13 Apr How Much Information Should Be On Your Home Page?

There is nothing worse than landing on the home page of a website and having to sift through a short novel to find the information you’re looking for. Conversely, you don’t want to have to little information or your prospects may jump ship thinking you can’t help them.

What is the answer? Unfortunately there is no set formula; there are a lot of variables at play. What do you want your visitors to accomplish on your home page? What information do they need in order to take some sort of action? How aware are they that a solution exists to their problems, and that you have it?

79% of users scan a home page and only 16% actually read your copy, according to a Neilson Norman Group study. Making your home page copy more scannable and less full of marketing hype increases usability by 124%. Website visitors will read information they can quickly find.

The length of your copy should be determined by two goals: what action you want your customers to take and what information they need to do so. Your page needs a reason for being, not just a “home base,” such as a landing page, an opt-in page, a place to sign up for an account, or a purchase page. Then you must know your customers’ motivations in order to use copy to persuade them to take the next step.

Address any objections, concerns or fears early in the copy so they do not impede the action you want them to take. A few bullet points addressing these, a short paragraph to back up your argument, and a call to action is the perfect formula for this.

It’s not about the length of your copy; it’s about writing just enough to convert your audience based on what you already know about them.

How about you? What critical information do you think needs to be on a home page? Share your comments below!

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