The one page of your website that usually gets the most attention is the homepage. Whether you create a website yourself or employ a design team to do it for you, a great deal of effort is put into the content and visual quality of the homepage, more so than any other page. But, how important is the homepage really?
Why is the homepage given so much attention?
Two common misconceptions are that the homepage creates that first impression and gets the most views so must be the most important. There is an assumption that every user lands on your site on the homepage. This may have been the case in the long-forgotten past when URL addresses had to be typed to find a website, but online behaviour has changed a lot since then. Users can be coming to your site through many side doors now – links from other sites, social media or a search engine. Therefore, someone could visit your site and land on any of the pages.
Remember that the homepage is just one step on your user’s journey and not a final destination. All your pages should be as good as your homepage. Imagine your homepage like the reception of a hotel. This might be your way in, but you don’t want to spend the night in the reception! People who enter hotel receptions, move onto rooms. For help with optimizing your website’s pages, visit a WordPress Web Design in London company like https://happy2host.com
Most website visitors use a homepage for two things. To look at content such as latest news from a news site which is on the homepage, or to bring them a step closer to the content they’re seeking on a deeper page. Most homepages are skipped over in the search for specific information and not general info.
Using Google Analytics can help you to identify where users are spending most of their time on your site. As much traffic bypasses your homepage to get to the content on deeper pages, it’s useful to know where. Find the total number of page views and how long users are staying on those pages. This will help you understand what’s important to your visitors and most interesting. This enables you to optimize your homepage to give a quicker path directly to that content.
Keep it simple. Most users say that an ideal scenario is being able to find what they’re looking for quickly so avoid filling up your homepage with unnecessary information and distractions and embrace a simple, functional design. Embrace simplicity.
When online visitors are seeking specific information, yes, the homepage can lead them to the place to find it, but it often serves as more of a launch pad than a base. You’re unlikely to win over users with your homepage alone so invest your time, effort and optimization on the pages that your users are spending time on.