Your website is your online salesperson, so you should think of your homepage as a welcoming concierge, opening the door to your world with a little bow, plumping the pillows on the virtual sofa, and offering your visitor the best seat in the house. (A seat that feels like it was designed just for them.)

There are no hard and fast rules about what you should include on your homepage but here are five go-to content elements that will encourage conversions and help your reader to…

• understand who you are, what you’re offering, and how it helps them;

• trust your expertise; and

• know exactly what to do next.

Let’s get started.

1.      Hero section

You want your reader to understand what you’re offering in the first few seconds of arriving on your site. They shouldn’t have to scroll or click away to find out.

The best way to do this is to find a concise and compelling way to tell your reader what you do, who you do it for, how it helps them, and what outcome they’ll get.

For example, SaaS company Miro focuses on the benefit first [Take ideas from better to best], then the ‘who’ [your team], the ‘what’ [visual platform], and the outcome [connect, collaborate, and create]. Their headline and subhead tell us nearly everything we need to know. Then the images help tie it together. All in a matter of seconds.

My client Achievingoals wanted a hero section that not only explained who they were [Career, Health & Wellbeing Coach] but also captured the outcome [Unlock barriers, clarify your goals, and move forwards] and the process [one considered and confident step at a time], as well as some important keywords. By the way, it’s important to use keywords on your pages, but make sure you include them naturally.

Here, Canva, the easy-to-use, free design tool uses an enticing question to engage with visitors [What will you design today?]. The sub-headings explain very clearly the benefits of what it does [makes it easy to create professional designs], and what it’s used for [to share or print]. They also reassure the reader that anyone can use it [a perfect fit for everyone]. The graphics show a user-friendly interface and professional-looking results.

How do you get started with your hero section? Begin with your customer. Who are they and what outcomes are they looking for? Then link these to your strengths and the unique benefits you offer your customers.

Now you can start playing around with statements. Try focusing on the outcome or benefits, think about the problems you solve or even your processes. Remember, it will take a few tries to find the perfect hero statement, and that’s fine.

2.      Proof section

How often do you visit a website and search for some reassurance that other people have been happy with the service provided? 

This is where your trust-building section works hard. It might be client logos, places you’ve been published, accreditations, or a strong testimonial. Introduce logos with a ‘Trusted by’ or ‘Working with’ header.

Unless you’re the clear market leader, testimonials are an important feature. They can be especially powerful if they tackle hesitations or FAQs that you know your clients have about your offer. If they see that someone just like them benefitted from your service, they’ll be one huge step closer to purchasing.

If you do have testimonials from clients, ask if you can use their photos too. This adds credibility and impact.

Try to use proof points and testimonials strategically across all your pages rather than having just one page for ‘testimonials’. The constant reminder that other people vouch for your services will be an important conversion-driving tool at key moments.

3.      Problem-to-solution section

Empathise with your customer’s challenge, problem, or situation. Let them know they’re not alone. If you know your audience well enough, you’ll know what their key pain points are. It’s why they’re looking for your solution in the first place.

Validate their situation and alleviate their hesitations. There’s a commonly used copywriting formula called PAS (Pain, Agitate, Solve). You empathise with the pain, remind them how it’s affecting their life, and then offer your solution.

People can get a bit worried about the agitation bit, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend homing in on anything that will make your reader feel worse. However, by reminding them of what they’ll gain with your solution (and what worry they will free themselves of) you’re simply helping them understand the benefits of your solution.

This section is a good place to use benefit-focused sub-headings or to highlight key sections of copy. This leads people’s eyes down the page and tells a story for those who won’t read every word.

Remember, don’t just talk about the features of your service but the benefits and outcomes. This is all your readers are interested in.

You can use ‘future-pacing’ here too. This is when you paint a picture of what life will be like for the reader after they buy your services.

4.      Summary of offer section

This is where you signpost your reader to other pages on your site to find out more about your business and your services.

Again, it’s a good idea to use sub-headings that focus on customer benefits and allow the skim readers to get the gist of the content without reading every word.

This section could include:

• A short summary of your About page. What are your key differentiators? If you are an integral part of your service include a photo and a personable introduction. If your business is larger you can summarise your brand values or story. Then link to your About page.

• A summary of your services. High-level, benefit-focused information about the service(s) you offer and a link to your Services or How I Work page.

• An overview of your processes. If the way you do things is a differentiator, talk about this and the results your clients will see. Link to your How I Work, FAQs, or Contact pages.

5.      Call to Action

Always be thinking about what you want your reader to do next, whether that’s getting in touch, signing up for your newsletter, starting a free trial, or buying something there and then.

This should then be your main Call to Action (CTA). A nice way to do this is to make your CTA buttons value-based, sometimes called a Call to Value.

A Call to Value reminds the reader of the value they’ll get when they click that button. So instead of Get in touch, try Get expert support with my finances or Get conversion-focused copy with personality.

If you can link this Call to Value back to your headline by using similar words, even better.

To summarise…

 Your five conversion-boosting homepage sections are:

1. Hero section

2. Proof section

3. Problem-to-solution section

4. Summary of offer section

5. Call to Action

With these five key content sections in place, your visitors will feel welcomed into your world and understood. They will trust your expertise, connect with your brand values, and know exactly what you want them to do next.

Here’s my CTA :-) …Need a homepage overhaul? Or just want to improve what you’ve already got? I offer a full messaging and conversion copywriting service OR a stand-alone Website Audit that gives you tips to increase the conversions on your existing pages.