Essential Home Page Elements for a User-Friendly Maryland Web Design

A very important part of every Maryland web design or redesign is the home page, because it is likely the page that most, if not all of your visitors will see. There are millions of web pages and hundreds or thousands on most topics, so visitors have a large variety of web pages to choose from when searching for information. Your Maryland web design must capture their attention in just a few seconds, and it must make it easy and compelling for the visitor to navigate to the specific page with the information the are seeking. A poorly designed home page will loose you a visitor quickly.

Your home page should contain the following:

• Company Brand (Logo, name, tagline)
• Movie, flash header, or image that quickly identifies the essence of your web site. There can also be accompanying text.
• Highlights of your best sellers or deals
• Inspire trust with testimonials, guarantees, awards, partners or affiliates
• Phrases your customers would use to search for your products or services
• Contact information (many sites add a contact form right on the home page)
• Call to action
• “Sticky” elements that make visitors want to return often
• Easy navigation - horizontal, vertical or combination of both to any page on the website
• A large footer, something like a table of content at the bottom of every page
• Links to the important pages of your website, including privacy policy, terms of use and sitemap
• Copyright
• If your site is an ecommerce site your home page should also have the following information displayed prominently:
• Cart and login information
• Search
• Specials or coupons
• An obvious link to shipping information
• Secure site verification
• Credit cards and payment accepted

Every home page should contain some copy that explains (using search phrases) your products or services and encourages your visitors to click deeper into your web site. The most important message should be contained in a few short sentences under the header, and secondary text for search engines can be contained lower on the website. Remember that your home page is the first impression (basically your store front) and you should keep it clean and inviting.

In addition, make sure your home page does not look dated by a small width or boxy navigation. Make use of the whole page width (up to 980 pixels). Make your page as personal as possible by showing photos of employees or testimonials from satisfied customers.

For important links to pages you want visitors to notice, use thumbnail graphics or icons such as a link to the company Facebook page.

The tricky part is cramming all this valuable information onto one page, and making it look clean and inviting. Sometimes it is best to use the services of an experienced web design team to create the home page your company needs. If possible, before contacting a Maryland web design firm, sketch a design with all the elements necessary. This will help you have a constructive conversation with the designer and will lead to a better overall Maryland Web design experience.