It is a New Year, and it might be time for a new look – not just for you, but for your business as well. How do you accomplish this? A brilliant home page design for your website. Think about it – your home page is the first thing people see – and it has to seamlessly integrate with your current brand and mission, as well as offer a good first impression and a pleasurable experience for your users. Here is Part One of Top Tips for your Homepage Design.

Who, What, and What Can I Do Here?
Your website should immediately answer the questions – Who is the company, What Does the Company Do, and What Can the Customer Do (www.hubspot.com). Think about the title in the header section of the web page (space above the web address). If you are a T-Shirt Company, for example, think about phrasing like “We make X, so you can Y.” Mixergy.com has the title:  Business Tips for Successful Startups. If your customers cannot tell what your company is about or what they do within a few seconds, you are losing customers. This is also called a headline (www.marketingtechblog.com).

Visual Set-Up
Of course, you want to think about how your web page looks to your users. Common thought is that the logo should be on the left-hand upper corner, the title should be front and center (with some more information relating to your headline), with buttons/links to other pages along the top towards the upper right corner. With the Facebook Timeline, it is becoming popular to have a large picture/image/banner spanning the top of the page, but this should probably be overlaid with easy to read text also relating to your headline. Think about using a light background (www.goglobe.com) and easy to read font.

Know Your Customer and Speak to Them
If your company sells clothing for college students, your home page might not be the place to discuss your unique polymer blend that you use in your ink (though this could be great information for an ‘About Us’ page or an ‘Our Ink Process’ link. Get rid of the corporate jargon, and make sure your language is tailored to your audience (www.hubspot.com).

Usability and Mobility
Make your website so that people want to use it. Your web page should be easy to navigate. Avoid pop-ups, redirects, ads, animations, etc. Make sure your search feature makes sense. There is an illuminating video – Google Analytics in Real Life – Site Search – that mimics the product search function on your website. If your search function is too complex, or your background data queries too convoluted, customers will get frustrated and likely leave. Also, check how your website renders on a mobile device, and that your windows re-size appropriately. More and more people are accessing websites from handheld devices and you want this experience to be easy as well.

If you want more tips for how to design a brilliant homepage for your Orange County business, stay tuned.

Brandastic.com  helps your Orange County marketing by building world-class brands and beautiful home pages. Brandastic is a Southern California based digital marketing and advertising agency focused on relationship, excellence, and service. With locations in Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX, we’re ready to serve clients nationwide with our expert search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and pay-per-click (PPC) services. When you are ready to be noticed and really stand out, contact Brandastic.