Website Homepage

[pinkylisa28]

Hi everyone
Just in the process of getting my website designed, and would just like to ask a question to anyone that has a website. Does your homepage have a scroll?eg is there more information that you cant 1st see so you have to scroll down?as this was how i was going to do my homepage but my website designer has advised me not to.he has said most people only spend 20 30 seconds on a homepage before going to the page they wont. he said its fine for the other pages but he wouldnt advise it for the homepage.so confused now
Now what id like to no is if you think this is right?if you have a scroll on your homepage do you find it works ok for you?
Thanks in advance

 

[rachirv]

mmm ive never heard of this before. sorry i cant help, im sure the lovely ruth mills will come along soon and help you xx

 

[Dally]

Hiya,

I agree with your web designer to some extent. As long as the first part that someone sees has enough to grab someones attention, then there is no reason why you can't have a scroll down page. Just make your first part really eyecatching, and gain people's interest there is no reason why they wont scroll down.

I hate websites where their home pages are "click here to enter" because clearly i want to enter if i have visited the site!! Just my pet hate thats all!

Hope that helps? :S

 

[Ruth Mills]

I'd be inclined to put the key information for your home page at the top of the page - e.g. where you are based, what you offer, etc... this will also help to a certain extent with SEO (search engine optimisation).

Whether the page has to scroll or not is dependent on the size of the screen that people are viewing your site on too, and whether you've chosen a "fixed width" layout or one where the text expands to fill the available screen width. So a page which is viewable in its entirety on a fairly large resolution screen (e.g. 1280 x 1024) might need scrolling on a smaller screen (e.g. 1024 x 768).

But I'd definitely be inclined to avoid a "splash page" which has maybe just a photo and "Enter Here" on there - as these are bad for search engine optimisation, as well as giving a poorer experience to your users as they have to click to an extra page before they see the proper content on your site.

 

[Verve Designs]

Your site is a sales tool- Its actually more efficient if they never have to leave the home page to do what you want them to do- and thats contact you. People are generally less interested in your website than you are- they want to get the relevant information as quickly as possible (and its your site's duty to "wash over" them in the meantime)

What you're talking about is having information "below the fold"- and its usually not that effective to have information that you have to scroll/click for.

 

[pinkylisa28]

Thank you for your replys, the homepage isnt going to be click here to enter. the website designer has put my logo and different page buttons on the side also at the top is my contact number (if you get what i mean ) I have put a brief outline as to what i offer and where i am based on the front, but i was also going to write about the opening times and that there are gift vouchers available. so should i put the opening hours and the fact that i offer gift vouchers on the contact me page?or should i keep it on the homepage and let them scroll down, also do you think its a good idea to put company products logos that i use on the homepage?
sorry for so many questions

 

[Ruth Mills]

Thank you for your replys, the homepage isnt going to be click here to enter. the website designer has put my logo and different page buttons on the side also at the top is my contact number (if you get what i mean ) I have put a brief outline as to what i offer and where i am based on the front, but i was also going to write about the opening times and that there are gift vouchers available. so should i put the opening hours and the fact that i offer gift vouchers on the contact me page?or should i keep it on the homepage and let them scroll down, also do you think its a good idea to put company products logos that i use on the homepage?
sorry for so many questions

Opening times and gift voucher information should be fine on the home page - opening times are important so it's better for clients to have them on the home page rather than have to navigate off to a separate contact page to view then (although you could repeat the opening times on the contact page for completeness if you wanted to).

In my experience, product logos look good on home pages too... especially if you use "prestige" brands such as CND, Perron Rigot, etc. I'd always have at least one picture of some description on the home page (whether a product logo, a photo of the salon or a stock photo), as pages with just text on can look a tad on the bland side.