Homepage Mistakes That Lose ‘Em at Hello

There’s too much stuff on the Web. Most of it is junk and unimportant to us. That’s exactly why you need to engage people right away on your website.

This photo is very attention-grabbing. So should be the first block of text on your site.

When people land on a site, they give it a quick once over before they dig in. They are judging to see if your site is going to be worth the time investment.

And thus, you need to grab them right away. Really grip them!

In this article, I’m going to tell you about the first thing they see and why many coaches goof it up (not always intentionally). I’ll also give you some tips for making that first block of home page text stand out and capture attention.

Just to clarify, what I’m talking about in this article is the first block of text people read when they arrive at a site. The first thing that gets their attention and that they read.

3 Common Homepage Mistakes That Disengage Visitors

Coaching Website Homepage Mistake #1 – A big “Welcome to My Website” headline

Well, it’s not terrible to welcome people. It’s nice to be warm, welcoming, and friendly and to express that you’re happy to have people visiting your website.

But that’s all it is — just a nicety. You’re not after that, and neither are clients.

What visitors (actually forget that word “visitor,” and instead think “best client”) what your best clients want is to overcome tough challenges and realize important goals in their work, life, career, health, or relationship.

That headline (the first piece of text at the top of the homepage) is better spent letting these visitors know there’s something big to be gained by being on your website.

That will get them excited and engaged.

These welcome messages scream amateur and warn visitors of another possible unfinished website as most templates are pre-filled with a big “welcome to my website” headline.

Coaching Website Homepage Mistake #2 – Your logo doesn’t match the domain name.

Chaos, confusion, and complexity kill websites.

When it comes to the homepages of coaches’ websites, the logo’s job is to situate people — it’s to help them know they’ve landed in the right place from where they were before.

For example, you’re on LinkedIn, and a potential client clicks your website address as they check you out.

If the website address they click is MichaelJonesCoaching.com and then they arrive at your website, and the logo at the top says

Chaos, confusion, and complexity kill websites.

Really, make sure they know

* When it comes to logos, make sure it’s clean, clear, and non-invasive on your page.

Coaching Website Homepage Mistake #3 – It’s not clear where to begin.

Remember, your website’s job is to engage visitors, get them excited about coaching, and lead them to get in touch so you can sign them up as your client.

Remember, your website’s job is to engage visitors, get them excited about coaching, and lead them to get in touch so you can sign them up as your client.

Here are some much better ways to use that vital space on your home page:

• Use your tagline, if it’s rich with benefits, as big prominent text on the home.
• Use your business name, if it promises things to be gained, as the biggest text item at the top of your home page.
• Make your content headline the most prominent text but ensure it speaks about pain riddance and/or desire attainment.
• Use a recent article (e.g. from your blog), as it can engage visitors and shows you’re an expert.
• Make the invitation to get your freebie the biggest block of text on your home, provided it’s full of juicy, helpful content.

Remember, the name of the game when it comes to websites is to “serve the visitor”. Especially those first few words they see once they arrive at your site. Skip the space-hogging niceties and opt for leading visitors on ways to achieve their goals.

Is your site guilty of being too nice without being engaging? How can you improve your homepage’s most prominent text? Share your ideas, and let’s see if we can tweak them!