user experience design, communication

Make a Good First Impression with Your Website

Creating a Powerful First Impression on Your Homepage

Harvey Ramer

• 4 min read (964 words)

First impressions are crucial, especially for a web page. A well-designed website establishes trust by communicating your brand message. The top of your homepage, or the “above the fold” area, is essential for making a good first impression. Let everyone know what your business is about with powerful words and images. Since you don’t have anything to hide, letting everyone get to know you benefits your brand.

Studies show that refining your homepage design can result in a business boost! One gaming company saw a 25% sales increase when making a minor usability enhancement. Seeing such a big effect from small changes should arouse our interest. It illustrates the powerful role of a good first impression in digital spaces.

Effective home pages capture attention with powerful imagery. A hero section is a great way to do it. A hero section includes a large image, compelling headline, and subhead, with a call to action. Done well, it arouses curiosity and moves visitors to action. This popular setup helps create a good first impression with every visit.

Key Principles for a Lasting Positive Impression

Clarity: Connect with First-Time Visitors

Achieve clarity by avoiding clever but unclear catchphrases. Too often, we use buzzwords rather than simple language. Why do we do that when we know simplicity connects with potential customers.

First-time website visitors have only one thing on their mind. Answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”, and don’t be cute.

We crave simplicity and expect it from others. Still, we struggle to speak with clarity about our products and services. Empathy can help rescue us. When we understand how others think about our business, we can mirror that language back to them. Using the words of your customers helps them stay on your website long enough to consider your offer. Your clear, consistent message sets the stage for a good first impression.

Make clarity your goal, and support that goal by talking to your prospects and customers. When you listen, you will find new ways to build trust and communicate the value you offer.

Calls to Action: Essential for Website Engagement

The point of your website is to call visitors to action, and clarifying your offer is a good start. But unless you ask people to do something, they will miss out on the benefits you can provide.

New business owners often feel awkward when asking others to trust them with their money. They worry they will not be able to fulfill their promises. But moving past that stage is critical. Be bold, make an offer, and do everything to follow through and deliver.

Vague language will not protect us from a failed marketing effort. But it does guarantee our failure to communicate and connect with prospects. Remove the clutter, make a promise, share quality content, and ask them to take action.

Beauty in Web Design: More Than Aesthetics

Depending on your business, the level of visual refinement required can vary. But the bar is high. Your future clients judge your website on its font, colors, and images. Though the results are hard to quantify, a professional look and feel will boost your sales.

Like a good realtor, a great designer will earn you more than it costs to hire them.

But the following principles can help even non-designers produce effective designs.

Contrast

Keep your text easy to read in all conditions. Select readable fonts and keep background textures to a minimum.

Always favor readability over aesthetics.

Use high contrast colors for reading. Place light text over dark backgrounds and dark text over light backgrounds.

Repetition

Create patterns and use them. Rely on grids based on columns and rows. Use content boxes that group a headline, subhead, and body text.

Don’t worry about overdoing hero sections. Your most valuable landing pages each need one. A strong visual with a clear call to action is never out of place.

Your buttons should use the same colors and fonts. But if you have primary and secondary actions, use color to show which is most important. Keep your link colors the same throughout all your website pages. You can break these rules, but know them well before you do so. Otherwise you risk creating confusion and visual chaos.

Predictability is praiseworthy when designing for clear communication.

Alignment

It is common for newbies to align text left, center, and right — just because they can. There is nothing wrong with left-aligned body text and centered headings, but don’t overdo it.

Do not use text alignment variation to be clever. Any site design that sacrifices readability will frustrate readers. When surfing the web, they will only give you a few seconds to make your case that you can serve their needs.

Proximity

Share a complete thought in a single breath. Don’t expect readers to hang with you by scrolling to the end of your home page before making an offer. Instead, make small claims followed by a simple call to action.

Create components that group elements and form a complete thought at a glance. Grouping similar items communicates your message with greater clarity. By telling a small but complete story, you can give your visitors a message that evokes a response.

Does My Website Make a Good First Impression?

Even without design skills, you can create a beautiful web page that moves your visitors. To dos so, focus on

1. making a clear offer,
2. calling visitors to take action,
3. and creating functional beauty.

Take a few moments to update your website for quick wins by applying these principles.

For more, review our SEO case study. It illustrates the impact of choosing clear, consistent language on your website. Let us know how we can help!