What information belongs on a home page?

6 sections most sales-based homepages should have.

Section 1 – The Hero section 

It’s at the top of the page and usually consists of four elements:

Firstly, an image that is relevant to what you are offering. It often fills the entire screen.

Second, a bold headline, usually in a big font size that states what you do. 

Next, a little more information that introduces your unique offer. What is your client going to be able to do if they engage in a relationship with you?

And lastly, a call to action button that people click. This button kickstarts your relationship with the visitor. Whether it is to sign-up for your mailing list, buy a product, or visit your portfolio. This button gives your visitor quick and easy access to what they came for.

 

Section 2 – The unique value proposition

This is a short, direct statement describing how your offer is unique compared to others in the same business category. Knowing your unique value proposition, or UVP, is crucial to you as a business owner. Also important to point out is how your customer is going to benefit from your offer.

So how do you figure this out? Look at your target market and learn about their pain points. Discover what problems they have and how your product or service can solve them. Be sure to differentiate yourself. How is your solution different than the competition? What makes you stand out from others who are trying to solve the same customer pain points? Finally, make sure it’s genuine, be sure your words match your personality and the voice of your brand.

 

Section 3 – Features and Benefits

Features describe the unique aspects of your product or service. And a benefit tells your potential customer how each of the features will solve their problem. Benefits are why a person will purchase your product or service. So, you’ll want to emphasize how the benefits will solve their particular problem and make their life easier. 

A thing to remember is that people are usually asking “What’s in it for me?” They think, “How is this going to change my life?” Your features and benefits are meant to answer those questions.  

In the page layout, you can separate the features into small sub-sections or paragraphs on the page.

 

Section 4 – Social Proof

What is social proof? It is the idea that people will behave in ways that are similar to other people. People around us influence us. So, when people are considering to engage with a product or service, they usually seek a recommendation from someone they know whose had experience with it. 

Second to that option is to find other people’s opinions online. When people vouch for you, other people will want to engage with you. Social proof helps people get there. 

According to OptinMonster.com, 88% of consumers trust a user review as much as a personal recommendation. People need to know, like, and trust you in order to do business with you. Social proof helps with that. So, you need to ask your happy customers for help by asking for a review.

 

Section 5 – Internal links

At this stage, people are either going to leave or navigate deeper into your website to discover what you have to offer in more detail. This is where you add a link or button to your products, services, or portfolio page.

This link leads to a separate page on your website where you can explain what specifically you have to offer. While more detail is required on the new page, keep the text short. Avoid long pages of information. Keep it concise but descriptive. Use bullet points if appropriate. 

Then, add photos that illustrate your offer. So if you’re selling products, it goes without saying that you need images of your product. If you’re an artist, show your art. Musician? Present samples of your music. If your visitor gets this far, you need to show them what you got. This is the point where they will decide if they are going to engage with you or not.

 

Section 6 – Call to Action

If your objective is to have people sign-up for your newsletter, I have some bad news. Most people will not part with their email address without some sort of reward. So, this means you have to provide some value. This could be in the form of a PDF, e-book, free access to a video series, or any other tangible gift that the visitor will find useful. 

So, why do this? Well firstly, people will appreciate it,  but once you have a person’s email, you can communicate with them directly. You can send them a regular newsletter, for example. 

A word of caution though, don’t be spammy. If you do that, people will unsubscribe. The idea is to provide value and not ask for anything in return. Maybe then, they will begin to know, like, and trust you. And, maybe then, they’ll consider doing business with you.

This section should contain a short headline that clearly and specifically tells your customer what to do next. A small paragraph below it with further instructions is optional. Finally, add a button to get them what they want.

 

Conclusion

So, this was a brief introduction on what to include on your home page but the overarching thing to remember is to keep it concise. The idea is to provide all the key information to gain your visitor’s interest so that they explore deeper into your website. 

So, keep it short and sweet but effective. Remember, that the average person won’t spend a lot of time on your website if they have too much to read and take in when first arriving on your home page. 

You gotta grab their attention. Pique their interest. Meet their desire or need. And, have them take action.