Design Your Home Page to Motivate Prospective Buyers to Explore Your Web Site

By Leva Duell
Posted Thursday, December 9, 2004

Generally you get only one chance to grab your visitors' attention. Use these four easy steps to compel prospective buyers to explore your web site.

Step 1. Headline

Start your home page with a compelling, benefit-oriented headline, followed by a subheadline.

Example: Enhance your competitive edge with a professional web site! Five Star Web Design uses design techniques that persuade visitors to click on your links, spend more time on your site, and order your products and services.

Step 2. Description of your web site

Target your audience by describing your site's content in one to three sentences. Tell what you can do for your visitors, what problem you can solve for them, what solutions you provide, and what your qualifications are.

Example: Web Design Built on Proven Marketing Strategies! Five Star Web Design and Marketing specializes in developing custom web sites for small-and medium-sized companies at competitive rates.

Step 3. Provide links

- Provide links that give visitors an overview of your site's content. - Turn your links into headlines. Include action words and benefits to invite and motivate people to go deeper into your site. - Write several headlines with different hot buttons to motivate a larger number of visitors. - Link to a testimonial page. Providing testimonials from customers or authorities in your field is a powerful way to convey the benefits you offer. - Provide a link to your sales letter, catalog, and order form.

Example: - Multiply sales, subscriptions, and traffic with action words. (http://www.FiveStarWebDesign.com/action.htm)

Step 4. Capture your visitors' email

- Get your visitors' email address and build email lists of your prospects. - Few people will buy from your web site on first contact. Generate leads with your web site, stay in touch by email, and turn your visitors into customers. Send regular email to establish trust; provide additional information and value; offer additional products and services; and get visitors to return to your site. Over time, they will develop confidence in you and buy from you. - Offer something valuable to get your visitors' email address such as a free special report, newsletter, evaluation, consultation, discount, or special offer.

Examples of valuable information: - Yes! Send me your FREE report "Top Ten Ways to Generate Web Traffic." - Enter your email address here and receive "10 Secrets That Are Guaranteed to Make Your Internet Profits Explode!"

Let's recap how to motivate your prospects to explore your web site: Target your ideal prospects, grab their attention with benefit-oriented headline and links, and tell them what you can do for them. Don't forget to capture their email address and stay in touch by email to turn your visitors into customers!

P.S. Read more in-depth articles at (http://www.profitablewebstrategies.com) and (http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com).

This article is an excerpt from Inside Secrets to Developing a Profitable Web Site. More info at (http://www.profitablewebstrategies.com/ebook.htm).

About the Author
Web Design Built on Proven Marketing Strategies! Leva Duell, Web Designer/online marketing consultant. Visit (http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com) and (http://www.profitablewebstrategies.com) FREE monthly ezine "Profitable Web Strategies." Subscribe today and get a FREE report, "10 Easy Ways to Skyrocket Your Online Sales." Send email to: mailto:webstrategies@ez-responder.com