Compelling Home Pages

Update your home page for better results

One of the most common traps that people fall into when building their websites is never updating their Home pages. Will anyone notice that you have updated your other pages, if you don’t update the Home page?

The Home page is usually the first page a visitor will see when they come to your site, either for the first or the fiftieth time, so it’s important not to forget this page when updating your website. The majority of business owners add an ‘Introduction’ to their home page, which is typically a simple “Welcome to our website. We were founded in …”, and so forth. This information does not generally change from one month to the next.

You should divide your Home page into two sections: one for the ‘static’ introduction and one for the latest updates.

Introduction

Your introduction is an important part of your Home page. Both visitors and search engines look at the Home page first.  Your first paragraph needs to outline clearly what you do, who you are and where you are.

In explaining what you do, rather than using general terms used by everyone in your industry, such as “We offer financial services”,  provide a detailed list of the specific services or products you offer. For example, “We specialise in financial planning, wealth management, superannuation and retirement planning in the Newcastle area.” This will quickly outline your site for the benefit of both visitors and search engines.

Latest Updates

The other half of your Home page should be dedicated to informing visitors about updates or edits on the rest of your site. Think of it this way: if something has changed on one of the pages of your site, how would someone know when they first arrive at your Home page to find the same information that was there a month ago?

You need to draw visitors’ attention to the latest edits and updates and the easiest way to do this is to add a short explanation and a link to the updated page. For example:

This week, we completed a new office block in North Sydney. To see the before and after photos, visit our Office Fit-Out Gallery.

Your home page is the most important page of your site. Update it regularly and you will increase the likelihood of visitors returning to your site.