Текст для главной страницы сайта: пошаговая инструкция

The homepage — is the face and the storefront of any website. It is the page where a visitor decides whether they want to stay on the site or leave it as quickly as possible. Besides a design that pleases the eye, the text content placed on the page is a key component of how the site is perceived. The reader should get answers to their questions or at least understand that this website can help them. Today we will try to figure out how text should be presented on this page.

Article contents:

• Homepage specifics for different types of websites 
• What a website homepage should contain
• What the homepage text should be like
• Why write text on the website homepage
• And a few tips from Art-Sites

Homepage specifics for different types of websites 

The saying «you are judged by your appearance» applies to any website. What the home page looks like depends on the type of website and its subject. Each of them has its own specifics: 

• Service company website. On such websites the first page usually consists of a list of the services provided. They are often reinforced by the company's USP, competitive advantages and brief information about the company itself.
• Informational website. On the homepage of such a resource you can often see something like a magazine's table of contents: the main sections, announcements of new articles and news, and the most popular materials. Such websites always contain a lot of text and images.
• Online store. The home page of such a resource is very similar to a real storefront in an offline shop. It often features new products from the latest collection, catalog sections, banners with discounts and promotions, and top sellers.
• Landing page. Usually, a Landing page is created for a specific type of product, service, or an upcoming event. What makes this kind of site special is that it is a one-pager, where all the graphic and text content is placed on a single page.

What a website homepage should contain

When working on a website homepage, it is very important to remember that it is created first and foremost for the client. The desire to place an endless wall of text on it will only push the user away.

A catchy headline

Effective homepage copy should always start with a catchy headline. Many articles have remained unread simply because the copywriter was too lazy to come up with a catchy title and settled for a generic phrase! A properly written H1 heading, as well as H2-H3 subheadings… can increase reader engagement and boost the effectiveness of the text  several times over. 

We wrote about headlines in one of our articles "Headlines that work: life hacks for drawing attention to content"

Advantages and USP

When landing on a company's website, the user has just a few seconds to assess how useful this resource will be for them. And they will not scroll all the way down the page. That is why it is important to reveal the site's subject as fully as possible on the first screen. The user should clearly understand what the company does and exactly what product it offers.

Presenting text content through infographics looks especially impressive.

Lead capture forms and buttons

Do not forget that whatever the website is, it should have forms and blocks with calls to action (call to action). Especially when it comes to a company with a commercial focus. 

So feel free to place CTA buttons that let users take the target action: buy a product, request a consultation, sign up for an event, etc. 

What the homepage text should be like

Writing content for a website homepage — is a highly responsible task. Such text is unlike an informational article, a product description, or even an advertising publication, although it has similar goals and often includes key phrases.

In essence, there should be an equals sign between the notions of «homepage text» and «selling article». Indeed, this text should provide information and prompt action, setting the stage for cooperation.

«Fluff», aphorisms and pretty phrases should be avoided here! 

Only useful information! Only facts! Only a concise offer!

Why write text on the website homepage

For large websites and portals that have long held top positions in Google search results, text blocks are not really necessary. But if the resource was created recently, and the company has to compete with many similar organizations, it is still better to write the text. And not just write it, but optimize it for the most frequent queries from the semantic core.

But be careful: the keywords should look organic and not overload the message, so that it reads easily and does not look as if it was assembled by a robot from a set of words.

And a few tips from Art-Sites

Working on a website's text content — is a continuous process, and it is very important to evaluate its effectiveness and keep the information up to date.  

You can experiment with block placement and use heat maps and session replay tools to see how people interact with the text, individual blocks and buttons. If necessary, remove the blocks people do not linger on, or, on the contrary, move higher the elements that attract users' attention. 

And do not oversaturate the page with large walls of text. Believe us, no one will read them. The text should be short, easy to grasp and useful to the reader. Informative brevity and an accessible style of presentation increase audience loyalty. So do not overload the website's text materials with unnecessary details and complex professional terminology. 

And what is especially important — no grammatical errors! Seeing a typo on a website's homepage immediately creates an impression that the company is unprofessional.