Your homepage is the single most powerful tool you have to build a relationship with potential customers and encourage them to try your product or service.

(Outside of actual salespeople, of course.)

It’s the first thing visitors see when they arrive at your website via a search engine or a link on another site.  It has to introduce your business and products in a way that makes people eager to learn more about them.  Outside of actual salespeople, it’s the single most powerful tool you have to build a relationship with potential customers and encourage them to try your product or service.

The Draw Shop, Home of Kick-Butt Whiteboard and Cartoon Animation Videos

But if your homepage isn’t doing a great job of providing people with the information they’re looking for and making it easy for them to take action, you’re not getting the results you should be getting.

Here are five signs that your homepage is costing you sales:

  1. There’s no clear headline. All the text is roughly the same size and there’s no clear standout headline that immediately tells people how they’re going to benefit by sticking around and learning more.

  2. It’s hard to read. You’re using light font on a dark background, or your paragraphs are too long, or you’ve included more text than people can easily read at a glance.

    Remember, it takes visitors less than eight seconds to decide if they want to explore your site further.  If you make it at all difficult for them to read your message, they’re going to click away faster than you can say, “Wait! Come back! Our products are awesome—you’re going to love them! Seriously!”

  3. There’s no call to action. At no point on the homepage do you tell visitors to DO something – watch a video, click on a link, subscribe to a mailing list, or, you know, MAKE A PURCHASE.

    It’s not enough just to tell people to do something, though—your call to action must be large and obvious.  Put it in a larger font and use a button or graphic box to set it apart from the rest of the copy so people can easily see it.

  4. Aesthetics trump information. Meaning, most of your homepage’s real estate is taken up by pretty pictures or other purely graphic elements. There are very few words on the page and visitors have to dig deeper if they want to get a clear idea of what it is you offer.

    The thing is, people come to a website looking for information—and you have to make sure they’re able to find it as quickly and easily as possible. If you make people have to click through some minimalistic homepage or wait as a Flash presentation loads, you’re losing a sizeable chunk of customers right off the bat.

  5. It looks like every other homepage out there.  Check out a few of your competitors’ sites.  How is yours different from theirs?  Is there anything on your site that really stands out and leaves a strong impression in people’s minds?

    If your answer is “no,” then you’re almost certainly losing sales simply by getting lost in the shuffle.  You’ve got to make sure your homepage clearly conveys a sense of personality and showcases what makes you unique and awesome.

    (And of course whiteboard and cartoon animation video is a great tool for this!)

Need to spice up your homepage to increase your conversions?

If you’re concerned that your website’s homepage isn’t doing a great job of communicating your core message and converting visitors into leads and customers, give us a call, email us, or send a carrier pigeon!  We’d be happy to spend 20 minutes letting you know how a whiteboard and cartoon animation video will fit into your homepage and boost its effectiveness.

Call 858-432-DRAW or email [email protected] or send carrier pigeons straight to Summer’s house.  (She loves them!)