Audit time! Yep, we’re auditing websites today. Unlike an IRS audit, this one has a much lower risk of jail time and it’ll actually be helpful. So head over to your own website and follow along.
Let’s start with your homepage, the most important question you have to ask yourself is, “Does my homepage make a powerful first impression?” Don’t focus on anything except what’s above the fold for right now (meaning all the stuff you can see without scrolling).
Your goal at this point is simple: get people to stick and click around your website. So what can you show above the fold that prompts that action? There are about a gazillion answers to this, but generally, you should have:
- A simple headline that clearly explains your business
- Something that conveys the usefulness of your product/website
- A CTA that inspires them to take action.
So how about some examples? Here are a few headlines and the websites they come from that fit all three:
- Freshbooks. Their headline is crystal clear: “Small Business Accounting Software That Makes Billing Painless”. Under that, they also have a subheading that makes an emotional appeal, and then a CTA to Get Started on their platform.
- Act-On. “Marketing Automation for Fast-Growing Businesses”. Dang, that is so clear. You don’t even need to go to their website to figure out what they do. They also have a great subheading and a CTA to “See it in Action”.
- Beardbrand. They take a different, but equally compelling tactic with their homepage hero image. They serve up a quiz as the first thing you see on their website with the language, “What Type of Beardsman Are You?” None of us Carnage writers even have beards, but we all want to take that quiz.
- Kutoa leads with the headline “Buy a Bar. Feed a Child.” Then a CTA to shop now. Literally can’t be any clearer than that.
So maybe your business is a little more complex than these examples, but there are still a ton of other examples in this blog post.
