How to Design a Coaching Website Homepage
Your website homepage is often the first impression you make with potential clients - so it needs to be optimized to retain interest.
Consumers (including your website visitors) want to easily find the information they need and that’s why your homepage is important. You have just a few seconds to grab their attention and tell them who you are and what you do. If they don’t see that information immediately, then they will go right back to Google and keep searching.
Optimizing your website homepage doesn’t have to be difficult - you just need to know what to include AND what not to include.
What should your homepage include?
There are several key pieces of information that your visitors need to see in order to start building interest and trust. Your homepage design layout is up to you - just make sure it’s designed to encourage visitors to keep scrolling.
Clear and simple headline.
Also known as the hero, your homepage headline is the first thing visitors see so it should be clear and simple. In just a few words, you need to hook your audience and make them want to keep reading.
Catchy phrases are fun but this probably isn’t the place - your headline should clarify the purpose of your website and answer the one question every website visitor has… is this what I’m looking for?
Put clarity first when it comes to writing your headline - it will help you capture the attention of your ideal client.
Emotional call to action.
Your homepage should have an emotional CTA near the top of the page - a simple sentence that encourages your website visitors to learn more.
The goal of your homepage is to tell your brand story and the emotional call is like the first sentence of the story. It’s considered emotional because it gets to the root of why the visitor was searching for you in the first place.
Your emotional call to action should speak directly to your target audience and make them want to keep reading.
Effective copywriting.
Telling your brand story requires effective copywriting that resonates with your audience. Your homepage copywriting should compel visitors to take action - which is how you move them through your sales funnel.
Strategically planned copywriting drives conversions because it’s simple yet effective, and it’s written the way your audience speaks.
Your homepage copywriting should help you find ideal clients - the people who will read the first few lines and say ‘oh, this is for me’!
List of benefits.
Your homepage should have a section that showcases the goals you help your clients achieve. Listing them out is a great way to help your audience visualize the benefits of working with you.
Your potential clients need to know what to expect before they’re willing to take the next step - so show them exactly how you can help.
Make it all about the client and the goals you can help them achieve. And make it easy to read by listing it out in a simple format.
Social proof.
Social proof is a key piece of information your potential clients need to see because it shows them you have a history of success.
Your website visitors want to know that your previous/current clients are happy and that they’re seeing positive results from working with you.
You can add a simple section on your homepage that scrolls through your rave reviews. Make sure you ask your clients for a review as part of your offboarding process!
Calls to action.
Websites are generally multi-purpose with several web pages (homepage, about me, blog, resources, contact…). Each page has its own purpose and the homepage is a great place to tell visitors how to navigate all of your website.
You can strategically place CTAs throughout your homepage to get visitors to take actions like sign up for your newsletter, download a free resource, or learn more about your services.
Once you have the layout of your homepage drawn up, you can start sprinkling in those CTAs. Make sure they’re clear, simple, and stand out visually.
Offer.
Make an offer. One of the last pieces of information you should include on your homepage is an offer to learn more about your services.
Your homepage is your opportunity to introduce your expertise to the world so don’t forget to add this section. It doesn’t have to be a purchase button - just a next step that brings them further down your sales funnel.
The goal is to keep visitors on your website and the best way to do that is to end every web page (including your homepage) with a CTA to learn more about your services.
What should your homepage NOT include?
Your homepage should include just enough information to encourage visitors to keep clicking. If you add too much information, they’ll get overwhelmed and leave. If the information isn’t clear, they’ll get frustrated and leave. So, it’s important to take time designing your homepage and steer clear of these common pitfalls.
Confusing navigation.
Make sure your website is functional and easy to navigate - you never want to leave your website visitors wondering where to go next.
The pen and paper method works really well for mapping out your homepage layout or you can use a design software like Canva to create a mockup.
Poor navigation is one of the top reasons for high bounce rates, so make sure you take your time and design a homepage that makes sense for your visitors.
Content that’s all about you.
Your homepage should tell your brand story in a way that makes it all about the client. The copywriting should make them feel understood.
Most coaches and course creators have one thing in common - they want to help people. You have an expertise that can make a difference for someone else and that motivated you to build a coaching business! Tell that story.
Use your homepage to tell your potential clients about the joy you get from running your business because you know you’re helping others achieve their dream.
Oversized graphics.
This tip is technical but not hard to figure out and there are tools to help! Your website platform should have recommended sizes for graphics and you need to make sure all your graphics are sized correctly.
Oversized graphics can cause the load speed of your web pages to slow down which makes visitors leave. If you have a high bounce rate, then look into the load speed of your website first.
Google Search Console is a free tool you can use to monitor your website’s performance. It’s very easy to set up and helps you find issues (like load speed) so you can rank higher on search engines.
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