A persuasive Home Page on your website is like a hub for your whole business, think of it like a brochure of who you help, and what kinds of services or products you offer. It lets the customer know that YOU are the solution that they are looking for.
You have about 2 seconds or less when someone pops onto your website to grab their attention so it’s imperative to have the copy be clear to understand and the visuals must be on brand or they will pop off as quickly as they popped in.
I love Donald Miller’s book “Building a Story Brand”. In it, he describes so vividly that you won’t ever forget, that you, the business owner, are the “guide” and your client (or potential client) is the HERO in the story. What does this have to do with your home page? This framework is one I learned from his course “Business Made Simple” and it was one of my first real looks behind websites and sales funnels. I didn’t even know what a sales funnel was prior to this and I had been a business owner for many years at this point! Let’s just say that once I learned it, I was OBSESSED! The interesting thing is I’ve taken dozens of courses since this one and they all fall back on these basic marketing principles.
We all have a desire psychologically to be SEEN, HEARD, and MATTER. When we create a safe space for our customers to be understood is HUGE in any type of business and something not all business owners think about or understand.
When you write and create your website in a way where the client/ customer is the HERO in the story, you give them a sense of safety, and that creates trust between themselves and your brand.
A great Home Page should Include:
- The first section often referred to as the HERO section, has a good “One Liner” This includes in as succinct terms as possible: What you offer (your product or service) How does it make their life better? (what kind of transformation do you get them?) How do they get it? (call to action) this may be to book a call, shop, or subscribe to an email newsletter.
- What happens if people don’t buy your product/ service? Why is it wrong that they are experiencing the pain or problem they have? How does that make them feel? Show some empathy here.
- Value Proposition. What problem does your product/ service solve? List ALL the ways it does this. What are the top 3? Put a star by them. You’ll want those to be at the top & bottom of the list.
- Guide them. Obviously, you have to tell them HOW your product or service can get them there. That is the VEHICLE they can start to imagine is their answer so tell this part of the story well. How will you get them from point A to point b? Show empathy, and your Authority on the matter. Do what you can to assure them and make them feel like your answer will make them SAFE and solve the problem. (KEEP IT SIMPLE)
- Pricing Choices / Product Descriptions What are you offering? Use as many visuals as possible. Let them know you are EASY to work with. Keep this less than 4 options.
- What is the plan? Tell them in a few steps what happens next, step by step. Schedule a call, then what the benefits are of that call.
- Explanatory paragraph. this is like a little about you… but instead of talking about you, make it about their experience with you, not your history. Answer any common questions, fears or common objections here.
- Freebie offer to build your email list. title, Form, make sure it’s Jucy enough they will want to click!
- Video of you talking about the offer. (optional, some business owners choose not to put in a video) Keep it short… this is NOT a webinar. 1-5 min. is long enough! Give the video a title that promotes curiosity so they press play. Show, don’t Tell.
- Footer info: this is links to your contact page, any links to socials, privacy policy, terms of service, and other legal info.
How do I convey this as a web designer? By highlighting the parts of the copy that stand out. Making space for the most impactful lines and adding visuals to highlight certain texts that we want them to pay attention to. I ensure that the photos on the page create a feeling that corresponds to the copy, or replaces it in some instances. If you need help creating your dream website, let’s book a time to chat and see how I can help you.
