Key homepage design elements to increase conversions
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:36 am
Your homepage plays a key role in converting your visitors. Even when people visit your landing pages, they tend to glance at your homepage (and probably your about page) to get to know you better and make sure you are trustworthy.
Homepage optimization is one of the first steps to conversion rate optimization. In this article, I'll go through some of the standard homepage elements and show you how to optimize them.
1. Prototypical design
People's idea of a professional website is largely defined by how well it conforms to standard norms and best practices. A study shows that high prototypicality of a website (including many prototypical design elements) makes it more aesthetically appealing to visitors.
You need to make sure that your website looks like mobile number lookup philippines a typical, professionally designed website. Some of the design elements of professional websites are:
Site speed:
Your website's performance is above any design element. People lose interest in your website if it takes a few seconds to load or if it takes a while to take action. 1 in 4 people say they would leave a website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. Google advises webmasters to keep loading time under 3 seconds on mobile devices.
As page load time increases from one second to 10 seconds, the likelihood of a mobile site visitor bouncing increases by 123% .
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Navigation:
Make sure you have a simple and intuitive navigation menu. People shouldn't get confused when trying to figure out what they're looking for on your website.
What should you include in your homepage navigation menu?
Your homepage navigation menu is a good place to make your most important pages visible. Your product pages could be a good example. You need to insert your most important products into your navigation.
But instead of using a generic keyword "products" or "services," it's a good idea to use a keyword you want to rank for so that search engines have an easier time crawling your pages.
If you offer “homepage optimization” and “copywriting” services, you should use these two keywords in your navigation menu (instead of a generic “services” keyword). If you need to use a drop-down layout for your menu, be sure to use mega menus instead of typical drop-down menus.
In addition to your products, you want to make sure people can get to know you – you need an “about” page that describes who you are and what you offer. Your “about” page plays a crucial role in convincing people that you are credible and trustworthy. So, instead of treating it as an afterthought, make it your best page.
Content:
The content on your homepage does the most important job of all: it conveys your message to your visitors.
It does this by leveraging copy and visuals. While people tend to consider images more important than text when it comes to homepage content, text plays an exceptionally important role in getting its message across. While images can be prone to misinterpretation, its website copy is crisp and straightforward.
Images, on the other hand, are great for setting the theme and increasing the impact of your text. Videos can increase a landing page’s conversion rates by 80% . A good combination of these content elements is the perfect recipe for a high-performing landing page.
Perhaps the most important copy on a homepage is a headline and subheadline. This is where you could propose a unique value proposition to your visitors. It’s true that headline copy is considered creative work that shouldn’t be bound by rules, but to be successful it needs to offer a clear and intended benefit. As Ogilvy explains in “Ogilvy on Advertising”:
“The headlines that work best are those that promise the reader a benefit, such as a whiter car wash, more miles per gallon, no pimples, fewer cavities. Flip through a magazine and count the number of ads whose headlines promise a benefit of any kind.”
This is how Poptin presents the benefits of its products in a UX-optimized headline.
image1
The content on your homepage has a direct impact on your homepage bounce rate, which shows how many people view your homepage and leave without looking at other pages.
A good bounce rate is said to be between 10% and 30% . Anything above 50% should be concerning. Here are some questions you should ask yourself to optimize your homepage content and decrease your bounce rate:
Is it clear what we offer at first glance?
Are users clicking where they should be?
Is the page tailored to the number one reason customers visit the site?
Is the page simple and direct?
Am I giving the user what they are looking for?
2. Social Proof
If prototypicality of design gives an implication of credibility, social proof gives your visitors concrete data for your claims and promises. The claims you make on your website will have no effect if they are not accompanied by valid social proof.
Homepage optimization is one of the first steps to conversion rate optimization. In this article, I'll go through some of the standard homepage elements and show you how to optimize them.
1. Prototypical design
People's idea of a professional website is largely defined by how well it conforms to standard norms and best practices. A study shows that high prototypicality of a website (including many prototypical design elements) makes it more aesthetically appealing to visitors.
You need to make sure that your website looks like mobile number lookup philippines a typical, professionally designed website. Some of the design elements of professional websites are:
Site speed:
Your website's performance is above any design element. People lose interest in your website if it takes a few seconds to load or if it takes a while to take action. 1 in 4 people say they would leave a website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. Google advises webmasters to keep loading time under 3 seconds on mobile devices.
As page load time increases from one second to 10 seconds, the likelihood of a mobile site visitor bouncing increases by 123% .
image13
Navigation:
Make sure you have a simple and intuitive navigation menu. People shouldn't get confused when trying to figure out what they're looking for on your website.
What should you include in your homepage navigation menu?
Your homepage navigation menu is a good place to make your most important pages visible. Your product pages could be a good example. You need to insert your most important products into your navigation.
But instead of using a generic keyword "products" or "services," it's a good idea to use a keyword you want to rank for so that search engines have an easier time crawling your pages.
If you offer “homepage optimization” and “copywriting” services, you should use these two keywords in your navigation menu (instead of a generic “services” keyword). If you need to use a drop-down layout for your menu, be sure to use mega menus instead of typical drop-down menus.
In addition to your products, you want to make sure people can get to know you – you need an “about” page that describes who you are and what you offer. Your “about” page plays a crucial role in convincing people that you are credible and trustworthy. So, instead of treating it as an afterthought, make it your best page.
Content:
The content on your homepage does the most important job of all: it conveys your message to your visitors.
It does this by leveraging copy and visuals. While people tend to consider images more important than text when it comes to homepage content, text plays an exceptionally important role in getting its message across. While images can be prone to misinterpretation, its website copy is crisp and straightforward.
Images, on the other hand, are great for setting the theme and increasing the impact of your text. Videos can increase a landing page’s conversion rates by 80% . A good combination of these content elements is the perfect recipe for a high-performing landing page.
Perhaps the most important copy on a homepage is a headline and subheadline. This is where you could propose a unique value proposition to your visitors. It’s true that headline copy is considered creative work that shouldn’t be bound by rules, but to be successful it needs to offer a clear and intended benefit. As Ogilvy explains in “Ogilvy on Advertising”:
“The headlines that work best are those that promise the reader a benefit, such as a whiter car wash, more miles per gallon, no pimples, fewer cavities. Flip through a magazine and count the number of ads whose headlines promise a benefit of any kind.”
This is how Poptin presents the benefits of its products in a UX-optimized headline.
image1
The content on your homepage has a direct impact on your homepage bounce rate, which shows how many people view your homepage and leave without looking at other pages.
A good bounce rate is said to be between 10% and 30% . Anything above 50% should be concerning. Here are some questions you should ask yourself to optimize your homepage content and decrease your bounce rate:
Is it clear what we offer at first glance?
Are users clicking where they should be?
Is the page tailored to the number one reason customers visit the site?
Is the page simple and direct?
Am I giving the user what they are looking for?
2. Social Proof
If prototypicality of design gives an implication of credibility, social proof gives your visitors concrete data for your claims and promises. The claims you make on your website will have no effect if they are not accompanied by valid social proof.