7 Things You Absolutely, Positively Must Put on Your Homepage

by Mark Bloom | Mar 19, 2019 | Website Content

Writing Pros Explain What Goes on a Homepage

Putting a website together is hard work when you have to do it all yourself. No matter what platform you use — WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, GoDaddy or even HTML — you have to make lots of decisions and somehow trust that it’s all going to work out. If you get any one of factors wrong, it can lead to an ineffective, invisible or just plain awful website.

And arguably the most important page of your site is your homepage. It’s the first page most visitors see and the root of your whole site. So what goes on a homepage? Welcome to a primer on that very topic, presented to you by the professional content providers at Ray Access.

What Does a Homepage Have to Do?

Before getting to what goes on a homepage, let’s explain the role your homepage has to fill. This will go a long way to help you understand the rest of this article. With this in mind, your homepage has to:

• Capture your visitors’ attention
• Introduce your business
• Reinforce that your visitors are in the right place
• Give your visitors something to read, watch and/or do
• Direct your visitors to your interior pages

Ultimately, your homepage has to do everything possible to keep visitors on your site. Assuming a visitor arrives looking for something that your business does, you have about 30 seconds to make your pitch, according to the Nielsen Norman Group. That’s a lot to ask of one web page.

So What Goes on a Homepage?

There are seven things that you absolutely, positively must put on your website homepage to accomplish your goals and keep visitors on your site longer than 30 seconds. Consider:

1. Your business name and tagline. Don’t keep visitors guessing where they ended up. Your business name must be front and center. Include a tagline that defines your business or competitive advantage. For example, your tagline may be: “Better than doing it yourself” or “The best resource for doing it yourself.
    
2. Your contact information. Believe it or not, some visitors to your website want to contact you without much prodding. You’re doing them a disservice if you don’t list your hours and contact information (location, phone number and email address) right where they can find it easily. This one of the most frequently missed items of what goes on a homepage.
    
3. An easy-to-follow navigation menu. How you direct your visitors to more information makes a huge difference in how they interact with your site. Keep your menu options clear: Products, Services, FAQs, About, Contact — whatever makes sense for your business. For example, Ray Access has two types of clients: businesses and agencies, so our menu directs each to a separate menu of choices. Above the fold.
    
4. Calls to action. Give your visitors something to do, whether it’s a contact form to fill out or an opportunity to learn more about your business. Make your call-to-action button big and obvious. Give it a distinct color. You can have more than one call-to-action on your homepage, but one should be primary. What do visitors want from your business?
    
5. Effective content. You need to state your case and explain why you’re in business. When it comes to what goes on a homepage, this is the essence. The content on your homepage has to give your pitch:
   • Your primary market or audience — who are you selling to?
   • The problem you solve for your customers — what benefits do your customers get from you?
   • Your competitive advantage — why should visitors buy from you?
   • Several testimonials or social proof — who else has bought from you?
   • Compelling reasons to dig deeper — why should visitors click to your interior pages?
      
6. Arresting media. Capture your visitors’ attention. If you have a video explaining your business or your competitive advantage, put it on your homepage. Use interesting, unusual or vibrant images on the page. Stock images get old fast. Everything on your homepage needs to relate to the issues you can solve for your visitors.
    
7. SEO keywords. Part of what goes on a website is what helps bring people to it. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) keywords come in. Ray Access believes in one percent keyword density — that’s one keyword for every 100 words — which works without hitting visitors over the head again and again, because no one likes that.

Now that you know what goes on a homepage, go ahead and create your awesome website. But if you need help with effective content, Ray Access has for professional writers and editors who do it right for you.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

2019 Website Trends

by Elle Ray | Dec 31, 2018 | Website Content

Tips to Keep Your Website Relevant and Vital

Ray Access has always advocated for user-friendly website design and content. If your readers can’t find what they’re looking for, or what you promise, they’ll look for answers elsewhere. It’s just too easy to click away. It’s much faster and usually more efficient to keep clicking than to keep looking. Readers click until they find a site that provides answers.

Website trends in the past have sometimes done more to confuse visitors than to help them. The user experience (UX) gets muddled when designers go for flashy or cute. Remember the days when websites screamed at you with all caps, blinking headings and obnoxious graphics? That was a turn-off even when it was popular. And readers don’t feel respected or valued when content writers rely on industry jargon or high-falutin’ language rather than down-to-earth common sense.

UX Content

We’ve written about website trends and blogs that seem to talk down to readers or are seemingly more interested in showing off the writer’s extensive vocabulary rather than getting a simple message across. Fortunately, 2019 website trends seem to be heading more toward pleasing readers and visitors rather than boosting the egos of creators and writers.

Users want to trust what they see on your website. Friendly websites and blogs are not only more attractive, understandable and easy to navigate, they’re also authentic. According to Core DNA, one of the most important website trends you can count on in 2019 is a call for authenticity: “…if your content doesn’t accurately reflect your brand’s voice, the mission your company stands for, and the value you hope to bring your target audience, … you might as well not create it in the first place.”

Content Marketing Is Crucial

As fewer customers in every field and across industries rely almost exclusively on the internet for information, content marketing is becoming more crucial than ever. In fact, for many companies, the only place you’ll ever see marketing dollars spent is on their websites. These website trends make it all the more important for you to make sure your website, including your blog, reflects your business accurately.

Tell your story clearly. Provide your contact information prominently. Let your visitors know where to find current deals and ongoing specials. Plainly spell out who you are, what you do and how you fill their needs. Read your own website regularly to make sure your site is doing all those important things!

Interaction, Please

As the majority of consumers become more comfortable interacting with the internet and more experienced with its basic capabilities, they will want more. Website marketing company Blue Compass predicts that interactive additions to websites will lead the pack of 2019 website trends, giving visitors more options for talking back, providing feedback and asking questions.

They claim that as visitors are given more options to interact with companies that they believe are responsive to their needs, those businesses will excel, both in perception and in sales. Automated interactive website designs, again, are not just for show or to highlight your web team’s talent, but should instead provide added value to your visitors that leads to more sales.

Visitors Beware

As content marketing continues to play an important role in making sales, so search engine optimization (SEO) also will be undergoing its own fine-tuning that you can’t neglect. It’s wise to keep up with the changes if you want to continually rank well with the major search engines, where Google still dominates. (Some say more than 90 percent of searches occur on Google.)

Search engines are so hard to predict, though, as they seem to make annual changes to their algorithms. You can, however, expect high marks for websites that:

• Provide exceptional quality and value — in other words, useful information, especially on health and financial websites
• Are approachable and well-organized
• Present well on all mobile-friendly devices
• Load quickly, as speed is another factor that isn’t going away — the faster your site loads, the better SEO you achieve

At Ray Access, we believe valuable content will win the marketing race in the end. SEO tricks come and go, but people arrive at your website for one main reason: to get answers. Whether they find them on your site is something that’s within your control. Contact us to learn how we can help your company website.

Media Literacy for Websites

by Mark Bloom | Dec 24, 2018 | Website Content

Tips to Help You Find Online Truth for Yourself

It’s a 21st century concept, but media literacy is a real discipline for studying and evaluating communications as propagated within any form of media, from print to digital. In this era, we’re all bombarded by more messaging than at any time in history. Media literacy is a way to cope, sort and manage all that information.

Advertising’s purpose is to influence your behavior — to buy something, usually. Similarly, marketing is meant to promote a product or business. If you study media literacy for websites, therefore, you’re better able to interpret the messages coming at you as you venture onto the internet.

You Don’t Need Another Degree

To study media literacy for websites, you don’t necessarily have to return to school, although such a degree program is likely available. But that’s not what we’re advocating. Instead, pay attention and learn what to look for in the messaging on the websites you visit.

There’s nothing to commit to memory. You won’t find any tests to pass. Media literacy for websites isn’t a cut-and-dried exercise. It’s not something you learn and forget. On the contrary, when you’re media literate, you approach information a little differently.

Why We Care about Media Literacy for Websites

Ray Access writes website content. We’re very good at it, and our clients benefits from the words we craft. In the course of our research, we’ve read and examined thousands of websites. Believe it or not, not all of them tell the truth. Worse, some give half-truths, incomplete information or misleading data. By applying the principles of media literacy for websites, we can read between the lines to discern this “fake news.”

We at Ray Access strive to better the internet by writing high quality content and alerting our readers of the dangers of lazy writing. When you can find factual information on a website, presented in a way that benefits the site’s target audience, then our work is done. Sadly, not everyone agrees that it’s important to “stick to the facts, ma’am.”

How to Become Media Literate

When it comes to websites, you can’t simply read for comprehension, as if the website were a reputable newspaper. You have to learn to recognize the tricks, and you have to find the right questions to ask yourself. In 2019, in the age of fake news, it’s more important than ever to be able to determine what’s real and authentic.

You need to have some tools to help you as you venture out in the wild landscape of the internet. You need to know what to look for and how to spot the markers that may indicate less than the full truth. So here some tips to can help:

1. Adopt a curious attitude. You can no longer accept whatever you read — or even see — as the truth. Be curious about what you see. Question what you read.
    
2. Consider the source. Here are several examples:
   • It’s possible that an orthodontist is telling you the truth when he recommends that the only way to fix an overbite is to get braces. It’s also possible he just wants to sell braces. Does his website even list alternatives to braces? If not, you have to check out the options for yourself.
   • It’s possible that a news site is presenting all the facts about a recent political scandal. They happen, sometimes with regularity. It’s also possible that the site makes its money by exaggerating the news so you keep coming back. Look to see if other sites are reporting it. Real news isn’t exclusive, even if one media outlet first breaks the story.
      
3. Look for language markers. The English language presents readers with a slippery slope of truthfulness. It’s easy to slip into half-truths or worse. A website that touts restorative creams, for example, will use the word “can,” as in: “This cream can give you relief in 10 minutes.” That’s not the same as writing that it will give you relief. “May” is another marker, as in: “It may take three treatments to resolve your issues.” That doesn’t promise anything.
    
4. Double-check the facts. Never take the word of one website, especially when it’s so easy to double-check, with the whole of the internet at your fingertips. Media literacy for websites means adopting a skeptical outlook.
    
5. Look for links to corroborating sites. Every reputable website should have links to external sites that offer objective facts that back up the assertions of the first website’s claims. Did you know that if you hover the mouse pointer over a link, the URL displays in the bottom left of your browser window? That’s useful.

If all this seems too difficult, then stick to reputable websites. But even the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post make mistakes. Don’t let your guard down just because you’re reading a well-known website. When you develop media literacy for websites, it’s always “buyer beware.”

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

What’s on Your Website?

by Mark Bloom | Dec 11, 2018 | Website Content

A Website Content Assessment Can Tell You

How do you know if your business website is effective? The proof is often right in front of you. If you keep tabs on the flow of traffic coming into your website and the numbers keep going up, it’s doing well. If potential clients are contacting you through your website or mentioning your website in emails to you, you’re doing something right.

When your website persuades visitors to contact you, that’s a win. After all, the ultimate goal of any business website is to:

• Attract attention
• Educate visitors
• Generate leads
• Make sales

But what does it mean if your website isn’t doing any of that? How do you know what’s wrong? How can you determine what steps to take? Our answer: get a professional website content assessment.

Many Factors to Success

A website can be a single page or hundreds of pages. It can include e-commerce, videos and links to other resources. Websites involve complex source code, design elements, graphics, content, navigation aids and other factors that contribute to the success or failure of your site. What do you look at first?

A website content assessment, as performed by Ray Access, examines everything but the code, page by page. It’s a visitor’s view of what’s on your website: what some call the “UX” or user experience. It’s an examination of what works — and what doesn’t — on your site. Our website content assessment takes into account:

• How welcoming your site is, including an overview of the design elements
• Whether you answer common questions about your company and about your industry
• If the language of your website connects and engages visitors
• How easy it is to find basic information, such as your address or office hours
• If your contact information is prominently displayed
• Whether visitors easily can navigate to find the page that interests them most
• How well the graphical elements work with the content
• If your site is complete in and of itself (i.e., nothing is missing)

A Thorough Report

In the end, a website content assessment from Ray Access is chock-full of useful information about your site. It gives you not only a sense of how effective your website is, but also an idea of where to start to address any shortcomings. The report, which can be 10 pages long, depending on the size of your website, is extensive and thorough. Because it also highlights what’s currently working on your website, the report instills a desire to fix the problems, not obsess over the failures.

Ray Access makes this an affordable standalone service. We’ll do it for you as a starting point for your redevelopment effort or as a check-in after your site’s been live for several years. There are many ways to use the website content assessment report and just as many valid times to order one. While we’re often hired to assess a dysfunctional website, we’ve assessed our share of excellent sites as well. It’s never all bad news.

This Is Not a Sales Pitch

At Ray Access, we really try not to use our weekly blogs strictly for self-promotion. At the same time, we’d be remiss if we didn’t offer our services — especially for those who don’t have the time, resources or know-how to do it yourself. In our blog, we offer small business advice, writing tips, content marketing news, among other topics.

These are areas in which we excel. We provide our thoughts and expert advice freely, week after week, for you to use in your own business. We share our secrets so you can prosper. But if you feel you can’t or don’t have the time to do it yourself, then sure, we’re here if you need us.

In this case, we believe it’s a valid question to ask whether your website is working for you. The answers may lead you to question what you need to do to fix it. Don’t feel pushed to hire Ray Access to do a website content assessment for you. But if your site is dysfunctional, consider the advice in this blog and do something about it, with or without Ray Access.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

It’s Not All About You

by Elle Ray | Nov 20, 2018 | Website Content

Make Your About Us Page Relevant to Visitors

Most websites have an About page. If you don’t, consider building one. Certain elements of websites have come to be considered standard, and visitors rely on that commonality to find certain information.

On the About Us page, they learn who you are, what you’re all about and who plays a role in your company’s operations. Customers like to do business with people they like and trust. And yes, the focus is on people. So your About page is not the place to go into more detail about your company, your products or services. It’s where you tell your story.

Are You Relatable?

So even though the About Us page technically is about the origins of your company, your own background and the various team members who make up your company, it’s really about your customers. Sound confusing and contradictory? Well, that’s because it is. And this seems to be the most difficult concept to get across to business owners and their content writers.

Sure, the About Us Page is about you, but its primary — and some might insist only — purpose is to get potential customers comfortable with you or to get clients to relate to you. After all, who doesn’t want to support a small business owner from your hometown or who went to the same college? Why someone buys from you and not the next guy is just as much about who you are as what you are selling!

So Give It to Them

Understanding your target market is as important as ever when you sit down to compose your About Us page. You can’t very well give your potential clients information they can relate to if you don’t know who they are. At the same time, you usually don’t want to alienate potential buyers who may not be like you or really don’t like much about you — but do like your products or services.

Your ultimate goal has to be reaching as many potential clients as possible with every page on your website. To do that, stay away from certain topics. You’re going to dig up more harm than good if you include:

• Religious affiliations
• Political opinions or party memberships
• Sexual orientation
• Ethnic background

More forgivable aspects of you and your background might include your college; even arch-rivals could turn out to be great customers. Other information on your company website should read most like a friendly bio and include such things as:

• How long you’ve been in business
• The history of your company
• What kind of experience you bring to your work
• Where you’re from originally
• Why you located to the area you’re in now and what you like about it
• What you enjoy most about your industry

Added bonus features might include (for fun and profit):

• Hobbies
• Family
• Kooky anecdote
• Nickname
• Favorite food

Consider the Source

Your About Us page is like a resume of sorts. It’s the place where you put your best foot forward. It’s also a great place to put your mission statement and vision. It’s just not the place to be shy or humble — other than to praise your fellow workers or those who came before you in the company.

Speak about yourself and your team in terms of what you can do for your website visitors. Give them more reasons to buy from you. Make your About Us page an important part of your overall marketing strategy. And if you find it too hard to write about yourself in glowing terms, call us. We’ll tell your visitors just how great, unique, caring, funny, hardworking, compassionate and precise you really are!

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.