Business owners tend to spend most of their website effort on the home page. It makes sense: it is the page you see first when you type your own address. But it is often not the page your customers see first.
How visitors really arrive
Someone searching for "flat roof repair Norwich" may land directly on your flat roofing page. Someone who saw a post on social media may arrive on a blog article. A returning customer may go straight to the contact page from a bookmark. Check your analytics and you will usually find that a large share of visits start somewhere other than the home page.
Each of those pages is a front door. If it only makes sense to someone who has already read the home page, visitors get lost.
What every landing page needs
Treat each important page as if it were the only one a visitor will see:
- Who you are and where you work, in a sentence or a clear header, so a newcomer knows they are in the right place.
- What this page offers, stated plainly at the top.
- Proof, such as a relevant review, photo or result, close to the point where people decide.
- A clear next step, such as a call button, a quote form or a booking link, without needing to go back to the home page.
- Easy ways onward: links to related services, your prices and your contact details.
Find your real front doors
Look at the top landing pages in your analytics or in Google Search Console. For each of the top five, read it as a stranger would:
- Do I know what this business does and where, without scrolling?
- Is there a reason to trust them on this page?
- Can I get in touch from here in one click?
Fix the weakest of those pages first. That often brings more enquiries than another round of changes to the home page.
What the home page is still for
The home page still matters. It is where people go when they already know your name, from a recommendation, a van or a business card. Its job is slightly different:
- confirm quickly that they have found the right business;
- show the range of what you do and point to each service;
- give a reason to trust you;
- make the main action obvious.
It does not need to explain everything. That is what the other pages are for.
A useful habit
Whenever you add a page, ask: "If this were the only page someone saw, would they know who we are and how to contact us?" If the answer is yes, your website has many good front doors instead of one.
The text on each of those pages matters as much as the layout; our guide to website text that turns visitors into customers goes into more detail. And if you would like a second pair of eyes on your top landing pages, get in touch.