FORTEWHINER.COM

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The home page of an business site is very important, although it may not harken thoughts of the security of a traditional home’s warmth and protection. Still, it does get its nickname of “home” for a reason.}

Let’s settle one thing up front, though: For most online businesses the home page is not the most important. Far from it. That is probably the page that contains an “order now” button or a prospect lead form. On the other hand, the home page is probably the page that will attract more first time traffic than any other page on your online business site.}

Assuming that you have followed a traditional link building plan, more external links will be directed to your home page than any other. It probably also has its share of internal links from other pages on your site, if only because it typically appears on the navigation menu of every page. Furthermore, if your site is not especially well designed causing your visitors to become lost in their explorations of your site, it is probably to the home page that those meandering visitors will retreat in order to get their bearings.}

That’s all a rather long way of saying that a lot of your visitors are going to spend a lot of their time on your website’s home page. While they’re there, you might as well make good use of them and their time.}

What are the purposes of a well constructed home page in a well designed online business website? Consider what follows to be a menu from which you may choose, ala carte:}

* Serve as the foyer for your international corporate office and reflect the corporate climate, whether that is formal and efficient or relaxed and friendly.}

* Provide directional signs to all of the locations that your most prized customers are likely to want to visit. Of course, your navigation menu will provide this service on all of your site’s pages, but, since this is often the first visit by many of your guests, the home page is an opportunity to help them understand the road maps that you will regularly provide.}

* Subtly and efficiently communicate the mission of your business through the copy on the page, the images, a video or some combination of all channels.}

* Tell your visitors what you want them to do. You might want them to buy a product, sign up to receive valuable information, learn about the topic in which your business is the expert or even all of those.}

* Keep the whole place neat and tidy, making it attractive without seeming pretentious.}

Those are some of the functions to consider for any business home page, regardless of whether you already have a large, established, authority website or you are planning to build a business mini-site.}

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