How to Write Great Copy for Your Website Homepage

June 16, 2021

How to write great copy for your website homepage.

Wondering how to write great copy for your website homepage? Want your homepage content to be content that converts?

Think of your website’s homepage as your business’ online dating profile.

Your website’s homepage gives your audience their first impression of who you are and what you’re all about; it’s your first (and, perhaps, only) opportunity to say, “Here I am — your Prince Charming!”

Because of this, you will need to have both a compelling design for your website and expertly crafted content.

In this article, we’ll walk you through some of key elements of successful homepage copy, covering the following topics:

Know the purpose of your homepage.
Act quickly.
Write for your target audience.
Create a roadmap.
Keep it short.
Write a great hero statement.
Tell your audience what you’re offering.
Tell your audience who you are.
Share (social) proof.
Make it about your audience.

So, let’s get started with explaining how to write effective copy for your website’s homepage.

1. Know the purpose of your homepage.

Your website’s homepage is a pretty big deal.

If you think of your company’s website as a hotel, then your homepage is like the concierge working the front desk.

Your homepage should make guests feel welcome, answer their questions succinctly and directly, and, when your guests require more in-depth assistance, it should help guide your guests to the appropriate departments.

So, you can think of your homepage as your audience’s first impression of who you are and what you have to offer — it’s the gatekeeper to your business, to your services.

If your gatekeeper does its job well, guests will feel welcome, appreciated, and understood, and they’ll want to stay at your hotel.

However, if your gatekeeper is rough around the edges and isn’t able to answer your guest’s questions adequately, your guests will likely be put off and will opt to stay at another hotel.

So, in writing copy for your homepage, you will want to keep in mind that the purpose of your homepage is to provide your audience with an impactful and positive first impression of your business, while also being user-friendly and functional; your homepage needs to give your audience everything they have come to expect from a company homepage and everything they need to engage with you further.

2. Act quickly.

You’re working against time here.

When someone pops onto your homepage, they are usually looking for specific information.

So, you will either need to give them that information right away or provide them with immediate assurance that you will get them to the right place promptly and effortlessly.

Certainly, you need to quickly let your visitor know what your business does. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But you’d be surprised at the number of sites that are so busy trying to dazzle their audience that they forget to immediately let their audience know what they do.

So, you’ll need to be sure that you let your audience know upfront what you do.

But you’ll also want to let your audience know very quickly what the benefits of your services are. How will your audience’s lives improve if they choose to do business with you?

So, if you let your audience know you make householder cleaners, you’ll also need to quickly provide them with a sense of why they might want to choose your products over your competitors’.

3. Write for your target audience.

You should have a specific demographic in mind when you are creating the copy for your homepage. This will allow you to set the tone of your writing.

What sorts of people are going to be landing on your site? Who are you trying to appeal to? Figure that out first, then be sure to work with your marketing team to ensure that you understand those people.

To write effectively for your target audience, you will need to have a thorough understanding of their needs, interests, and pain points.

For example, if you’re an e-commerce business selling high-end custom frames, your homepage will likely be reaching and targeting a difference audience than a mom and pop dessert shop.

So, be sure that your homepage content speaks directly and personally to your target audience.

4. Create a roadmap.

Your homepage content should have a clear “flow” to it and should allow your audience to easily apprehend where they need to go for further information.

Because you typically only have your audience’s attention for a few seconds, you’ve also got to ensure that you provide this in the easiest, fastest way possible.

The reality is that you’ve only got mere seconds before someone gets fed up or confused and clicks off your site. So, be sure to mark your directions clearly.

Again, you can picture a hotel lobby. I want to easily know where the spa is, the pool, the restaurant, the elevators. Would you want to stay at a hotel where you had to guess where to find these things?

So, again, imagine your homepage as a hotel lobby. Make sure your website is easy to navigate.

5. Keep it short.

Your homepage will usually be a brief, clean-looking page where you’ll want to keep your information short and concise.

Here, you don’t want to overwhelm folks with what you’ve got to offer. You’re just welcoming your guests and letting them know where they are and why this is a good place to be.

That’s it.

So, keep it simple, nice, and friendly.

And be confident (but not arrogant).

Let your visitors know who you are and what your brand’s all about. Show them that you know what you’re talking about, that you’re an industry leader.

But be sure to do this with concise, easy-to-understand language. No need for excessive jargon or bragging. Don’t rely on tricks. Don’t write your audience a novel about why you’re the best.

Just keep it short, concise, and effective.

6. Write a great hero statement.

The first section of your homepage, right at the very top, is what we call the “hero” section of your website.

This is your audience’s very first impression of your business.

So, along with having an impactful, brand-appropriate hero image, you’ll want to have a strong hero statement.

Your hero statement should tell your audience who you are and why your company is, in fact, a superhero.

Someone’s landed on your site, and they have a problem that needs solving. This is always the case.

Whether it’s “do you have the kind of food I want?”, “how should I invest my money?”, or “my kitchen floor keeps getting dirty,” your audience will have some problem that you can help them solve.

So, don’t let this opportunity go to waste.

You have to reassure your audience that you can handle their issue. You have to come across as someone who can help.

That’s what your hero statement is. So, be sure to write a great one.

7. Tell your audience what you're offering.

Along with letting your audience know what kind of business you are, you’ll also want to quickly sum up what specific services or products you offer.

To do this, you will typically want to break down your services into easy-to-understand, distinct categories.

Ultimately, what you want to say is “We know you’re facing this problem. We can solve it. Here’s how we can solve it.”

So, for example, if you’re a company that makes household cleaners, you can let your audience know that you know they’re having a hard time keeping up with cleaning their houses on top of their many other obligations. You can let them know you’re a company that makes household cleaners specifically for people like them. Then, you can highlight some of your most amazing/relevant products, which can link back to more detailed product listings.

Whatever your business is, you want to show your audience immediately what departments you have or what different services you offer and make it clear how they can learn more or connect with someone.

8. Tell your audience who you are.

Again, you won’t want to write a novel here about your mission, values, etc.

But give your audience a quick snapshot of who you are. Remind your audience that you’re human. Why do you do what you do? Where have you come from? How will you be able to help me?

Keep your content informational but friendly. Your audience wants to like you.

So, let your audience know a bit about you and your company, but only focus on the highlights for now.

Again, brevity is a key element of writing effective content for your homepage.

9. Share (social) proof.

Especially if you’re a newer company or working in a saturated market where competition is fierce, your audience will likely need a bit of reassurance.

Let your audience know who you’ve worked with. How have you helped them? Wherever possible, share testimonials.

Even if you don’t have any testimonials to share, give me some sort of preview or a demo. Share some case studies or samples with me, show me what you do. That could be as simple as sharing your portfolio or providing a list of the brands you’ve worked with.

Have you won awards? Recently been featured in a magazine? You could highlight those items, too.

While you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with a laundry list of accomplishments or brag, you do want to present your audience with some sort of proof that you can help them in the ways you’ve promised to.

10. Make it about your audience.

Now, imagine you’re a member of your target audience. Imagine you’ve landed on your homepage. What’s in it for you if you choose to engage?

That’s how your audience will be thinking. No one is coming to your site with charity in mind — they aren’t arriving asking themselves, “what can I do to help this business?” No.

Rather, they are coming to your site asking themselves, “how can this business help me?”

So, don’t just use your homepage and website to pat yourself on the back or keep talking about yourself. Let your audience know how they’ll win by working with you.

To do this effectively, you may want to practice emptying your mind and going onto your homepage as someone new, someone who is seeing your site for the first time and who knows nothing about your business.

Does your homepage copy make your audience feel like you’re speaking directly to them? Is it readily apparent how your audience members will benefit if they choose to become customers?

If your audience is unable to see how they’ll win by working with you, chances are they’ll lose interest.

So, in short, you never want to make your homepage a self-indulgent, self-congratulatory page. Make it a page carefully crafted for your audience.

And, remember, to be effective, you’ll want to keep your copy personal. People are more likely to spend money if they think you’re talking specifically to them and their needs.

So, picture yourself sitting in a room talking to one of your audience members one-on-one. Talk to them about their needs. Communicate to them how you’ll address they’re needs. Make them feel at ease.

Conclusion.

At every stage of the copywriting process, you’ll want to remember that the function of your homepage is to greet your guests, make them feel welcome, and help them navigate your content effectively.

So, remember to make your audience members feel welcome when they land on your site, be polite, be easy to talk to, and always be helpful.

Your homepage isn’t a novel you’re writing about how great you are — it’s not your company’s autobiography.

Rather, you’re just saying “hi,” showing your audience what you do, and letting them know where everything they need is.

When in doubt, just picture that hotel lobby. You want your guests to want to stay at this nice, easy-to-navigate hotel. You want your guests to feel ‘at home’ about doing business with you. You want to leave an immediate positive impression of your business.

For more tips and tricks to help you grow your small business and improve your profitability, check out our blog here.

Or get in touch for a free, no obligation quote for our copywriting, content development, and digital marketing services here.

Steve Chambers

Steve is a copywriter and content developer with a passion for creating effective, engaging written content.

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June 16, 2021