Create a 'Stop 'Em In Their Tracks' Home Page
Whew! Now that you've made it through that period of deep introspection in deciding the how, why and what of your website content, it's time to look at structuring and laying out your text.
Of course, every website needs a home page where people who are searching for you or the items/services you offer will eventually land.
Think carefully about exactly what you want to put on this page. Pay particular attention to the pictures and text that will be immediately visible at the top part of the screen when your visitors arrive. We computer geeks call this top bit of the page – the part you see before you have to start scrolling down - the ‘first fold’.
The text in the first fold needs to capture the interest of the visitor as quickly and as confidently as possible.
Why? Well, research shows that most surfers make a decision whether to stay and explore a site within 7 seconds. Seven seconds! That’s about how long it takes to read the first two paragraphs of this section, and it’s about how much time you’ve got before Suzy Surfer makes up her mind about you and what you have to offer her.
You can be pretty certain that if it’s not captured her attention in that time then... click! She’ll be gone. Presumably to one of the other 1,785,952 other search options Google.com offered her.
Another fact the research tells us is that once you’ve captured your surfer’s interest, you’ll probably have their attention for about 3 minutes on average. So your other pages will have to offer them something deeper and more interesting to keep them on your site.
Think about the last time you searched for a station you liked on the radio. Did you ‘surf’ from station to station, changing the dial every few seconds until you found something you liked the sound of? Did you perhaps change your mind about the station you chose after you'd listened to the first song?
Keep that experience in mind as you prepare the text for your website. Visitors to your website will respond in much the same way. Most will make a quick 7 second check of the home page to decide if they’ll stay. If they do, they’ll spend about as long as it takes to play an average pop song to decide if they like the website.
Now, let’s suppose your new website greeted Suzy Surfer with the words;
"Hi, and welcome to my website!!!!! I know I've got pictures of the blue widgets here, but please don't try to buy those as I've just run out. There are only green ones left now. This page isn't quiet finished yet, but please bare with me as I’m hoping to get the rest of the pictures up after I come back from my summer vacation (Disneyland, here I come!!!!!)
Before you look round, here’s a pic of the Oficial Keeper of my website, Poochie. He’s a realy cute, totally bossy Terrier/Chiwawa cross, and he keeps me company while I do my work..."
Did you catch exactly what this website is showcasing or selling? Do you know where and how to buy the products? Did you feel an immediate confidence in the business professionalism of the owner of this website? Did you get to see a picture of the owner's work to intrigue and entice you to stay? Are you bored yet? Or are you laughing instead? If you are, is that because you’ve seen more than your fair share of this kind of badly-spelled, unprofessional, poorly designed text out there in cyberspace?
Question for you; just how long do you think the notoriously impatient Suzy Surfer would spend at this site?
A Few More Tips for Your Home Page:
- If you can, include short sections or sentences summarising what visitors can look forward to reading on other pages of the site. These summaries can prove useful in drawing your surfer’s attention to the delights that await them if they choose to stay.
- Create a really interesting 'Meet the Author/Artist/Me' section, and include a taster paragraph on the home page. No doubt about it, the better your Surfer feels they know you, the more likely they are to read other pages of your site. The more likely they are to read the other pages, the more likely they are to glean more information; to get in contact with you; to recommend you to their friends and colleagues; and ultimately, to buy whatever you have to sell!
- Spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck!
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Useful Links - Here's a list of useful resource sites that my clients find useful. Whether you're an author, a visual artist, a musician, performer or photographer, you'll probably find a resource worth checking out here too...
Website Text - Hints and tips on making sure your website text captures the interest of your visitors as quickly and as confidently as possible.
Home Page Structure - Create a 'Stop 'Em In Their Tracks' home page that will capture the interest of your visitors as quickly and as confidently as possible.
Website Pages - Hints and tips on choosing the most suitable page types and titles for your website.
Content Maintenance - Get a head start on your competition by ensuring your website content is freshly updated from time to time. It engages your visitors and encourages them to return, and the Search Engines love it!
Directories - A list of online Directories where you can submit your website domain name - a great way to start building up some quality links pointing towards your website.
Search Engines - Submit your website domain name to the Search Engines so that your fabulous new site doesn't languish unknown and unvisited because no-one knows you're out in Cyberspace.
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