The only homepage blueprint you need for your personal brands ( 16 proven tips inside)
The only homepage blueprint mastery for personal brands
Most websites get it wrong
Your homepage is THE MOST important page on your website and it’s vital that you get it right. If not, your visitor might leave and never come back.
The top 5 reasons why people don’t stick around are:
1. You don’t look trustworthy
2. You’re not telling them why they should stick around
3. You look like and ameture rather than an expert
4. You don’t stand out from others in your industry
5. You’re not telling people what to do next
If you make any of these mistakes then you’ll leave your visitor feeling confused, frustrated or even worse… underwhelmed.
There is another way…
What makes a great home page?
I use a particular framework when building a personal brand homepage that eliminates all of the issues above. It will help position yourself as the best option for your ideal clients and get
them to stick around longer. We call this framework The Homepage Blueprint for Personal Brands
In this article I’ll walk you through the 15 step process to create the perfect homepage for your website.
Regardless of what business you’re in, the framework still works. Although you may offer different products or services from your competitors, you still have to communicate what you do effectively and that’s what the blueprint will teach you.
Let’s what makes a great website:
1. A modest logo
Yes, every website needs a logo BUT please don’t use a huge logo that takes attention away from your main purpose. We know you’re proud of your logo, and you want everyone to see it BUT
having your logo too big distracts from your key message and main purpose of the website. Yes, you want to make sure your reader can see it clearly but just don’t make it too large.
TOP TIP
Don’t forget to make your logo a hyperlink to your homepage — you’d be amazed how many businesses forget!
2. Clean Navigation
Use a clean and simple navigation with links to your services, about page, blog and contact page etc. A simple font with a good font size is best so your visitors don’t struggle to read it. I find size 14px — 18px works well.
TOP TIP
Don’t call pages silly names like your ‘About’ page ‘My Journey’ or your blog ‘My thoughts’. It’s confusing and makes it difficult for your visitors to understand what you’re talking about.
3. Big, bold Statement
“What do you do and why should I care?”
This is what your visitor is thinking when they land on your website for the first time. If you don’t make it obvious for them, then they’ll leave and visit someone else’s website.
Are you making it clear enough what it is that you do? The easiest way to fix this is with a BIG, BOLD, STATEMENT.
A big, bold statement is the first thing your visitor will read on your website. It’s your value proposition to your potential customer. Getting this right can take a bit of time but it’s worth it. Create a big bold statement that’s clear and easy to understand. We’ve seen far too many vague and fluffy big, bold statements.
Get to the point and engage your reader quickly.
TOP TIP
Try to include a benefit in your big, bold statement. This will help your visitor imagine what outcome they might get from working with you.
4. Supporting Statement
A supporting statement is a follow-up sentence that supports the big, bold statement. It can be used to clarify exactly what you do if the BBS is a bit vague. Or you can just use it to elaborate further. For instance, our BBS is “Make Your Mark Online” and our supporting statement is “A website you can be proud of.”
TOP TIP
You could also use your supporting statement to introduce a free give-away. E.g. Download our free guide to help you with BLANK. Click below and get immediate access
5. Main Call to Action
If you want your visitor to do something in particular when they land on your website then you need to make it obvious. By including a big call to action you have way more chance of getting people to take, well… action!
This usually means you’ll want a nice big button that people can see as soon as they land on your website. Try to avoid adding too many buttons that take away from the main objective and make sure people can see it without having to scroll down.
TOP TIP
Make the button stand out by using a nice contrasting colour. Something that jumps out of the page and grabs your visitors attention.
6. Hero Image
Use an image of yourself above the fold. If you are a personal brand or freelancer then you ARE the business. Even if you have a team, people still want to know who YOU are. Showing your visitors who you are, goes a long way to building trust and credibility. It’s also a great way to show your personality and what makes you different. Too many people shy away from doing this but this is YOUR business so be yourself and don’t apologise for it.
TOP TIP
Hire a professional photographer for this. It’s worth the investment. They’ll be able to take some great photos that you can’t get with a selfie stick ;-)
7. Media Badges
One of the easiest ways to build trust and credibility with your visitors is to show them what you’ve done before. Have you ever been featured in the media or on a popular online publication?
You should consider showing this information on your website. Your visitors will see you as an authority who knows what they’re talking about.
Maybe you’ve worked with some big-name clients? You could add their company logos to your homepage so your visitors see you as an expert with a proven track record.
TOP TIP
You don’t have to include a lot of these logos to build trust. Choose the best 5 and showcase them just below the hero section of your homepage.
8. Promo Area for Services
The promo area is where you start talking about the different services you offer. What do you offer that might be of interest to your visitors. E.g. Membership, Coaching, Speaking?
You could simply place your services here in any order you like or you could show them in price order. Lowest on the left and most expensive on the right.
This is the best way to direct people where they need to go. This why we recommend they’re high up on the homepage so people can see them (and more importantly, click on them!)
TOP TIP
Try not to include too many services here. It can seem overwhelming to your visitor. Focus on choosing 3 or 4 of your MAIN services.
9. Images Throughout
Using images on your homepage might seem a bit obvious but there’s more to it than that. The images you choose can impact how your visitors perceive you. Are you trustworthy, do you stand out from the crowd, are you boring, are you relatable? There are many thoughts and feelings running through your visitors’ mind when browsing your website. It’s your job to make those images count.
For personal brands and freelancers, it’s a good idea to use pictures of yourself and/or your team. The more your visitor can get to know you, the more at ease they’ll be on your website.
TOP TIP
Let your personality shine through. You really do need to stand out and let your audience get to know you. If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re feisty, be feisty. Whatever you do, be yourself.
11. Written Content
Always try to include at least one paragraph of text on the homepage. It’s a good way to capture your visitors’ attention as they scroll down the page. But be careful, this isn’t the place to talk about your why you’re so great. This is where you talk about the problems that your potential customers are having and how you can help them.
For example, you could open it with something like…
Are you tired of getting no book sales? Want to find more buyers? Want to look good online?
Thinking about your visitors’ problems will show them that you care.
TOP TIP
Try to use questions to open up the paragraph. That way your audience feel obligated to read on, and it makes much easier for you to write too!
12. Video
One-third of online activity is spent watching video. Yup. Crazy right? With that being said, can you really afford NOT to use video on your homepage?
Video is also powerful. It will allow your potential customers to see you, learn more about what you do and how they might benefit from working with you. It’s also another way to stand out from your competition. A lot of business still haven’t embraced video within their marketing. It makes which means you can capitalise on this.
TOP TIP
It’s a good idea to offer a call to action in the video. E.g. Download our homepage blueprint using the form next to this video. It will dramatically increase conversions.
13. Email Sign-up Form
Your website should act as an unpaid salesperson. It should be a continuous source of new leads for your business.
One of the easiest ways to turn visitors into leads is by adding an email signup form to your website. Ask people to sign up to your email list and as long your provide value, they may well become customers in the future. Most people won’t buy from you the first time they visit your website, so it’s important to ask for your visitors for their contact information.
TOP TIP
You should always try to give something away in exchange for their contact information, for example, a free PDF, a video series or a webinar. Something that will showcase your expertise as well as giving value to your new prospect.
14. Links to Valuable Content
Content is the lifeblood of your website and your visitors crave it. You should always try to include links to relevant blog content, videos, podcasts etc. That way, they’ll stick around for longer and consume more. It also helps positions you as an expert if the content is valuable.
TOP TIP
Include attractive, branded images to entice your visitors to click through to read your content. Try to avoid boring stock photos where possible.
15. Testimonials
People want to hear from your previous clients before they commit to buying from you or getting in touch. Testimonials are one of the easiest ways of building trust with your visitors. You don’t need lots of customer comments, 2–3 good ones should do the trick. They need to be visible on your homepage to show that you’re credible.
Top Tip
Try to use testimonials that talk about your customers’ problems and how they overcame them. It’s tempting to use comments that tell everyone how good you are but remember, people care about their own problems first. Talk about that and you’ll get them hooked!
16. Social Media Links
Social media is another great way to show your visitors how trustworthy you are. Your potential customer may want to start following you online before they buy from you, so you should include links to main social media accounts.
TOP TIP Keep your social media links further down the page, you don’t want people clicking away from your site too early and getting distracted by their cousins latest political rant on Facebook
What now?
So there you have it, that’s the exact blueprint we use for every homepage we build. Although the style and layout might change, we always include each of these 15 elements to ensure we create a highly effective homepage.
However, the homepage is only a tiny piece of the puzzle.
All your web pages need to follow a certain pattern so you can convert more of your visitors into customers.
If you need help creating your own personal homepage, I will be glad to help. My agency swicdigital provide tailored website design services.
Leave us a mail here hello@swicdigital.com to get started.
PS: Thanks to Jammy for always providing great contents.
