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Perfecting Your Online Store’s Homepage or Front Page

Your online store’s front page or homepage is the most important piece of real estate on your site. Here credibility must be established for both your store “brand” and for the products you sell. Here you engage users to shop and buy.
An Emotional and Intellectual Response

Within the first seconds of viewing (some say a fraction of a second), you must elicit a positive emotional and intellectual response from your visitor which will determine whether he or she will engage or click elsewhere.

A favorable response is produced by a pleasant mix of the following design elements:
# Appealing color palette
# Identifiable imagery
# Consistent typography
# Breathing space or white space rather than clutter

Visual noise and confusion are so pervasive in the online world that a store with good design is a refreshing oasis. Order, beauty and clarity are the antidotes to chaos and confusion. Trust is the antidote to fear.

The visitor arrives with this implicit question:  “Is this a site I trust?” The objective of good home page design is to help a visitor conclude, “Yes, this is a store I’d like to explore further. I would feel safe making a purchase from this store.”
“Above the Fold”

Think of your homepage as being divided into two zones: above and below the “fold.” “Above the fold” is a newspaper term that refers to the part of the screen that your visitor can see without scrolling. This screen must create a first impression that will make your visitor want to keep exploring your site. It must be “tight” and credible. Here are some guidelines:
# Build your store brand with a logo and value proposition tagline.
# Maximize space while providing landmarks for key brand and navigation elements.
# Define major categories clearly. Categories should be easy to read and expandable if there are subcategories under the top level categories. Your menu of categories is analogous to a book’s table of contents.
# Make your product search easy to find, since this is the next step for many visitors.
# Actively engage the visitor with motion. Single banners and “hero shots” on the homepage are gradually being replaced by Flash or JavaScript modules that rotate banners similar to the one at http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/home.do  (Notice that the user is able to control this display.)
Products on the Homepage

Feature products on your homepage to drive sales. Your shopping cart administrative interface may allow you to select individual products that will dynamically display on your homepage. These could be (1) top selling products, (2) new products, or (3) featured products — perhaps those with a higher margin. The purpose is to get visitors to move beyond your homepage so that you get a chance for a sale.
Below the Fold

For stores with a number of products, the screen below the fold provides a place for additional products and credibility indicators, such as logos from HackerSafe, BBBOnline, credit cards, and graphics that say “secure.” The homepage should seldom extend beyond the second or third screen view.
Common Mistakes

Homepages can lose their effectiveness from:
# Clutter or information overload — sometimes in an attempt to make links for SEO.
# Non-intuitive organization of categories. Usually categories are displayed alphabetically.
# No email capture or blog link to initiate a further relationship with the visitor, even if no purchase is made on the first visit.
# Lack of a clear value proposition or unique selling proposition (USP).

When your store’s homepage is designed carefully — and then tested — it can improve conversions throughout the entire store.

Matthew Ledford is President and Co-Founder of FastPivot.com, a consultancy that helps small to medium businesses develop profitable online stores. Contact FastPivot to receive a copy of lead designer Sacha Loughton’s seminar, “The Basics of Web Site Design and Content: Engaging the Shopper for More Sales,” presented at the Internet Retailer Conference, June 9, 2008. a

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