One of the most important pages of any website is the homepage. It’s the first page any visitor will see, and it heavily influences whether or not a person will continue looking at your site or if they leave. And even more importantly, it can affect whether someone makes a purchase or not.
Small, medium, or large?
First things first, let’s talk more broadly about your homepage. Just how much content should you have there? There’s no quick answer to this question. Instead, take a mobile-first approach. This means approaching your design as though all your visitors will be using mobile devices. As you build your homepage, check it out periodically on your own mobile device. How long does it take you to scroll through everything; how quickly does it load? The answer to those questions will tell you when you have reached an appropriate amount of content.
Chunkify Your Homepage
Our brains absorb information best through a process called “chunking.” You can make the most of this on your homepage by separating your content into individual sections. To further amplify this effect, use different backgrounds in alternating sections (such as black for one section, white for the next, then black, and so on).
Site Navigation Seven
Short-term memory in humans can generally hold about 5 to 9 items total, with 7 being the magic number. This means that ideally, you won’t have more than 7 different links in your site navigation. If you want to include more than that, consider using submenus. Be sure to limit the number of items in a submenu, too.
Above the Fold
The “fold” is the point at which you have to scroll to see more content. Anything above the fold is what you see when the page first loads, and anything below the fold is only seen once you scroll. It’s a unique term for a unique situation!
You have about 500ms before a visitor forms an opinion about your site, so above the fold content is your biggest opportunity to grab their attention. Choose an eye-catching-image, and add a CTA (call-to-action) button. This makes your above-the-fold content action-oriented, and more likely to get a visitor to do more than just read.
No really, Adam, what content should you add?
In keeping with chunking, you can add small bits of information from the rest of your website. For example, featured items and categories, stories, customer reviews - these are all content that can provide a lot to look at without being overwhelming. If you use Instagram, then adding the Instagram section is also a fantastic addition. The content of that section will be dynamic and different every time someone visits your website.
You should also think about what customers may want to quickly find, such as a contact form for easy communication and a map with your location address and hours.
Put Your Best Footer Forward
Last but not least, let’s talk about your footer. Despite the importance of above-the-fold content, your footer is also very important. 22% of visitors will scroll straight to the bottom of your site, so building a solid footer is important. Include links to your social media profiles if you have them, and add links to important pages of your site.
Adam
Seller Community, Platform
