What makes a good home page?

What is the purpose of a landing page or “home page”?

The home page or landing page is the first web page that a viewer sees when visiting your website. The purpose is to give the viewer an accurate overview of who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and why that matters.

Commonly included sections on a website’s home page.

1. Header – This includes your logo, your main navigation as secondary navigation.
2. Tagline/Value proposition – In a few words, what does your business do. Include a CTA (call to action) to your most requested product (the reason why someone is on your website).
3. About – Short description on who you are, how you are different that competition, why someone should trust you, how long you’ve been in business, etc.
4. Product(s) outline – Short description on your most requested product(s).
5. Value proposition – How will it solve the problem. What makes your product different that your competition.
6. Social Proof – Show client/customer testimonials, links to reviews on social media (Facebook Business Page, Google my Business, Yelp! reviews, etc), and past client logos.
7. Footer

Headline that accurately describes to your viewer who you are, what you do, who you do it for (if it’s not extremely obvious), and why that matters.
Try to use common words and phrases and omit jargon if your customer is likely to be unfamiliar with your industry’s terms.
Value proposition (preferably in video format)
CTA (call to action) ask for the sale, start free trial, etc
Navigation
Easy to find and use. Don’t hide in unexpected places.
Don’t add too many labels. Make your menu clear and concise and display the most requested page links.
Leave links to pages that are not frequently requested like (privacy policy, terms & conditions, etc to the links in the footer)
Have the least amount of clicks to get to the most frequently requested pages.
Outline of important pages.
About page: short description of your company and team
Think about questions a new customer would most likely want answered. How long have you been in business? Awards or certifications, statistics, etc.
Product page: most viewed/purchased/popular/requested products
Include call to action (link to purchase, download, or learn more)
Social Proof
Show client or customer testimonials so viewers get a better sense of what people think about you.
Leverage the trust/loyalty from brands you work with by displaying their logos. If a respected brand is willing to work with you, it is more likely that a new customer will too.
Incentives/CTA (give as many reasons why they should purchase/sign up, and after each, display another CTA) This could be testimonials, proof, features, etc.
Footer (included on all pages)
Navigation to main pages
Copyright, privacy policy, terms of use or service
Contact information (address, link to map, phone number, fax)
Social media links
Email sign up to your newsletter
Searchbox