Most homepages try to say everything and end up saying nothing. A visitor lands, spends a few seconds deciding whether you're relevant, and either scrolls or leaves. Your homepage has one job in that window: make it obvious what you do, who it's for, and what to do next.
The six things a homepage must do
1. Say what you do, in plain words, above the fold. Not a slogan — a sentence someone outside your company would understand. "We build websites and apps for growing businesses" beats "Crafting digital experiences that inspire." If a stranger can't tell what you sell from the first screen, nothing else matters.
2. Say who it's for. "For small businesses," "for B2B teams," "for restaurants." This does two things: it tells the right people they're in the right place, and it tells the wrong people to leave — which is good, because they weren't going to buy anyway.
3. Show proof. One strong client logo, one specific testimonial with a real name and role, one number if you have a credible one. Proof early, before you ask for anything.
4. Give one clear next step. A single primary action — "Get a quote," "Book a call," "See our work" — repeated down the page. Not five competing buttons. If everything is a call to action, nothing is.
5. Preview what you offer. A short list of your services or products, each linking to a page with the detail. The homepage is a hub, not the place to explain everything.
6. Load fast and work on a phone. Most of your visitors are on mobile. A homepage that's slow or awkward on a phone fails all five points above regardless of how good the copy is.
What to cut
Things that clutter most homepages and rarely earn their place:
- The auto-rotating image carousel. Nobody waits for slide three. Pick the best message and commit to it.
- A wall of text about your company history. Move it to an About page. New visitors don't care yet.
- Every service in full detail. Preview and link. Depth belongs on the service pages.
- Multiple pop-ups — the newsletter, the chat, the cookie banner, the discount wheel — all firing at once. Each one is a reason to leave.
- Stock photos of people in a meeting room who obviously don't work for you. They add nothing and quietly signal "generic."
- Jargon. "Synergy," "solutions," "leverage," "seamless." Say the actual thing.
- A hero video that autoplays with sound. Almost universally hated.
The test
Show your homepage to someone who doesn't know your business, for five seconds, then hide it. Ask them: what does this company do, who is it for, and what would you click? If they can't answer all three, the homepage isn't working yet — and it's usually a clarity problem, not a design one.
Getting this right is part strategy, part copy, part design. See how we approach branding and web development, look at what we've built, or send us your current homepage for a straight read on whether it's doing its job.