5 Must-Have Homepage Features For Effective Marketing

When you are creating a website for your brand or business, you should utilize the homepage to showcase your products/services in a way that is compelling to new customers, as well as recurring visitors. The homepage is typically the first place that visitors land and explore, so it’s important to make sure that the material that lives here catches the visitors attention within seconds. This will also help avoid high bounce rates, because you do not want them to close out of your page and explore a competitor instead. Here are 5 must-have homepage features for effective marketing:

Informative Headlines

Not only are headlines extremely important for SEO rankings, but they also provide a great opportunity for calls-to-action. If someone is quickly skimming your website looking for something in particular, your headlines will help guide them through the navigation and point them in the right direction. Headlines should be brief and concise, but also informative or persuasive. Keep the length of headlines between 7 to 10 words, and make sure you include an action word! This will help you draw in traffic, and convert leads to sales.

Eye-Catching Media

Your homepage should include a variety of media elements, such as high-quality images, captivating videos, and your company logo. The main image on the homepage, often referred to as a hero shot, is likely to be the largest and most prominent. It should be a combination of visual and verbal elements that encourages the right visitors to interact further, and the wrong visitors to continue their search elsewhere. You can also use these features to help explain your products/services via videos, gifs, and other forms of creative content.

The more diverse and impactful the content is on your homepage, the more discoverable your website will be through Google search. It will also keep visitors on your page longer while they explore and scan through the media elements. Keep in mind that a higher time on page indicates that the content is relevant, easy to read and understand, and targeted at the right audience.

Testimonials

What better way to build rapport with your audience than showing them positive explanations from other customers? Testimonials are key when it comes to verifying experiences and results. Review testimonials can be displayed on the lower end of your homepage, either with a carousel feature or as a stand-alone block. Did you know that many people won’t even make a purchase if they cannot find a substantial review first?

This vital content feature offers hard proof that you have an unbiased customer base that is willing to share their honest experience with your products/services. If you have a handful of testimonials, be sure to place them on your homepage for visitors to see for that added push to close a sale. It is an organic form of marketing that will benefit you and your business!

Social Media Icons/Links

We live in a day and age where social media is at the forefront of marketing efforts. Whether you are active on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinetrest, Twitter, or other platforms, customers want to see that you post relevant and timely content to build engagement with your target audience.

A visitor on your website may not even explore the interface, and head straight to your social media icons/links found at the top or bottom of your homepage. It’s critical that these icons are built into your homepage design so they are easy to locate and accessible within just a few seconds. Including your social media will ultimately improve your business’s online presence, help you rank higher in search results, and build trust and authenticity.

Contact Information

While this may seem like a given, many websites do not include easily-discoverable contact information on the homepage. They usually bury it within a tab in their navigation bar, making it pretty difficult to find a phone number, email address, or mailing address with ease. Providing various forms of contact information will increase your ability to generate leads, and offer the best customer service possible. The more information you can provide, the more secure your customers will feel. If something goes wrong with a product or service, they can confidently reach you and rest assured that they will be taken care of.