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Like a newspaper as well as any
direct response marketing process, a web site's front page must
captivate its audience and cause them to read further. It must first
grab a reader's attention and then lead them to a specific outcome.
However, when the mechanics of that very first page are ignored, it
causes visitors to click out of a site from the moment they arrive.
Although some websites get a large number of
hits, many never seem to produce the anticipated level of response.
This article does not focus on traffic generation or the programming
elements, but on its content, copy, looks and consistency that will
effectively captivate that traffic's attention. In other words, it is
to compel today's leery and undiscerning audience to surf deeper into
your site and to ultimately lead them to buy from you.
Every single day, your customers are bombarded with a continuous flow
of information and marketing messages, and that the competition for
their attention is exceedingly fierce. Therefore, if your site is but
a silent billboard in cyberspace, it won't do you much good. You have
to capture their attention so that not only you have them visit deeper
into your site and generate sales but also have them visit your site
again and again as well as refer your site to others. Here are some
basic rules to follow when designing a front page:
Be Focused
Target your market! As the adage
goes: "You can not be all things to all people." It's a paradox but
you will indeed get more with less. This means focusing on a specific
group of visitors. Cater to their unique needs or center your site on
a strong, single theme. In other words, focus like a laser on your
niche and, consequently, your site will burn into their minds.
J. Nicholas Schmidt of Profit Stream, Inc. at
http://www.profitstream.com is the master when it comes to the
"theme store" concept. According to Schmidt, websites centered on a
very narrow theme will create visitors of greater interest, and
especially will generate leads that are much more pre-qualified and
apt to buy. Look at it this way: When you narrow down your message and
focus on a niche, visitors will be 50% sold the minute they hit your
first page. Naturally, it will then be up to your content (i.e., your
copy, offer and call-to-action) to take them through the remaining
50%.
Niche marketing on the web is
particularly important since people do not have the time to sift
through an entire site -- let alone a search engine or even the
Internet for that matter -- to find exactly that for which they are
looking. If your site is unique, highly specialized and focused,
people will be inclined to surf deeper into your site once they hit
the first page. Not only will the content be far more credible but it
will also be easier to lead visitors to a successful outcome since
visitors are in fact pre-qualified once they hit your site.
Be Specific
What exactly do you want your
visitors to do? Simple question, isn't it? But it doesn't seem that
way with the many sites I've visited. The KISS principle (keep
it simple, straightforward) is immensely important on the 'Net. An
effective web site must have a specific goal. It should have a clear
objective that will lead to a specific action or outcome. If your site
is not meant to, say, sell a product, gain a customer, or obtain an
inquiry for more information, then what exactly must it do? Work
around the answer as specifically as possible.
Don't be vague. For instance, is your site meant to be like a résumé
or billboard that only advertises the fact that you are open for
business? It shouldn't, unless you are intimately involved with that
specific medium (i.e., you are a web designer or, in other words, your
site is the product in itself). If not, is it to generate
qualified leads? Is it to sell a particular product? Is it to solicit
inquiries? Is it to increase memberships? You get the picture.
The mind hates confusion. Visitors can only do one thing at a time. If
they have to do too many things on the front page, they will do
nothing. If you want to offer a variety of different options, then try
to focus on one alone and create other pages that are each respective
to a particular action, and then link them together at the appropriate
locations for flow. In essence, keep your message focused. Use
one major theme and revolve your message around it.
Be Clear
When you are in the process of
buying a book for instance, the one thing that has attracted you is
the cover (if you're not aware of the author beforehand, and even then
the cover plays a key role). If the proverb "Don't judge books by
their covers" exists, it's because we as humans have the natural
inclination to do so. Newspapers capitalize on that intrinsic human
behavior, which is why front-page headlines, pictures, and news
articles are always carefully selected.
In fact, the most read part of a newspaper is not only the front page
but also the top section (or "above the fold"). Websites are no
different. The front page of your site should be treated like the
front page of a newspaper. Like the cover of a book, it should entice
readers to surf further into the site and not lead them to take action
right then and there -- unless your site is a single page. Focus on
your site's major benefit "above the fold" and keep your copy to the
point. Use bold, attention-grabbing headlines and subheadlines (even
surheadlines) to emphasize a major theme and the benefit your site
offers.
Why should a visitor surf your site? What's in it for her? Communicate
to the visitor the reasons why they should browse further. A great
technique for doing so is to use a bulleted list of benefits (such as
when it follows the words "with this site, you get," "in this site,
you will find," "by visiting this site, you will learn" or "here are
the reasons why you should browse this site"). In
http://SuccessDoctor.com/articles/article17.htm, I described
the fact that bulleted benefit lists not only give a visual break but
are also effective since they are short, to-the-point, and clustered
for greater impact.
Present a problem and emphasize it.
Focus on an existing gap -- the gap between a problem that the visitor
is currently experiencing (or one that the visitor may experience
without the benefits of your offer) and its solution. And then show
what your site brings to the table by telling your visitors how, by
surfing deeper, they will be able to fill that gap. The first page
must confirm that there is a problem and show how you can solve it by
surfing deeper.
Be Simple
Unlike the TV or radio,
computers are still not considered as household items. While they are
well on their way, the computer as well as the Internet are still in
their infancy. Earlier computers, less capable browsers, and slower
modems are still the norm. As a result, too much background,
Javascript, frames, plug-ins, and memory-intensive graphics may work
against you. Many potential sales are lost due to a slow-loading,
unbrowsable web site.
Your site should download fast. According to an article published in
"Home Business Magazine" (see
http://homebusinessmag.com), research by an on-hold phone
message marketing company found that people start hanging up when put
on hold for more than 30 seconds. The Internet is certainly no
different. If they have to wait for more than 30 seconds for your page
to load, visitors will leave. In short, if they have to wait, they
won't.
Often, people say that our society has entered the "information
revolution." Not so. It's the "access to information" revolution. The
ability to retrieve information in nanosecond speed is the underlying
drive behind the Internet. Therefore, anything that slows that ability
down (such as by having a memory-intense front page), especially when
compared to quicker loading competitor sites, will cost you in lost
sales. Nevertheless, always keep in mind that you are allowed but a
brief moment to capture your visitors' attention before they leave.
Be Professional
They say that you never get a
second chance to make a first impression. Good impressions are
therefore important to the degree that visitors are positively
impacted by the first page. It is where the selling process actually
begins. It surprises me when I stumble onto some sites that smack of
being put together horrendously quick -- even when the company is
reputable.
Presenting a professional image on the Internet is crucial since the
computer screen is really the only thing that separates you from the
visitor. Consistency, color and content (i.e., the three "Cs") are
probably the three most important elements of a repeatedly revisited
and often referred web site. The front page must therefore be clean,
concise, and clear. It must appeal to your audience by using a
language that they can easily understand. Visitors often react with
hostility to a site whose message confuses them.
As
Og Madino once said, "It's the little things that count."
A final caveat, though. The first page should not be the only one that
follows the above rules. Applying most of these pointers to an entire
site should be carefully considered. Needless to say, however, that if
you are able to make visitors pass through that all-important first
page hurdle, then persuading them to take action later on should be a
cinch.
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