for example, Flash is “dead” and those “slider” widgets are played out. (Kind of like the phrase “played out.”)

Focus on your delivery.

Some comedians tell longer stories, some deliver short, punchy one-liners. Some are loud and obnoxious (think Roseanne, Sam Kinison and Lewis Black), some are mellow and a bit weird (like Steven Wright, Emo Phillips and Mitch Hedberg).

Your brand voice should be strongly represented on your homepage. If you’re formal and professional, write like that. If you’re informal and fun, give it some life!

But remember not to cram a million things onto the page. You don’t want to give it all away — and frankly, you should save a lot of stuff for your other pages. For example, don’t tell the whole story of how your company started on the homepage. That’s what the “About Us” page is for.

And for Merriam and Webster’s sake, check for typos and grammar! There’s nothing worse than losing a potential customer because they see a typo and think “well, if they can’t spell stuff right on their homepage, who knows about the quality of their [product/service]?”

It’s show and tell, not just tell.

Earlier era comedians, like Johnny Carson, relied heavily on spoken jokes. Later, Jay Leno moved into video humor, and Jimmy Fallon brought visual impersonations into the mix. So I’ll stop talking and show you what a good landing page looks like. Check out what Hubspot has recognized as the Best Website Homepage Examples.

Does your homepage stand up to scrutiny? (See what I did there?) Feel free to share your ideas in the comments below. And please share this blog with your social networks if you found it interesting!

Harley David Rubin

Harley David Rubin is a freelance copywriter, content creator and marketing strategist who has worked for both advertising agencies and corporate marketing departments for more than 20 years. He loves his family, pop culture, fantasy baseball and creativity in all its forms.

More Posts

Download Our SEO Guide

Created in a joint partnership with Advice Local, this guide — What You Need to Know About SEO — provides an introduction to SEO concepts, strategies and best practices for optimizing a website. Complete the form below and get instant access.

    ROCKING DIGITAL SERVICES

    Web Design & Development

    Your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional. We build websites for desktop and mobile that are both.

    LOCAL SEARCH & SEO

    Your website needs to attract search engines and consumers. We are experts in local search and SEO, and can make that happen.

    CONTENT CREATION & MARKETING

    Anybody can write words on a page, but can they write content that integrates SEO best practices and converts? We can.

    PPC & Paid Search

    PPC & Paid Search

    Need more customers? We create paid campaigns to reach your target audience and increase sales.

    Tracking & Optimization

    You need a solid foundation for success online, and our tracking & optimization services get it done.

    Graphic Design Services

    Graphic Design Services

    From logo design to your business card, brochures – and everything in-between for print & web – we can help!

    Here’s What Our Client's Have to Say

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich

    Rocks Digital Is the Best Choice

    ★★★★★
    As a long-term client, when it was time to change the primary focus of my real estate business, and my website, I knew Rocks Digital was the way to go. They took my existing website, gave it a complete new look, and still managed to keep my existing content.
    - David Dorum

    Brought My Ideas to Fruition

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital came highly recommended. Once I started working with them I knew why. They took my ideas for a beautiful website and brought them to the screen. From the design phase to content creation, each component was thoughtfully considered and addressed.
    - Clay Adams

    Conversions Are on the Rise

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages two of my websites. They produce our blogs, our service pages and manage our paid search campaigns. Conversions are up and new patients are coming in the door. I highly recommend their digital marketing services.
    - Dr. Thomas Chacko

    Agency Services Are Top Notch

    ★★★★★
    We shifted to Rocks Digital agency services earlier in the year. We are so glad we did. Our website sessions are up, page views are up, and bounce rate is down. Now we can easily see how many form fills we have had at any given time through their real-time reporting.
    - Kristin Schafer

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich
    Name
    Email
    Review Title
    Rating
    Review Content

    LATEST BLOG POSTS

    Local SEO company strategies.

    What Does a Local SEO Company Do?

    Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy focused on boosting a business’ local search visibility within a particular area. With the successful implementation of proven

    Hire a digital marketing agency.

    Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

    Staying ahead of search engine updates and marketing trends is a constant challenge, so it’s no surprise that businesses frequently turn to digital marketing agencies.

    LOCAL VISIBILITY REPORT

    Is your Google My Business listing helping or hurting you? Is bad data causing consumers and search engines to lose trust in your business? This is information you simply must know.

    To get these answers right now, just enter your business name below to run our FREE
    visibility report.


    Need a facelift
    for your website? More search traffic? Need to blog, but don’t have time?

    Our Digital Services Could Be For You
    Get a Free Local Visibility Report Now