Ten Homepage Musts for Your Mobile Friendly Website

If you’re looking to redesign your website or give your current site a tune-up, we’ve put together a list of the top ten elements you need to consider for an effective homepage on a mobile friendly website.

1. Logo and Contact Information –

This might seem pretty obvious, but it’s important that users can see your logo as they land on your website. It helps them feel confident they’ve landed in the right place. We recommend putting your logo in the header and possibly in the footer as well. We also encourage companies to make their contact information readily available on the homepage, usually in a couple of places. For example, you could have a button pinned to the top of your site that lets users click to call you. Another example would be having your physical address, mailing address, and/or email address in the footer for quick reference. This comes in handy for people navigating, because they can click on your address and their phone will populate directions in their maps apps.

2. First Impression –

The next element to consider is what first impression you want users to have when your homepage first loads. There’s definitely more than one way to make a good first impression, such as an eye catching hero image, or maybe a scrolling set of images. Or perhaps you have a quality video you want people to see front and center. Whatever it is, make sure the impression it gives people about your business is not only professional to look at, but also adequately represents the vibe and personality of your brand.

3. Easy-to-Read Headings –

We are all guilty of being impatient as we browse the internet. And your customers are no different. Use bold, easy-to-read headings to label the different sections of your homepage, so that users who are scrolling down the homepage looking for something in particular can find it easily and stop scrolling when they find the right section.

4. Call to Action –

The goal of your website is not only to look pretty, but also to function well in capturing leads or eliciting a response from your customers. This could be prompting them to shop or checkout online, it could be asking them to subscribe to your blog, or perhaps you want them to make an appointment or request a free quote. Be sure to include a call to action in numerous places – a call now button, a form for requesting pricing, a shopping gallery where they can browse your products and buy online. Whatever it is you want your customers to do, make it easy for them to respond.

5. Images –

Vibrant, professional images will help people stay engaged and start browsing more easily. If your website has too much text in relation to how many images are on the site, you’ll lose customers’ attention and they’ll move on.

PRO TIP – Be sure to name the images on your site with searchable keywords to improve your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Also be sure to use the SEO features of your website builder to add keywords, image descriptions, tags, etc from the back end. Images are one of the most searchable aspects of your site!

6. Navigation –

For the main menu of your website, try to make sure the navigation points are easy to use and understand. We recommend odd numbers for symmetry, so having either 3, 5, or 7 items in the main menu will look the most aesthetically pleasing.

7. Social Links –

Getting a visitor on your site once is great, but your next goal should be to capture them as a social media follower so you can build a relationship with them online over time. Adding social media links to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube channel, etc would be a good start. Or even better, add a social widget that allows people to follow you without leaving your website.

8. Success Indicators –

You can tell potential customers all day long how great you are, but it’ll mean a lot more coming from another source. Testimonials can be a great way to influence website users with the words of other customers that enjoyed their experience with your company. You could also display affiliations with associations such as the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, etc to create legitimacy. Lastly, if you’ve received professional awards, be sure to display that somewhere on your website, either near the bottom of the homepage or on your About page.

9. Avoid Excess Animation –

We all love a subtle animation or a hover effect to add wow factor. However, it’s important to keep in mind that many platforms automatically disable these effects on the mobile version of your website. So don’t get too carried away with hover effects, moving animations, etc. Be sure to thoroughly check the mobile version of your website to look for issues like this.

10. Avoid Digital Friction –

Think more scrolling and less clicking. Your website should function as much like social media as possible. People will scroll and browse endlessly, but the less you make them navigate back to your main menu and wait for pages to load, the better. So consolidate the pages of your website down into as few as possible without making them too cluttered or random. Also consider pinning your mobile menu so it’s easy to get to at all times without having to scroll back to the top. Another helpful tip is to put “back to top” icons or buttons at the bottom of each page, along with a secondary text or button menu that lets them continue browsing without going back up to the main menu.

Now that you’ve seen our top ten recommendations for improving your mobile friendly homepage, hopefully you’ll feel empowered and inspired to get started. But, keep in mind that we’re always here if you need help!