Developing a website is the most common approach for businesses to establish a robust online presence. It helps businesses connect deeply with their respective stakeholders. A website consists of many pages, and within them, the most important one is the home page. When users visit a website, they notice the elements within the homepage, such as branding elements, about us, a mission and vision statement, and many others. Thus, it is important to optimise and design the homepages of websites to maintain a good reputation and stay connected with stakeholders. As a website design company in Kolkata, we are going to share 10 critical elements every website’s homepage must have.
- Branding elements
A homepage is an ideal place where a business can represent itself as a brand with the integration of branding elements such as logo, colour, taglines or slogans, CTA buttons, typography, brand story or mission statement, and many others. The positioning of elements such as logos, CTAs, and other elements needs to be crafted to attract users on their first visit. Thus, it is important to craft compelling text content such as taglines and mission statements, use appealing colour schemes, and maintain consistency in typography and other elements.
- A hero section
This is the most eye-catching section of the home page, where websites mainly use large images or slideshows placed under the navigation bar. It is a common mistake made by many website designers that they use the hero section for aesthetic purposes when it should also contain some information related to your business, such as a mission statement or tagline. Using these in the hero section, along with aesthetic graphics elements, can also be an indication of legitimacy to users.
- Call to action (CTA)
From our experience as a website design company in Kolkata, we have seen many businesses develop websites for various purposes, but one of the most common is to make sales or generate leads. In such scenarios, CTA is very instrumental as it can redirect users to purchasing something or to share their contact information in one click using CTA buttons. Thus, placing a CTA can be an extra step towards fulfilling the business goals of the website.
- Clear navigation menus
This is the most important part of any website’s homepage unless your website is a static one. The home page is the page where you have to mandatorily include an intuitive navigation menu so that users can understand your website much better through intuitive navigation.
- Appealing colour scheme
The overall look of your website depends a lot on the colour scheme you are using. The colour scheme of your website must influence people directly and should make them fall in love with your brand. It is better to use colour schemes as per your branding needs. For example, if you consider visiting any brand’s website, you will find that they have used the same colour scheme as their logo and brand. For example, KFC’s website uses white and red, Starbucks’ website uses white and green, and the list goes on.
- Images
Images comprise a considerable portion of most home pages of business websites. Designers should not use it to fill up the vacant spaces within your homepage; rather, it should be used to represent your brand’s personality or ideas and fruitfully represent them to your viewers. It is recommended to avoid using generic stock images if not needed and instead use original images related to your business, people, or brand.
- Eye-pleasing typography
Typography stands out as another vital element within your homepage that can be used to keep users engaged with your website. The goal of the typography should be to keep it simple and minimal so that users can find it easier to read and access. It can also be used as a visual element if used properly, bringing out your brand’s personality in front of users.
- Social proof
Maintaining your brand’s reputation involves building trust with your customers or other stakeholders. It can be done by highlighting the reviews and testimonials on the homepage of your website. However, it is equally important to make sure that it does not look like you are overselling yourself.
- Information about your organisation
Adding information about your organisation, such as business type, industry, employees, work culture, and goals, can be instrumental in gaining the trust and loyalty of your targeted user base. Information about your team and work culture is a popular practice that reflects professionalism, and similarly, for an e-commerce website, a description of the specific product types you sell or some values that can positively influence purchasing behaviour can be used.
- Contact information
From our experience as a website design company in Kolkata, we can strongly say that this is a must. Every website all over the world uses contact information on its homepage; it can be any piece of information, starting from an email to a geographical address. Thus, it is mandatory to include contact information, and its placement depends on the type of business you are running and its goals. If you want your visitors to find it quickly, then you can add it in the header; otherwise, if your website does not aim to convert, then you can add it in the footer. Many websites also create a separate section of contact where they provide contact details of many people from whom users can find relevant people to contact.
Esspesoft is the best website design company in Kolkata, providing the best website design solutions for more than five years. Our website designers in Kolkata are highly experienced in designing websites as per business requirements and niches. They can transform your ideas into realities through stunning website design. With us, you can expect full transparency in communication, support, and guidance throughout and after the development life cycle. Visit our website and contact us for more information.