Have you just created an e-commerce site and are wondering what to put on the home page? Do you already have a professional website, but want to increase the conversion rate of your online store? The home page of an e-commerce site is fundamental. The gateway to your website has several functions. It must inform the visitor about your brand while reassuring him about the professionalism of your company. An effective home page must also guide the Internet user to your products, in order to transform prospects into sales. Discover our four tips for making a good e-commerce website homepage.
1/Improve the user experience to retain the visitor
In the digital age, Internet users demand a quick response to their needs. If the solution is delayed, they will look for it elsewhere.
Loading speed is a key parameter. The loading time of the home page of your e-commerce site should not exceed three seconds, otherwise, the Internet user will become impatient and leave the site. You could lose a potential customer.
On mobile, it’s even more striking. Did you know that three out of ten purchases are now made on a smartphone or tablet? The showcase page of your e-commerce store must be responsive. Otherwise, the “m-buyer” will prefer a competitor who has created a website applying responsive design.
Ergonomics is just as important. Your homepage should be clear and pleasant. Therefore, favor the visuals, provided they are of high quality. opt for a modern and neat web design. Design each menu intuitively.
Your e-commerce site aims to sell your products. If there are too many clicks to navigate from the landing page to the sales pages, the visitor may leave without completing their purchase.
2/Create a homepage in the image of your brand
The home page of your e-commerce site is your image on the Web. It should reflect your company’s visual identity and values. Quickly, the Internet user must understand that he has arrived at the site that meets his needs.
You have to reassure him about the professionalism of your web showcase. Visitor will be more likely to navigate to your sales page if they trust your products or your brand.
To do this, these elements must appear on the home page of an e-commerce site:
- logo: to be placed at the top left of the web page, because this is the place that Internet users scan first;
- the sector of activity: it must be clearly recognizable;
- catchphrase or slogan;
- visuals representative of the brand (photos or videos);
- links to your products;
- site security (secure payments);
- verified customer reviews;
- information on the quality of service: deliveries and returns, guarantees, etc.
If you also have physical stores, remember to specify it on the footer. A location via Google Maps is even recommended to help new customers locate you.
3/Increase the conversion rate thanks to the home page of an e-commerce site
Promote products at a glance
The layout of your sales site is essential. You have to attract the visitor’s eye to your products, without them having to scroll. Don’t forget that the Internet user is impatient!
Ideally, place links to your products or categories at the top of the page. Navigation is simplified: the prospect immediately identifies what he came for and only has to click to access the sales pages. Expanding the internal network also has the advantage of strengthening the SEO of your professional website. Indeed, attracting visitors to other pages keeps them longer on your site and thus lowers the bounce rate. This video by Lucie Rondelet will help you understand the importance of internal networking.
To do this, also think about highlighting the products most likely to interest the consumer: best sellers, trendy products, seasonal items, or new products. A slideshow is a good way to do this, provided you do not scroll through more than three or four proposals so as not to tire the Internet user.
Attract visitors to current promotions using specific banners at the top of the screen. Insert Call to Action (CTA) buttons or even a countdown to arouse the desire of the Internet user and push him to purchase.
Text boxes should be located at the bottom of the page. Available for the meticulous visitor who wishes to consult all the information, they will not divert other prospects from your products.
Use the potential of copywriting
“A picture is worth a thousand words”, according to Confucius. However, the home page of your merchant site cannot be sufficient for visuals, even if they are qualitative. On the Internet, the consumer is on his own. You cannot rely on a network of experienced sellers to convince them to buy your products. He must understand on his own and go of his own volition to the product pages.
To encourage him to convert his visit into a purchase, write the texts of your home page wisely. However, it is not a question of drowning the visitor under a dissertation extolling the advantages of your articles! opt for short and punchy texts. Prefer powerful and emotional words. In summary: think copywriting. The home page of your e-commerce site will be all the more striking and you will observe a significant increase in the conversion rate of your online business. If you have no knowledge of copywriting, do not hesitate to call on specialized Wikipedia editors in copywriting to create an impactful web page.
Be careful that the editorial content of each page lives up to the promise of the home page. The Internet user’s trust would be shattered if he discovered poorly written product sheets or category pages. That’s why we also advise you to copywriter your sales pages.
4/Improve the SEO of an e-commerce site with optimized content
As we have just seen, the home page of an e-commerce site aims to seduce the consumer. However, it must also charm other key players on the Web: search engines!
The home page is an essential link for the natural referencing of a website. With quality textual content of sufficient length (300 to 500 words minimum depending on the competition of your key query), you can improve the SEO of your online store and gain traffic. For this, it will be necessary to insert well-targeted queries on your home page, without resorting to keyword stuffing. Recent Google algorithms penalize this practice, which would cause your showcase site to plummet in the search results. On the contrary, these keywords must be integrated naturally into the text, while relying on relevant HTML markup. Properly referencing a website is therefore a compromise between measurement, efficiency, and accuracy.
Finally, if you are a store owner, promote geolocated referencing thanks to precise geographical mentions, to be placed in your editorial content. This will attract Internet users who seek to consume locally: there are more and more of them.
Prioritizing ergonomics, attractiveness, and quality editorial content are the fundamentals of a successful e-commerce site homepage. Perfecting your home page will help you be visible on the Internet, gain notoriety, and significantly improve the conversion rate of your web store. To boost your online business, entrust the writing or redesign of the pages of your site to our qualified freelance SEO web editors and quickly observe the benefits of your turnover.