Your website’s homepage is the front page of your website and it’s often the first thing visitors see. As such, this webpage needs to leave a great impression and encourage users to explore the rest of your website.
But great visuals are not the only thing that matters. Your homepage should help you win over visitors and get them to convert.
So how do you create a great-looking homepage that converts?
That’s what this step-by-step guide is all about. We’ll explain website design best practices and show you how to create a homepage using the Bluehost Website Builder.
Make sure you have your WordPress hosting and domain name registration. You should also take care of installing WordPress and a web design template or WordPress website theme.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
How To Create a Homepage: Structure
Building Website Homepage Content With Bluehost Website Builder
How To Create a Homepage: Customization
Final Thoughts: How To Create a Homepage and Website Homepage Content
How To Create a Homepage: Structure
As the virtual front door to your business, your homepage should give an overview of what your business website offers.
As a static page, your homepage should answer questions regarding who you are, what you do, and who the intended audience is for your content.
Your homepage is sometimes a landing page with a specific aim or could even act as a virtual business card.
However, don’t clutter your homepage with information that’s irrelevant or makes it hard to navigate. There is must-have website homepage content that you should include, and understanding how to structure a homepage and follow proper formatting is imperative.
Homepage Content
- Navigation
- A hero image with a headline and subheadline
- Primary calls to action
- Testimonials and social proof
- Benefits and features
- Secondary calls to action
- Free offers
- Featured content and resources
- Supporting images
Let’s look at each of these homepage features and how they relate to creating a homepage.
Navigation
If you’re wondering what to put on the homepage of a website, start here.
Navigation is one of the most important elements of any website, as it allows website visitors to access other pages on your website.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should include every webpage in your navigation. Doing so will make your navigation look cluttered and overwhelm your visitors.
Instead, add only the most important pages to your main navigation, like your About page and online store. Use a secondary navigation menu in a footer widget or drop-down menus to provide access to your other pages.
Consider adding a search bar to your navigation too.
Hero Image With Headline and Subheadline
The hero image, along with the headline and subheadline, are the first elements that visitors see.
Think of your headline as the bold statement of what you do and for whom, while your subheadline tells users why you’re different. The hero image is the icing on the cake that visually backs up the headline and relates to your industry and audience.
Primary Calls to Action
The main goal of learning how to create a homepage should be to entice visitors to explore your website further. Therefore, your primary calls to action (CTAs) should be above the fold.
CTAs should also serve as entry points to different offers or cater to people in different stages of the buying cycle.
Your CTAs should contrast with the rest of your website and be easy to spot. Use action words and keep them short so they encourage visitors to act.
Testimonials and Social Proof
Before people will buy from you, they need to trust you.
The best way to build that trust is by showcasing testimonials and other forms of social proof. That can include reviews from third-party review websites or social media like LinkedIn, publication logos, and links to other websites where you’ve been featured.
Add a name and photo for each testimonial and links to articles and websites. That will make your social proof more credible.
Benefits and Features
Most people want to know what you do — but they also want to know what’s in it for them. Your homepage should include a short list of benefits that will convince your visitors to stick around, getting them one step closer to becoming paid customers.
In addition, include a short list of features so visitors know what they can expect and what they’re getting when they invest in your products or services.
Secondary Calls to Action
Most people won’t be ready to buy as soon as they land on your website.
That’s why your website should provide secondary calls to action. These CTAs can include links to lower-cost offers, tell users to explore your product catalog, or ask them to sign up for a coupon code.
Free Offers
Directly tied to the point above, don’t forget to include free offers on your homepage. That will help you generate more leads for your business and nurture them until they’re ready to buy.
Your free offers could include:
- Checklists
- PDFs
- Audio or video recordings
- Discount codes
Featured Content and Resources
A great way to provide more information to visitors who aren’t ready to buy is by including featured content — such as blog posts — on your homepage.
If you don’t plan to use your website as a blogging platform, include a link to a resources or FAQ page.
Supporting Images
Your homepage should feature supporting images throughout. Incorporate images that represent your brand, products, and services, from your header image to the featured content and footer sections.
Building Website Homepage Content With Bluehost Website Builder
Now that you know what to include when learning how to create a homepage, let’s look at how to build it and the website homepage content it contains.
Bluehost Website Builder makes it easy to create an attractive homepage for your website that will help you convert visitors into leads and buyers.
The first time you visit Bluehost and log into your website, you’ll see a Site Setup screen. Start by answering a few questions about your website and configuring some basic homepage settings. Include the following:
- Type of website
- Name of website
- Cover images and logo
- Colors
- Fonts
- Navigation menu
- Contact information
Bluehost Website Builder will generate your website and populate it with initial website homepage content based on your input. You can then start customizing your homepage and adding any plugins, blog page features, or search engine optimization (SEO) tools that you see fit.
How To Create a Homepage: Customization
Once you click the Finish button, you’ll be taken to Bluehost Website Builder. A prompt will ask you if you want a tour of the interface, or you can dive straight into the customization options if you’d rather explore its functionality firsthand.
To start building your homepage, first, customize your tagline. That corresponds to the headline and subheadline we mentioned above. Your tagline should describe what you do. To edit the tagline, click on it and enter your text.
Using the layout option, you can select a different layout for the hero area. You can also disable elements by toggling them off. The background option lets you swap out the image for your own.
To edit the primary call to action, click and edit the text to your liking. In our example, we’ve changed the CTA to View Portfolio. You can also change the text size, type of button, and button color.
To add more website homepage content, click the + sign above Sections and select the type of section you want to add. In our example, we’ve added pricing and a testimonial section.
You can add more pages and posts to the navigation by clicking on the Menus & Pages tab. You can then add a new website page or rearrange the pages to appear in the order you want.
You can remove pages from your main navigation by clicking the three dots and selecting Remove from primary menu. That won’t remove the page from your website — it will simply remove it from the main navigation.
When you’re done, you can customize the rest of the content and imagery. You can also customize your website’s fonts and colors by clicking the Appearance tab in the sidebar.
Once you’re satisfied, click Save to save your changes. You can then publish the page by clicking Publish.
Final Thoughts: How To Create a Homepage and Website Homepage Content
Your homepage is your business’s front door online. It needs to be attractive and encourage visitors to explore further to get them to convert. In this guide, we’ve discussed how to create a homepage and outlined the website homepage content you need.
Need web hosting? Start building your own website with Bluehost today.
