I was recently working on a website homepage header mockup. I often share mockups with my clients to make sure we are on track with their vision. In some cases, their vision is that they have a new website that’s better than the one they have now. And they need me to create the vision for them. Which I do with much happiness and creative enthusiasm.

I know that it’s unreasonable for my client to know every intention behind the homepage header, and other website details. And that’s okay! That’s literally why my job exists, right? Clients will look at the preview and identify their favorite details and get an idea for how the rest of the site design will look. But, it’s my job to make sure all the strategy and optimization essentials are there in addition to a stunning design.

Here’s the actual mockup I was working on. Now let’s look at each of the connection and conversion marketing elements in this particular website homepage header. Shall we?

Brand Recognition

This one might sound obvious but it belongs on this list. When someone comes to your website they need immediate clarity on the business. You can use your colors, fonts, a quality logo, and a good photo to make it avoid any confusion for new browsers when they arrive and see your website homepage header. When a new lead is able to easily understand what business they are viewing, their focus can easily move on to looking for the answer they need. The goal is to make it a seamless experience from the time someone lands on your website to when they reach out or visit you in person. Every time their brain has to pause and “figure out” something on your website, the likelihood of converting that lead decreases.

Business Personality

Every business has its own personality, and it should be obvious from the moment someone discovers yours. No matter what that personality is it needs to be relevant, authoritative, connecting, and trustworthy. The type of lighting in your photos, font pairings, and website copy will either help or hurt your business personality. If your website is slow, clunky, or dated your viewers will assume the same about your business service. And that stinks because your business is probably really amazing, but they won’t stick around long enough to ever find out.

Story Imagery

From the moment we see a photo, we begin telling ourselves a story about it. That’s why your imagery needs to be intentional and high quality. You can see in the above photo that the image is of a modern, interior office space. It has great natural lighting, gorgeous finishes, and is a totally different representation of general construction than say, for example, the steel frame of a partially built parking garage. How you interpret “mid size general construction company” totally changes based on which of those images I place in the website homepage header. Photos help us share important information with less words. Since your website is being browsed and not read top to bottom like a brochure, the photos you choose help ensure the right information is understood and remembered.

Clear Business Identity

This one is really simple. Don’t make it hard to see the name of your business or context about what you do. You can see in the above website header mockup it doesn’t clearly state the industry. In my final version, I might want to reconsider adding that detail higher up on the homepage so it’s visible without any additional scrolling.

Hero Statement

This clarifying, bold statement is likely the first thing someone sees when they land on your website. It’s something you’ll want to use with great purpose. There are a few ways you can do that. First, by communicating what it is you do or offer. Secondly, share a value or outcome that your ideal client will connect with. Be sure the statement is clear and shares actual information and isn’t just something clever that means nothing to a new visitor. Clever is fun, but it doesn’t solve anything for your customers. When a new lead finishes reading that sentence you don’t want their next thought to be, “okay, but like what is it exactly that you do??”

Customer Connection

All of the elements we’ve covered so far ultimately create customer connection. You’re helping them connect to the idea that you can serve them, your service is something they admire or aspire to have for themselves, and they want to continue to further invest their time into learning more about your business. If you fail on accomplishing a connection by this point, it’s likely they’ll never even look at the rest of your website. If they don’t feel an instant connection, they’re most likely to continue searching elsewhere. In current culture, it’s become necessary that we provide instant gratification to consumers. That means we give them the right information without making them work too hard to find it.

Call to Action

Another really easy way to help your website visitors is to give them easy directions on where to go next from your website. If your website is perfectly designed, says all the right things, and is exactly what your customer is looking for but they don’t know what to do afterward then it won’t really matter. By telling them early on in the website homepage header what they need to do to book with you they will be able to take that step the moment they’re ready. There won’t be any hesitation or confusion because you’ve told them exactly what to do from here.

Trust & Authority

This is another one that we’ve been building to through everything we’ve covered so far. Always be thinking about your customer. What do they need to see from you in order to trust you with their money? How can you help them feel great about investing with you? You can see this particular website homepage header has the year it was established and the states they serve. Both speak to building trust with their customers and authority in their industry.

Easy to Use Navigation

Here’s another common way to lose your website viewer even if your website is amazing. Confusing navigation is an easy deterrent for keeping people on your website longer. Keep your navigation bar simple, clear, and only inclusive of the essentials. You can add extra links in your website footer, but keep your navigation clean, simple, and easy to use.

You’re Ready to Create Your Website Homepage Header!

If you’re looking for more information on creating a stunning and strategic website, you’ll want to read this post that shares more information just like this, but for the rest of your website. And then check out this post that breaks down how you can get amazing photos for your new website.

I’d love for you to join me on Instagram where I share more tips like these, behind the scenes, and other fun business details as I continue growing my own business by serving amazing customers just like you.