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 (892 words)

First impressions are crucial, and a well-designed website establishes trust by clearly communicating your brand message. The top of your homepage, or the “above the fold” area, is essential for making a good first impression. Here, strategically position your business using compelling words and images to connect effectively with visitors and benefit your brand.

Studies indicate that time invested in refining your homepage design results in significant benefits for your business. For instance, an online gaming company saw a 25% sales increase after just a minor usability enhancement. This underscores the powerful role of a good first impression in digital spaces.

Effective home pages capture attention with powerful imagery. A hero image, combining a striking graphic with a compelling headline, optional subhead, and at least one call to action, arouses curiosity and consistently delivers results. This popular setup ensures 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, our websites substitute buzzwords for simple language that would connect with potential customers. First-time website visitors have one question 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 but struggle to speak clearly about our products and services. The only solution is empathy. When we understand how others think about our business, we can mirror that language back to them. Drawing on customer language enhances search outcomes and ensures your content meets visitor expectations, setting the stage for a good first impression.

Make clarity your goal and support that goal by talking regularly to your prospects and customers. When you listen closely, you will discover 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. However, unless you directly ask people to do something, they will miss out on the benefits you can provide.

Many new business owners struggle with calls to action because they are bashful about their value. They worry that perhaps they will not be able to fulfill their promises. But this is fear seeking a way to escape. Be bold, make an offer, and do everything to follow through and deliver.

Unclear language will not protect us from the pain or disappointment of a failed marketing effort. Instead, it guarantees our failure to communicate.

Take the time to remove the clutter, make a promise, share quality content, and call your website visitors to 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. Potential clients judge every website on its fonts, colors, and use of images, and all of us can benefit from creating a professional look and feel.

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

However, some simple 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 background colors consistently: 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.

In web design, repetition is good.

Since we are discussing repetition, I’ll reiterate that your most valuable landing pages need a compelling hero section with strong visual appeal and a clear call to action.

All your buttons should look similar, but use some variation in color for primary and secondary actions. Your link colors must stay the same throughout all your website pages.

Being predictable 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 busy readers who only have a few seconds to give your business a chance to 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. Semantic groupings communicate your message with greater clarity and give your visitors a way to respond in one compact package.

Does My Website Make a Good First Impression?

Even without hiring a professional, you can create a beautiful web page that has a positive influence on site visitors when you 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. Review our SEO case study that illustrates the impact of choosing clear, consistent language on your website. Let us know how we can help!