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The home page of an business site is very important, although it may not harken thoughts of the security of a traditional home’s warmth and protection.  Still, it does get its nickname of “home” for a reason.

Let’s settle one thing up front, though:  For most businesses the home page is not the most important.  Far from it.  The page that earns the honor of being most important is probably one or two click removed from the home page.  It is the one on which a converted visitor can perform an action that directly or eventually will lead to the company earing revenue.  However, in most cases the home page will attract more first time visitors than any other single page on your site.

Your home will be the page to which more outside links point than any other of your pages.  It probably also has its share of internal links from other pages on your site, if only because it typically appears on the navigation menu of every page.  Furthermore, if your site is not especially well designed causing your visitors to become lost in their explorations of your site, it is probably to the home page that those meandering visitors will retreat in order to get their bearings.

That simply means that your visitors will use your home page more than it might merit, although I took a circuitous route to get to that conclusion.  While they’re there, you might as well make good use of them and their time.

That brings us to our central question, which is what are the functions of a good home page in a well designed Internet business site?  Here are a few functions from which you can choose, although never try to use one page to do everything.

*  Serve as the foyer for your international corporate office and reflect the corporate climate, whether that is formal and efficient or relaxed and friendly.

*  Provide directional signs to all of the locations that your most prized customers are likely to want to visit.  Of course, your navigation menu will provide this service on all of your site’s pages, but, since this is often the first visit by many of your guests, the home page is an opportunity to help them understand the road maps that you will regularly provide.

*  Assure that the business’s mission is clearly communicated.

*  Be explicit in explaining to your visitors what you want them to do.  Don’t make them guess!  They visit some sites which want to give away information, others which want their contact information and still others that want them to buy a product or contract for a service.  Maybe your business hopes for all three possibilities.

*  Keep the whole place neat and tidy, making it attractive without seeming pretentious.

Those are some of the things to keep in mind for your home page, regardless of whether you have a large, established, authority website or you hope to construct a business mini-site.

Related posts:

1. A Business Website: Purposes of the Home Page
2. Guidelines for A Business’s Website
3. Does Your Business Website Meet These Standards?
4. Quiz: Every Page on Your Business Website Is a (Fill in the Blank)
5. Things You Can Do At Home To Make Money