My Homepage Layout Suggestion: Focus on User Needs and Immediate Solutions

I often wonder about better ways to lay out website pages. I'm not talking about snazzy designs or an overwhelming amount of testimonials to get someone to do what you want them to do. For me, it is all about entering the conversation that's happening in the viewers mind at the time of viewing the page. What are they trying to do, and how can I help them achieve their objective whether it benefits me or not.

My Problem

One thing I struggle with is getting too caught up in outcomes that come about later on down the line. For example, pretty much everyone in business cares about the bottom line. So, in theory, if I were to help a business, I'd be helping their bottom-line. That said, it's too far removed from the pain or desire a person might want to resolve today. Sure, implementing HubSpot will help you attract and serve your clients which leads to more clients buying more often which translates to more profit per employee which grows your bottom line. This is a logical path. That said, it seems too far away from the problem being solved, making it harder to connect the outcome with the immediate solution. So, what do we do? Tout the immediate benefit or outcome. Then, as you work with a client and results are generated, you can start to investigate how the impact is being felt further down the line all the way to the bottom line.

Lately, I have been thinking about homepages. Specifically, my homepage.

An Aside

Before I suggest an outline for a homepage, I want to address something a lot of people say for businesses -- don't worry about your website, logo, etc. For the most part, I do not agree with this idea. I often hear this in light of "focus more on getting clients." As with almost everything, it's not website OR clients, it's a question of how to handle website/branding AND gaining clients. Yes, your service delivery should be paramount. But these days, your website should very much be part of your service. People are used to one click buy now from Amazon and even same day delivery. It's this type of near-immediate time to value that every business should strive for. In short, do not neglect your website. With tools like HubSpot, it is rather easy to create and maintain a website. Do not rely on an external platform such as Facebook to be your 'homepage'.

So how should a homepage be laid out? Here's a stab at what I propose.

Section 1: What do you do?

Explain what your product/service does in plain language. Don't get cute and clever. Also, talk about the immediate benefit/outcome like I mentioned earlier. Hold off on talking about outcomes that may happen farther down the line.

Section 2: "Why should I trust you?"

Highlight anything that serves as proof you can help. If possible, show results related to the outcomes your service provides. Another thing to consider putting here is credentials, certifications, or even testimonials. 

Section 3: List problems to undo

Call out problems the people you serve face. Your objective is for them to feel the pain as they see the highlighted problems, because it is something they're experiencing. In general, brevity is key and likely limit it to no more than 3 problems.

Section 4: Bring your solutions into view

Give 1-3 high-level solutions of how your service can fix the problem. Again, sell the next step here.

Section 5: Dive deeper with from... to...

This part you can get a little more detailed. At this point, we are further down the page. So, if someone is still viewing down here, they'll likely read it. This is where you agitate the pain and highlight the outcome. Use this snippet, "Go from {pain} to {outcome}."

Section 6: Answer any FAQs

List a handful of questions you're commonly asked or would expect the viewer to be asking. Provide detailed answers here with a focus on making it useful for the viewer.

Items to Consider

Sprinkle calls to action (CTAs) throughout based on what makes sense with the flow. Only have one, maybe two calls to action. You will likely want to put the CTAs next to What do you do?, after List problems to undo, and within or after Answer any FAQs. It is important to keep people's attention focused. If they're looking for something else, they likely know to go to the header or footer to find links to other pages.

In addition, I think people want to see less testimonials and more proof. In other words, give away the information and sell the implementation. If you serve multiple industries and/or types of clients, highly consider dynamic homepages or separate landing pages.

So what's next? I plan to change my homepage to this style in the next week or two. I don't believe there's a right answer with how to lay out a homepage. If there is, I'm sure there will be a better way to lay out a homepage in the future. That said, I welcome any thoughts or other ideas by posting a comment below.