Should I stay or should I go?
If you’re as ancient as me, then you’re likely familiar with that song and I guarantee that it will be stuck in your head for 1-3 days. If you’re not familiar, I recommend checking it out because it still hits.
“Should I stay or should I go?” is the song that’s playing whenever someone lands on your homepage. Visitors are making a split-second decision when they land. The only thing that will make them stay put is (DUN, DUN, DUN) your website homepage content.
I’ve created many, many website homepages for clients alongside many, many iterations of our homepage content at Superneat. Every time I’m trudging through the creative process with homepages, I fully understand why organizations hire external content marketing experts to handle this so they don’t have to deal with it.
Website homepage content is freaking hard to create.
It’s hard to know what to put on a website homepage when you have so little time to win someone over. What will speak to someone right then and there who’s having challenges you can help them solve? What else can you share that will quickly show them they’ve found the right place?
It’s a lot to figure out. To simplify the website homepage process, allow me to break this down into two acts…
- Act 1 – Words
- Act 2 – Visuals
How Do You Write a Website Homepage?
To avoid bombarding you with information, I won’t get into all of the must-haves that will bring your website together since we’re just focusing on the homepage content. But I do want to mention a few critical items and point you toward some relevant resources in case you need them…
- Foundational brand messaging elements (mission and vision, positioning statement, value proposition) should be defined and ever-present.
- Strategic content elements (buyer personas, the buyer’s journey, SEO content strategy) should be understood and top of mind.
Aaaaaaand, back to what you need to write your website homepage…
The Value Proposition Formula
I stumbled upon a neat little trick a couple of years ago—the value proposition formula is also a great website homepage formula. Makes sense since you should clearly and quickly communicate your unique value to the website visitor (your potential buyer) as soon as they’re chillin’ on the welcome mat (your home page).
This formula is the What-Who-Why-How of your solution, also known as the four elements of a value proposition:
- Offering = What problem your solution solves for your buyer.
- Audience = Who the likely buyer is for your solution.
- Value = Why this buyer should choose your solution.
- Differentiator = How your solution outshines your competitors.
As you’re creating your website homepage content, use this 4-part value prop formula as a little worksheet. Do not complete this little worksheet all on your own.
Stakeholders should chime in to make sure the most important messaging pieces are front and center on the homepage. This homepage interaction may be the only one you get with a potential buyer, so you want the big value-add as clear as day.
Genuine Over Generic
Loud sigh.
Thanks to the massive presence of AI tools, there’s been a tidal wave of generic content consuming every damn marketing channel. I’m truly sad to see brands slapping this crap all over their websites, and even (sniff, sniff), their homepage content.
Unfortunately, these brands probably won’t realize this AI-generated content is harming them until about 6-12 months later when they’re seeing crap results. Neil Patel has been doing quite a bit of research on this, and he’s finding that although AI-based content sorta takes less time to create, human-written content definitely produces more traffic.
There’s a time and a place for bringing AI into parts of your content creation processes, but it is by no means an end-to-end solution.
It’s not a good look for your brand when your homepage is a bunch of regurgitated content that doesn’t convey the unique value of your solution, which should be the heart and soul of your homepage content.
I’m not saying not to use AI—in fact, me and several other content marketing experts have found ways to use ChatGPT to increase content quality.
When creating your homepage content, step away from the shiny distraction of these tools and focus instead on the human voice and experience. Focus on being genuine. Especially now that generic content has flooded the Internet, this is the only way to differentiate and rise above the “Sea of Sameness” as we call it at Superneat.
What Else Do You Put on the Homepage of Your Website?
Words are important for communicating your value on the homepage, but so are visuals. Because your visitor is on the homepage with one foot in and one foot out, you need to entice them to stay put.
It takes more than words alone because not everyone is going to read all of your homepage content when they’re non-committal. And, a website is all about providing a visual experience that guides visitors through the journey.
Graphics are a step in the right direction, but they’re static and lack a human touch. Video is your best bet for creating a more welcoming and effective user experience. Videos increase engagement and time on page because this content format is all about capturing attention and increasing personal connection.
Add an Explainer or Brand video
Explainers and brand videos are snappy, information-rich video content offering a fast track to comprehension. The reason why these videos are the perfect companion for homepage content is simple: They’re attention-grabbing.
Someone scrolling along will stop and play. During that time, they’re all yours. You’ve drawn them into your world and their watch time is a testament to their growing interest and level of commitment.
So, which video do you need—an explainer or a brand video?
Explainers
Explainers are more common for product companies. More instructional, they rapidly showcase features in a flurry of animations and graphics. Rather than a talking head, explainers tend to be faceless and include a mixture of text and voiceover.
Brand Videos
Brand videos are ideal for any B2B organization, whether you’re selling products or services. They’re just as informative as explainers, but focus more on storytelling and creating an emotional connection. Brand videos are always talking-head videos, usually with 1-4 stakeholders.
Definitely Include a Testimonial Video
Social proof is an obvious must-have for your homepage. Website testimonials have been a content marketing standard for as long as I can remember. But now, we can make testimonials really pop on the page with video.
The disadvantage of a written testimonial, besides not being as eye-catching, is that they don’t guarantee trust-building. Have you ever been suspicious about a testimonial you’ve read? What if a brand just made something up and slapped it on their website?
You’re not wrong to be skeptical. Unfortunately, this happens. Brands know they need social proof, and rather than taking the time to get a real testimonial from a real human, they create fake shit. There’s no faking it with a testimonial video, so there’s an additional bulletproof layer of trust built in.
Now, I know where your mind is going. What about AI video tools? What about deep fakes? If brands go there, they will get called out and canceled. It’s easy to slide in a fake written testimonial on a website that someone may never see. Video…not so much.
The reasons to include a testimonial on your homepage are pure—building credibility and trust. A video from a happy customer is much more likely to help a potential customer overcome skepticism, so it’s worth the investment.
A Great Website Homepage Is Genuine, Not Generic
Because our marketing channels are noisier than ever, we all have to try harder than ever before to create impactful website homepage content. People are tuning out, and it is our sole mission to get them to tune in.
Your homepage is the worst possible place to cut corners to expedite the content creation process, all for the sake of producing generic website content. To differentiate, it takes genuine human-centric content—especially videos.
If you choose the words and visuals for your homepage with great care, then you will create a great website homepage.
