Businesses must have an online presence to grow and reach more potential customers; the website is essential to building such an online presence. WordPress is the most popular platform for doing so, supporting millions of active websites.
It isn’t easy to stand out in such a crowded market, and designing an attractive homepage is crucial because it is where users first land after clicking a search link. This article offers the best tips on creating a successful WordPress homepage to leave a lasting impression.
Tips to Design Winning Homepage
Branding elements
A website is an essential part of any company branding strategy. The homepage is the first direct touch point between the company and the targeted audience, so it must contain all the branding elements such as logos, fonts, colors, etc., especially for a startup or a company that didn’t have any webpage before. The logo is the main part that must be placed carefully, and it should be large enough to be noticeable but not too large to cover the design elements.
Add Mission and vision
Mission and vision are two elements that are usually placed on the “About” page. However, adding them to the homepage will be good practice. Most users, especially new ones, will land on the homepage, and adding these brief statements will give them a quick idea about the business and its focus.
Add the mission and vision statements to the homepage with a relevant image or slideshow. Using a banner to emphasize the words is also a good trick since designing a banner is easy and can be done using an online banner maker.
Use High-quality Imagery
The website’s home page provides a fantastic opportunity to use images to highlight the company, its offerings, and its goods. Use eye-catching and simple-to-understand photos to help visitors realize the website’s purpose.
Real professional photos, as opposed to stock photos, are preferable whenever possible because they demonstrate the high quality of the business service or product. Stock photos can be a solution if authentic images are unavailable, but ensure they are consistent with the company’s brand guidelines.
Make the homepage user-friendly
The homepage works as a hub for users to get to the other website sections, so making it user-friendly is essential to retain the user on the website and avoid losing them. Adding navigation options with a clear visual hierarchy is vital to allow users to find what they are looking for without any hustle. Users will simply jump to any website section without leaving or reloading it, increasing the conversion rate.
Additionally, site search is a must when having a variety of products, such as for e-commerce shops, and it must be added clearly with some filter options to help users get the right product quickly. Also, another important factor is considering the mobile-friendly design of the whole website and the homepage.
Add a clear call to action
A call to action is the key to increasing conversions; people usually don’t do anything if they aren’t asked to. The homepage can be the exception to the rule of no more than one CTA; instead, multiple CTAs can be used, especially for businesses with many products. However, driving people to do an action needs an encouraging factor such as offers; CTA can be designed as buttons, pop-up windows, slideshow, text, etc. Also, the CTA must be designed in contrast to draw users’ attention.
Contact Information
Clear contact information such as an address, email, phone number, or contact format builds users’ trust and proves the company is real, not fake. Usually, the contact information is added in the footer section, and users will expect to find them in this section. Also, a chat box will add more interactive communication channels with the users.
Add Social Media Buttons
Social media is the most effective tool for developing any business and boosting marketing efforts, as social media offers the users a direct connection with the brand. Therefore, linking social media to the website is vital to increasing loyalty and directing new visitors to the business‘s social platforms, increasing followers. Add a social button to the homepage at the footer section and make sure that links are working and linked correctly.
Add Social Proof and Customer Reviews
Social proof and customer reviews build credibility with new users unfamiliar with the brand, especially for e-commerce businesses. Therefore, displaying those trust marks on the homepage is a must so new visitors can see previous users’ reviews and ensure that the company is trustworthy. A common trust mark is Google reviews, which can be added easily to the homepage.
Conclusion
Designing a creative homepage is essential to interact with website visitors and turn them into buyers. The business type and model have an impact on the homepage design. However, some tips and practices, such as branding components, social media links, and trust symbols, will enhance homepage design, draw website visitors, boost conversion, and increase client loyalty.
