“A stunning first impression was not the same thing as love at first sight. But surely it was an invitation to consider the matter.” Lois McMaster Bujold had it right about just how powerful your first impression can be. Whether you are meeting someone at an event or someone is coming to your website, that first impression makes a significant difference in how they look at you and your organization. When it comes to your website, the design of your homepage is the most commonly shared webpage… making its design even more important than the others.
Since the homepage is so important, what can you do to make sure it is giving your visitors the best impression possible? There are elements that help you and your nonprofit deliver the best first impression. Let’s look at what those elements are and how we can put them to good use.
Primary Call to Action
There will be visitors to your organization’s website that already plan to take the action, whether that’s sign up for your newsletter or donate time or volunteer. They are people that have likely heard about you from someone in your organization or someone that advocates for your cause. Those people need easy access ways for taking the next desired step. That’s what the primary call to action does. It gives you a place at the beginning of the page to encourage people to take a desired action, whatever that is for your organization.
Storytime
People relate to and remember information better when it is built into a story. Stories also help to build emotions that will motivate the reader to take some form of action. Telling a story to illustrate the people you serve and the work your organization does to make a difference in their lives not only helps create a very clear message of your mission, but it brings the reader emotionally closer to the cause. Stories have a lot more power in expressing feelings, dedication and challenges that your cause experiences.
Social Proof
Whether someone is looking to spend money, including when they are trying to decide on a cause to invest in, people want to know they are making the right decision. One way people feel better about their investment in cause is by hearing from those they service or those that have worked with their organization. Think of social proof almost as testimonials. They help the visitors get a different point of view by reading feedback from someone outside the organization.
Content Offer
Free digital content is always appreciated. By offering a PDF document that provides the reader with value, you are showing them your expertise related to your mission. This content offer does not have to be a huge digital document. This could be a checklist showing how they can make a difference in one aspect of your mission… it could also be about how your organization has helped someone else out and what even you, outside the organization, can help make a difference for those type of people being served.
Secondary Call to Action
The second, and last, call to action are typically found at the end of the page. The reason for it being at the end of the page is because it is your last chance to convince your reader to take the desired action. Throughout the page you have talked about your mission, shown them people who your cause serves or who have been involved with your efforts, and given them something of value for no cost to them. Now that you have delivered all this value to your reader, it is only acceptable to ask for them to take one more action that will help the mission.
Conclusion
There is some room for moving around the order of the five elements to an effective homepage, and there’s also room for adding a couple more items. Whether you keep the order of the elements the same or do a little shifting, the general style will make a real difference to the way people look at your homepage.
