In any type of business, the owner is only given one opportunity to make a good first impression. The same is true for business owners with a website. It is important to provide easy navigation to your potential customers as they arrive on your website. The target audience should be clear about what your company is all about and your brand. This is not always what small business owners do and for that reason, they may be wondering why their conversion rate is so low. Many website owners lose customers as a result of not following the fundamental steps to improving their online business. By the time, the target audience arrives on the website, they want to leave. It is important that online business owners try to make the website as customer friendly as possible. Here are several essential things to consider for your home page.

Contact Information

Be sure that your home page has relevant contact information so that if the visitor has a question, they can make contact by:

• Email
• Phone
• Contact Form
• Mailing Address

Many websites may only have a contact form for visitors to complete. It raises a red flag when one or more of the essential contact information listed above is missing. A potential customer wants to know where you are located and how to easily get in touch with you.

The Right Images

Be sure that your home page has the right image that represents your company brand. For example, if your product is wedding favors, you should have pictures that reflect this. A picture of a butterfly on a wedding favors website is just the right way to confuse your audience.  Try not to make the images shake or spin. This will only prove to be distracting to the visitor or in some cases, very irritating.

Easy Navigation

Again, be sure that navigating your website is easy for the visitor. Also, check hyperlinks to make sure that they are working. Your home page should have a clear navigation path, offering visitors the chance to scroll down and be able to identify anchor text links. At the top of the home page, indicate the fundamental options of other important pages such as Services, FAQs, About Us and Contact Us. On your order page, be sure there are no broken links. If so, you could lose the sale or frustrate the customer.

Email Sign Up

Be sure to have an email form to give visitors a chance to sign up to your newsletter so that they can get additional information, promotional discounts and future product details.

Social Media

Include your social media links so you can keep an ongoing relationship with your customers. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest icons on your website. This is an instant way for customers to connect with you and learn more about your company brand.