Donna Kozik, Copywriter

How well is your home page working for you? Time and time again I see businesses blowing their first online impression by making these big mistakes.

1. Wasting the top of your home page copy with a lame headline. (My vote for worst offender: “Welcome to my website.”) This is prime location—make it work for you by staking your claim with a strong statement.
2. Not giving people something to focus on. What do you want visitors to do most? Sign up for your newsletter? Click over to your product page? Whatever it is, make it so the eye is drawn first to that item. (By the way, the upper left or right hand corners are the Boardwalk and Park Place of your webpage.)
3. Cluttering things up with too many graphics, boxes and pictures. Highlight two or three other actionable items and make sales copy sing with short sentences and subheads.
4. Hiding contact information. Phone numbers, e-mail links and addresses should be prominent, even repeated, on your homepage.
5. Making copy unreadable. Black copy on white screen is best, and I’ve come around to not frown at white on black so often. Except to highlight a sentence or two in sales copy, leave the rest of the colors in the electronic crayon box.

Think your homepage deserves raves? Or want my take on what could possibly improve your online first impression? Drop me a line with your link at Donna@DonnaKozik.com, and I’ll be happy to take a look.

Labels: Better web copy, words on home page