Your Home Page

"How many times have you tried to access a website only to have to wait while the 'flash' intro loads?"

"And how many times have you 'clicked off' in frustration?"

The main reason that people use the Internet is to get information. And they want it quickly. So, unless, you’re a frustrated graphic designer, a special effects expert or an audio-visual nut, the best advice I can give you is forget the flashy graphics and focus on what's really important – the content.

First, get your homepage right. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that your homepage sets out clearly, quickly and simply:

• What’s on your site

• Where to find it

• How to contact you

• Why they should explore further - decide what you want people to do on your homepage

Everything else is subordinate to these four tasks.

As a general rule your homepage should look slightly different to the rest of your site. It’s then recognisable as the base camp to which visitors can return and from which they can explore.

A common homepage mistake is to write too much so, unless your homepage is a sales letter, 'don’t tell them – tell them what you’re going to tell them'.

Most people don’t read websites – they scan them. There are billions of pages out there and life isn’t long enough to read them all.

Split your homepage into chunks so that visitors can quickly assess whether there’s anything on your site they want. Link to more detailed content on separate pages.

These pages should be written so that they appeal both to your readers and the search engines. You need to include plenty of keywords and phrases so that the engines’ robots detect the high relevance of your site to the keywords you’ve identified as important in your market.

"Keep It Simple"