Clarity of message
Often website owners assume that a visitor knows the exact nature of their business and products and that visitors specifically searched for their website. When deciding on a homepage layout and its elements it is best to create a focus point that emphasis’s 2 very important messages: “who are we?” and “what do we do?”
Unique Sales Proposition (USP).
Your homepage needs to state exactly what you offer. If a visitor has to try to figure it out based on a few images or a logo they will click away to another site that makes sense to them. Both for the sake of search engines and your website visitors, include a one or two sentence statement of exactly what your store is about.
Call to Action
A “call to action” is an item on your home page specifically designed to excite action from the visitor. In most cases this action would be as simple as getting a visitor to click through from the homepage to look for more information. Other examples of a call to action are “click here to receive our free newsletter”, “online calculator (fees and rates)”, “Read more on our latest developments”.
Educating your Visitors
In terms of placing content on your website it is best to place industry and product-related information on your website. A potential client is more likely to read content in bullet points or divided under headings than long paragraphs. Most website owners underestimate the value of a Frequently Asked Questions (or “FAQ’s”) page. It is a good idea to invest in providing answers to the questions that you know are likely to be asked.
Urgency or Specials
Test an offer (a discount, a free gift.) that is linked to a sense of urgency so that your customers order right away, instead of deciding they need more time to think. But make sure the urgency is credible and realistic, or you'll lose trust.
Establishing Credibility
Signing up with regulatory organizations indicates your involvement in the industry and that your company upholds certain standards. Briefly indicating certifications, awards and relevant memberships can be invaluable to increasing your “visit-to-sale” conversion rate. Also when collecting information from client in the form of feedback forms you need to eliminate all anxieties by clearly reassuring users that you won't misuse any personal information, that you offer secure transactions, and are trustworthy.
