With so many sites on the web, it can be difficult to attract visitors to yours. The landing page is where surfers will discover you for the first time; you can’t afford a bad first impression. Here are five things that you should have on your website’s landing page:
Captivating image or video
A landing page, above all else, needs to be visually engaging. If someone isn’t already a fan of your website, they won’t start out by immediately reading dense text. If they somehow stumble across your page, you need enticing media, something that captures the essence of your website and holds a visitor’s attention. An exciting or persuasive image should do the trick. Depending on the purpose of your particular site, a video might be a better option, especially if your page deals with a promising business opportunity that requires a little more depth to flesh out.
Descriptive headlines
A primary headline should give the name of your organization. But you should also include a descriptive secondary headline that clearly states the goal, mission or purpose of your site’s existence. There is nothing that will turn off potential visitors more than an uncertain purpose or message on your site. If you don’t know what you’re all about, how can you expect a visitor to decide that your site is appropriate for them? The headline should be bold and simple. Have the confidence to put forth your purpose.
Clear call to action
Just as you need a clear purpose, your users need to clear on your purpose. People have a lot going on in their lives and might not take the time to figure out what they are supposed to do on your website. Tell them what to do in simple, clear terms. Life is complicated. We are all looking for ways to simplify it. Think of Apple’s success story: people are scared of technology because they think it is too complicated, so Apple made everything simple. Simplify your website’s call to action and controls. This means the user should know where they are supposed to click with big buttons and big fonts. The navigation should be sleek and clear.
Short paragraphs
As with the previous points, uninitiated visitors to your site don’t have the time to read long paragraphs or extensive analyses of anything. Visitors will scan your text to see if the site is relevant to their needs. If you don’t organize it with either bullet points or short paragraphs, visitors cannot scan as easily. Keep it short and keep it clutter free.
Proper grammar
Use proper grammar on your entire website. Especially use proper grammar on the landing page. If your landing page contains grammatical errors, people will wonder what else is wrong with your site — or product. Think about visiting the restroom of a restaurant. If it’s kept in immaculate condition, you feel confident in the general upkeep of the entire restaurant. If, on the other hand, the bathroom is in disrepair, you might question the quality of the kitchen. Make sure the grammar in your opening copy is acceptable to prevent suspicions about your overall website.
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