Struggling with what to include on your website’s homepage?

The homepage is by far one of the most important pages of your website. You have little time to attract a visitor’s attention and keep them engaged.

That’s why it’s crucial to really focus on the homepage content and include the following important elements.

What to include on your website homepage to create successful audience engagement:

Your logo front and center on the homepage
Having your logo on the homepage may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to establish your brand right off the bat. Your brand is, of course, much more than your logo, but it will be a strong identifier and key to the look and feel of your website.
Be sure the quality and resolution of your logo file is very good since it will be one of the first things a visitor will see on your homepage.
Standard web design practice is to use your logo as the link to your website’s homepage, so no need to include the word “home” within your main level navigation.
Clear homepage navigation
Give visitors to your homepage a clear path to the content within your website. Your website’s navigation serves as a road map to finding the important information they’re looking for quickly and efficiently. Therefore the navigation should be simple and concise, with links to your website pages containing in-depth content and answers.
The top-level navigation link names should be short, if possible. For example instead of using “Our Professional Services”, simply use “Services”. Also keep the number of top-level links to about five. You don’t want to overwhelm visitors with too many decisions, and risk the possibility of them getting lost in too many pages.
Your headline as an H1 tag on the homepage
Your website’s main headline (or tagline) should be short utilizing just one or two sentences, and include keywords that hit the sweet spots about your business and what kind of client you want to attract. It should be front and center on the homepage of your website, giving viewers the immediate understanding of what your business offers.
A well-written tagline will immediately focus your business offering in a succinct manner, and increase the chance of the visitor sticking around to browse other important pages and information within your website.
There are elements to consider when writing your tagline, so here’s a simple recipe to follow. These items do not have to be in this order, but it’s important that the sentence or statement flows well.
WHAT YOU DO + YOUR IDEAL CLIENT + YOUR KEY DIFFERENTIATOR + CTA

After you craft your headline, be sure to designate that text as a heading 1 or H1 tag for SEO best-practice.

✨Related post: How to write the perfect tagline to attract your ideal customer
An immediate call-to-action (CTA) on the homepage
Think about the number one thing you want a visitor to do when visiting your website’s homepage. In other words, what’s the immediate path you want them to take to go from visitor to customer? Perhaps it’s purchasing a product or service, filling out a form, or signing up with their email address. This is a call-to-action or CTA.
Write a sentence or two and add a button or a link that directs them to take that action right away. You can repeat this CTA throughout your website in different places, but most importantly be sure it’s front and center on your website’s homepage.
Hero image and brand photos within the homepage design
Websites benefit greatly from utilizing photographs on the homepage not only to communicate a message and provide an enriched user experience, but to break up the monotony of text and lead the viewer’s eye to where it should go. You have a split second to capture your visitor’s attention, and an engaging image could be just the thing to draw them in and read more about your business or services.
Your brand photos should connect and speak to your target audience. It needs to communicate a specific message to the right people. If you don’t have any professional brand photos, stock photos are also an option - but should be used sparingly and align with your brand essence.
✨Related post: Create powerful brand imagery to attract and book the right clients
Your service information and differentiators listed on the homepage
You’ve succeeded in getting your visitor’s attention, and now it’s time to let them know why they should choose you and your business over others. What is it about your services that makes them unique? How will you or your services solve your audience's problems and provide value?
Map out your services with a brief description, inviting the visitor to contact you directly about more details.
Your lead magnet or a special offer on the homepage
A popular way to generate leads from your home page is to provide a product or service-related incentive. That could be a downloadable guide, access to a podcast, a demo, a free product sample, or any other content that drives awareness to your business or interest in the services you provide.
Offer your visitors real value with your expert knowledge, simple solutions to their problems, or insight into their profession that may be of help.
To create a sense of trust, the wording and description of your lead magnet should be very clear about the value being offered in exchange for the visitor’s email address.
Readable typography on the homepage for better accessibility
Selecting fonts for your website may seem daunting. If you already have brand typography and guidelines, you may need to find a close match to what’s available for web. Or you may be trying to decide which fonts to pair from the long list of website fonts that Squarespace provides.
The good news is that Squarespace offers some great pre-paired fonts directly within the platform. And with custom CSS, you can also easily add your brand typography to your website.
In all cases, the fonts on your homepage should be easy to read on all devices. It’s best to stick to two different font types (three maximum).
Social proof or testimonials incorporated within the homepage
Adding testimonials or social proof to your website’s homepage is a great indicator of trust. This could include client quotes, customer logos, or project case studies.
Select three or four of your best reviews and highlight them on the homepage. These powerful statements from past clients will paint a picture of how their experience was working with you, the quality of your products or services, and the results of the project collaboration. You can also request the clients’ permission to use their name and photo alongside their testimonial for even more credibility.
Contact form or link from your website’s homepage
Although you have a separate contact page, it’s good practice to include your contact details and a form on your website’s homepage. This gives potential clients the easiest way to reach you and encourages them to take action. The footer is a great place to add these elements, including your social media links.