How do you strategically lay out an effective home page?
In the present digital era, having a website is the key to growing your online presence. Whether you are a start-up or a big enterprise, a website is important to reach out to the global audience of your business. Specifically, when it comes to websites, an effective homepage is the first point of contact with your potential customers. It can provide your visitors with a clear idea about your business, services, the products you offer, and more.
The essence of design
A homepage created with great attention can attract your targeted visitors and encourage them to dive deeper into your business. On technical grounds, it all boils down to the design of your homepage. Abiding to the statistics, about 38 percent of individuals stop engaging if they find the layout or content of the website unattractive. That speaks volumes about designing your homepage in the right way.
When it comes to homepage designing, most businesses think of hiring a professional website developer or designer. However, if you have not decided on the layout of the homepage, it can prove to be a costly mistake. Hence, before hiring the experts make sure to create a wireframe.
In simple words, a wireframe is the skeleton or structure of your website. You can call it a working sketch that outlines the basic structure and gives you an idea of how your website’s home page will look like. You can choose from among any of the widely used wireframing tools like Balsamic, Figma, Mockflow, Moqups, Webflow, etc. Some of them are free; others are available at a certain cost. You can choose the most feasible one at your convenience.
Moving over, here are the steps you need to follow to strategic lay out an effective home page. Let’s take a look!
Look for inspirations
At times, you may feel stuck and fall short of ideas as to where to start. In such a situation, the best way to start is to get inspiration from other websites relevant to your business. Review several websites that you find appealing and easy to navigate. Make sure to note down all the aspects that you like about their homepage. It can be the way of their product description, the flow of customer testimonials, and so on.
By referring to the homepages of other businesses, you can easily gain numerous ideas for your own website. Getting inspiration from other websites is one of the prominent ways to begin crafting the layout of your homepage.
The layout of the major sections
Once you have the idea to design your homepage, the next step is to lay out all the major sections that your homepage will have. The sections may vary from business to business. Depending on your specific requirements, you can plan the sections you want to have. Here are some of the most common sections people have on their home pages.
1. Header
One of the best ways to create an appealing homepage is to start the page with a header. It can be a simple line that clearly states what your business has to offer to the customers. Make sure it is crisp, to the point, and clear. The header is the very first thing that your visitors will see. Ensure that it can convey the real message of your brand.
2. Value proposition
Customers prefer looking for a business that can provide them with optimum value. Therefore, it is important to show your potential customers the values that your business can offer them. While mentioning your value proposition, make sure to keep it short. Having them in the form of icons or bullet points can be even better.
3. Plan
This section must show your customers the right way to do business with your brand. Try to keep it very simple and consider using bullets or numbers.
4. Testimonials and logo
If you want to add credibility to your business, having testimonials on your homepage is inevitable. Testimonials from real customers will make people believe that you can offer them greater value. Through testimonials, show your potential customers how choosing your business can benefit them.
Adding logos on the homepage can make your brand easily identifiable. However, make sure that the logo does not take up much space on the homepage.
5. Detailed explanation
In this section, you need to provide a detailed explanation of your business and give your customers reasons to do business with your brand. Try to highlight the pain points that your business can solve. To save space, you can keep the information brief and then add a “Read More” button.
Add navigational options
To appeal to the target audience, your website must be easy to navigate. For this reason, you must consider adding some navigational options at the bottom of your homepage. It can be the links to the About Us page, Contact page, FAQs, and more.
Craft an appealing call-to-action
Sidelining the importance of a call to action could prove dangerous for the success of your website. Make sure to have a clear call to action on your homepage. The bolder and bigger the CTA is, the more is the chance of people clicking on it. Also, ensure that the CTA can convey what exactly will happen when the customers click on it.
Once you have the wireframe ready, you can collaborate with people and make the essential changes to enhance the look and feel of your homepage.
Takeaway
Creating the homepage for your website can be overwhelming. However, when you abide by a definite strategy to create the layout of your website, things are likely to become simple and easy. It can help you save a great deal of time, money, and effort.
Finally, after the strategic layout, you can hire website developers and design your professional-looking website. Choosing a smart and seasoned web design agency would be ideal. It will help you to transform your wireframe into a real website, in the manner you wanted it to appear.
Approaching Puneet. ae, a reputed Branding Agency in Dubai, would be a smart move in this regard. It has proven excellence in creating an indomitable brand identity for countless clients in the UAE and elsewhere across the globe. We are here to assist your company in getting a solid website through our web design services. Contact us today.
