Having a website is today’s digital age is incredibly important. Having a well-made website might be even more important than having one at all.
So what makes a website well-made? It has to fit your brand, easy to navigate, and all of that jazz, absolutely. But what really makes a website effective aren’t necessarily those things. In most cases, the single most important part of your website is the very top portion of your website, that header.
You have 3 seconds to prove to a new visitor that they should be on your website in the first place. You have to find a way to grab the visitor’s attention in those 3 seconds and convince them to continue reading by telling a story. The story should be what you do and why you’re awesome, and you have a few tools to help you make the most important part of your website (the header) really stand out.
The hero image.
The hero image is the image that is shown on the very top of the home page of your website (not all websites have this, but it’s very common today). The hero image is definitely one of the most important parts of your website because it’s going to be the first thing a visitor to your website is going to see. They’ll be drawn to this image before any of the text on your website.
It’s incredibly important to make sure this hero image is telling the story you want it to. It’s important to make sure this image is relatable to the visitors your website will have. Your visitors are going to be very confused if they click a link for a landscaping company and the first image they see is a cup of coffee, or absolutely anything not related to landscaping.
The H1 or header text.
The next most important part of the header of your website is the header text that is over the hero image. Now that your landscaping company’s website has a picture of a beautifully cut lawn, it’s time to make sure people know your landscaping company will fit their needs. For example, in this heading text, you can say something about where your business is located or if you only cut lawns and nothing else, now would be a good time to possibly mention this.
People don’t like wasting their time. And if they’re looking for someone to cut their grass in Milwaukee, but your header says you only deal with landscaping construction jobs in Racine, they’re probably going to get confused and leave. The 3 seconds you have to confirm if the visitor has gotten to the right website is crucial and the heading plays a huge role in this. It’ll also help you by only getting the type of leads you want.
The H2 or subheader text.
The subheader text is also a great tool for a lot of websites. Not all websites utilize subheader text, and that’s completely fine. If you do, a great use of this section is to give a reason to reach out to you over your competition. What separates you? What makes you unique? It’s fun to get creative with this text sometimes as well and add some personality.
The Call-To-Action.
Something pretty much every website should have is a CTA (Call-To-Action). There should be a lot of CTAs on your website, but having one right away when people land on your website is very important. Being able to direct traffic around your website is a talent, and it’s a very beneficial talent. Utilizing a CTAs on your website is a big part of this. The CTA is usually a button with text telling people their next steps should be. “Contact us”, “Free Assessment” are some pretty common ones. The CTA buttons should be colorful and stand out too!
The same information goes for all entry landing pages of your website. The most important part of your website isn’t just on the homepage. Make sure all entry landing pages pass the 3-second test before you’re sending traffic to them and you’ll thank yourself in the long run!