Did you know it takes the average visitor only 50 milliseconds or .05 seconds to form an opinion about your website?

(according to a study done by Google in 2012) Their first impression will either

keep them around and even coming back for more, or cause them to click the

“back” button. Google also found that if they do stay on your website, they likely

won’t spend more than 15 seconds on any one page. Since this first impression is so

crucial, we’ve outlined five things to include on your homepage to make your

business stand out.

5 THINGSto Include on your Website Homepage

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While this one may seem obvious, it is very important that your name is the first thing someone sees when coming to your site. It also helps if it is an attractive, eye-catching, and recognizable logo. Once they know who you are they should also be able to easily determine what services or products you offer. This doesn’t need to be a long description, just a short tag line or even a few descriptive words.

Name/Logo and description1.

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Once the user knows where they are and why, it’s important that they can also easily navigate around the website. Nothing will drive someone away faster than feeling like they have to dig for the information they are looking for. To help avoid this situation, here are some things to include in your menu:

Easy to use navigation bar/Menu

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- Contact information: Easily accessible contact information is important. This can be as simple as an email address or can include the physical address, phone number, and fax number.

- About section: This is where you’ll go into detail about who you are and what you offer. Consumers like to know that they’re purchasing or working with a reputable company. This section is where you will talk about how the company started, how long you’ve been in business, your goals or mission statement, and any other relevant information. This gives your company and website validity. This is also a great place for testimonials.

- Product galleries: Your products or services should be easily accessible. In this section you can include pictures as well as descriptions and pricing.

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Too much text is boring and your clients/customers most likely won’t read it

Images/Graphics3.

Invest in good, high quality product photography and put at least one image on the homepage. The more visually pleasing your website is, the longer people will want to stick around. Information is important but good images will keep the viewers attention longer.

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Social Media Links4.

One of the best ways for you to interact with your clients/customers is through social media. More and more consumers are interacting with companies on social media. You should have a business account on at least one social media site and update it frequently. Put links back to your social media accounts on your website so that users can easily follow you and keep interacting. These are often in the form of the social media logos or icons that you are linking to. This will make it even easier for users to find.

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Like T-Swift, your home page should have blank spaces.

Blank Space5.

Too much information in the form of text or images can look real busy real quick. You want to limit the home page to a few high quality images and only the most important information. When it comes to your home page, less is more.