When it comes to building a website, most marketers think “home page.” When you review WordPress themes, a key differentiator is the home page layout.
But home pages aren’t what they used to be. When you’re looking at websites, you might find yourself thinking, “This isn’t what my mentor’s home page looked like.”
And that’s a good thing.
Belief #1: Your home page should share your story.
Interpretation: People giving this advice will view their Home Page as a place to make a personal connection with visitors.
Reality: You do need to establish personal connections with visitors. But these days, the best way to establish a connection is to add someone to your list. You can connect momentarily on a personal (or non-personal) level. One minute later, the visitor is gone, just like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. All that’s left is the grin …. i.e., a new name for your opt-in list.
Additionally, the notion of “your story” has begun to change. More and more, we’re realizing that every business owner has multiple stories — not just one. Specifically, the story of “how I came to be here” will resonate with some markets — but not all. Do you really care if your cardiologist has recovered from a heart attack?
If you’d like to learn more about why these stories won’t work, check out my Amazon kindle book – free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers: Grow Your Business One Story At A Time.
Belief #2: Your home page shouldn’t be a landing page.
Interpretation: These marketers believe the primary role of your home page is to help visitors decide if they want to work with you.
Reality: Many of us (including me) used to say, “Your home page needs to answer the question, ‘Am I in the right place if I need a certain type of service?'”
Belief #3: Your home page should be LONG.
Interpretation: Visitors will spend a lot of time on your home page.
Reality: Home pages have fewer words today – sometimes a lot fewer. Designers encourage you to use bigger type to communicate visually the importance of your ideas. They also prominently feature images. Large images — often taking up all the space above the fold — have become popular. Free graphic programs like Canva make it easy to superimpose text on the photos.
If visitors want to learn more, they’ll dig deeper into your website.
Why not? Lots of successful people do that.
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