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The homepage is the most important page of your business’s website. It is the virtual shop front to your business, providing your customers a first impression of what you have to offer. You only have seconds to grab your customer’s attention so it is key to make sure that they can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.

8 essential items and design features to include on your homepage

While you’re free to be creative with the design of your homepage, there are some standard items that a user will expect to see when they arrive at your website.

Branding

Branding can be in a name, sign, symbol, slogan, words or design, or a combination of these elements, that identify the products or services of your business and help you stand out from your competitors.

• Ensure your brand is easy to see on your homepage and include your business logo and headline at the top of the page. A headline tells your visitors what your business has to offer.
• Create a great headline for your business by writing down the key points you want to communicate about your brand. Keep the message clear and simple. Don’t forget, your brand is your promise to your customers so make sure you can deliver what you promise.
• In order to keep your brand consistent, make sure that the look and feel of your website is similar to the look and feel of your printed materials and branding (e.g. brochures, menus, advertisements, letterheads).

Contact Information

• Make sure your customers can find you or get in touch with you by having your contact number, address, email address and/or contact us form easily accessible and visible on your website’s homepage.
• If you have a physical shopfront, make sure you include the hours and days of the week you are open, and provide an online map directing customers to your business.

Site Search function

• Add a search function on your homepage to help users find information on your website.
• Place the site search box in the middle or to the right of the header where users are more likely to find it.
• Colours and boarders can help the site search box stand out on the page.

Call to action (CTAs)

A call to action is an image or text that prompts your user to take some form of action.

• What do you want your users to do on your site? Do you want them to place an order, subscribe to a newsletter, register for an event or request a quote? You can use CTAs to direct your audience to areas of your website where they can perform an action, whether it is to sign up, register or subscribe.
• Ensure the CTA stands out from the other content on the page. You can have it in a colour that makes it stand out from the colour scheme of your homepage.

Site Navigation

A good site navigation will help customers to find the different areas in your website.

• Include a clear and simple site navigation bar to link to the different pages on your website. If your website is very detailed, you may just link to the primary pages.
• Place your site navigation bar either at the top of the page or down the side of the page so it’s easy for customers to find.
• If your site contains a large number of pages, you may look into using a drop down menu for your navigation bar.

Images

• An image or short video on your homepage that clearly shows what you offer can make your site more attractive to your audience, enhance the user experience and help with the overall branding of your business.
• Don’t use images just to fill white space, make sure the image matches the content on the page. Users pay close attention to images that are relevant.
• Make sure your images and videos are of high standard as the quality of the images can affect how your users perceive your website.

Typography

Typography is the visual component of the written word, the art and technique of arranging print.

• Use a couple of fonts that are consistent with your brand’s voice and tone. Too many different fonts and sizes can make your website look cluttered causing confusion.
• Be consistent and use the same font and typeface in both your digital and printed material so customers immediately recognise your brand.
• Make sure there is a strong contrast between the colour of your text and the colour of the background, so the text is easy and comfortable to read and meets accessibility standards.
• Making your text in italics or bold can also cause your content to be difficult to read on some screens.

Content

• As website users generally scan pages, your content needs to be easy to read and direct.
• Use short paragraphs on your homepage and try to bring your message across with as little words as possible. A short paragraph on your homepage summarising your business and products and services can help grab your customers’ attention.
• Make sure your content is relevant, and speaks the language of your customers.
• Keep the important content near the top of the page so the information isn’t lost on smaller screens.

Build a great first impression

Make your first impression count! A clean and appealing web design, which is easy to navigate and highlights the key points of your business, can better attract customers than a website full of irrelevant information. If your audience can’t identify what it is your business can offer, they won’t stick around.

Find out more…

• Head to Queensland Government website for tips on how to create a website.
• Check out the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0
• Get Practiceplus to build your website

In  a  February  20,  2017  Tax  Court  of  Canada case  (Mullings  vs.  H.M.Q.,  2016-2938(IT)I),  at issue was whether  preventative care  associated with phenylketonuria (PKU) would be eligible for the  DTC.  Without  the  ongoing  care  and  strict monitoring  of  the  individual’s  diet,  permanent and severe rain damage would occur.

An individual may be eligible for the credit (Subsection 118.3(1)) where the  ability  to  perform  a  basic  activity  of  daily  living  is  markedly restricted or would be markedly restricted but for therapy that:

• is essential to sustain a vital function of the individual;
• is required to be administered  at least three times each week for a total duration averaging not less than 14 hours a week; and
• cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  be  of  significant  benefit  to persons who are not so impaired.
• The types of activities which count towards the 14 hours (Subsection 118.3(1.1)) include:
• time  away  from  normal  everyday  activities  in  order  to  receive therapy;
• time spent on determining the dosage of medicine where regular doses are required and daily adjustments are needed; and
• time  spent  by  a  child’s  primary  caregiver  performing  or supervising therapy which the child cannot perform on their own.

Time spent on certain activities do not count towards the 14 hours(Subsection 118.3(1.1)).  This includes  time spent on activities related to:

• dietary or exercise restrictions or routines;
• travel time;
• medical appointments; and
• shopping for medication or recuperation after therapy.

Taxpayer wins

The  Court found that the  following activities counted  towards the 14-hour requirement:

• weekly blood tests;
• the  primary  caregiver’s  time  spent  administering  the  child’s treatment;
• medical appointments where there is actual treatment or testing that is part of the treatment; and
• counting  and  analysis  of  the  number  of  milligrams  of phenylalanine (found in many foods) ingested. This activity was considered  more  akin  to  the  administration  of  medicine  rather than the activities related to dietary restriction.

The taxpayer’s time spent on the above activities exceeded the 14-hour requirement per week, and therefore the DTC claim was allowed.