Why These 25+ Website Homepage Designs Work So Well [UPDATED 2022]

As the name indicates, the homepage is the first page users see in a website. The homepage design has to be great, it has to impress.

Below, you’ll find the critical ingredients that have been tried and tested to work, and which will make your homepage stand out from the crowd.

Bring focus to what the site is about

When a user first lands on your website, he/she will want to know as quickly as possible that they’ve come to the right place. Users are fickle, with a short attention span, so they want to be convinced of the value they’ll get, right off the bat. It’s necessary to immediately make it obvious what a website is about, so they know if they should continue spending time on a website or skip and find another site.

A website homepage should communicate value, from the very beginning.

To focus users’ attention, you can do the following:

Use a relevant keyword

For instance, if you sell consulting services, mention “consulting services”, if you sell shoes, mention “shoes”, etc.

A keyword, if it’s relevant, helps users better understand what the website is about. It anchors in their mind the core topic of the page, and an important part of the website message. Also, a keyword is useful for search engine optimization, as it indicates search engine bots that the web page is relevant for the topic and will better index and position the home page in search engine results pages.

Here‘s a website homepage that makes good use of a relevant keyword, directly in the homepage. The main and most relevant keyword here is “brand”, and it’s chained in an impactful paragraph that users can’t ignore.

And they nailed the slogan as well: “great brand design is measured in memories”.

Here’s another example from Mooosor, that talks about garbage d=statistics and how we can help diminish waste:

• Use a relevant graphic or image that sustains the words and the focus keyword, through visual cues. Such a graphic should immediately make it obvious that the website can give what the reader wants. For example, if they’re searching for a pet care center, you should have an image with a pet, if they are searching for a doctor, place a medical symbol on the homepage. The image and the text (keyword included) should have a strong correlation to one another, so the message keeps its coherence and really has an impact onto the readers.

The example from above is relevant here as well. Strong imagery and fonts really manage to emphasize this huge garbage problem humanity is facing.

In the following example, Vaayu uses round shapes that grow and diminish to make you think of measurement, carbon measurement in their case.

Survicate, a survey tool, uses arrows as a visual cue, to move the eye toward certain content.

Use a catchy slogan and memorable copy

Slogans are simple phrases designed to grab people’s attention, with a few words and a short message. A good slogan is striking, and it decides in a very short space the persuasiveness power of the homepage.

A good slogan can turn a homepage from good to great, from forgettable to memorable. It brings in the page message, quick and naturally, and it ticks a slight surprise effect that triggers users’ attention and puts them in the mood for reading more.

And to keep them engaged in reading more, the homepage should display good copy. The copy of the homepage has a decisive role for the effectiveness of the web page.

According to studies, there are some criteria that should be taken into account to ensure effectiveness of the homepage copy:

• Promotional writing (this is copy that boasts the benefits of a product/service with obvious commercial purposes) – the less promotional writing on the homepage, the more effective the homepage will be.
• Concise text – the copy on the homepage should be concise and present the essentials of the business; studies show that conciseness of the copy improves usability (users’ easiness in going through the text) with 58%.
• Scannable layout (a layout that is easy to be scanned, visualized, so information is quickly assimilated) – easily scannable layouts of the homepage lead to an increase in usability effectiveness with 47%.

Also, the homepage copy needs to perform well, as research showed that 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the writing or layout are unattractive.

Homepage copy is a unique chance to makes users return to the website, once the first impressions were fine. Otherwise, studies show that 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience with it.

This is an example of a good slogan that does its job and has a truly effective impact on the readers’ minds: BE MOVED (Sony’s slogan).

You can also tell a story that your website visitors can relate to. Take Blok, for example. They are creating “kid-proof” watches. The website design is colorful and engaging. The story goes the watches are built “adults who lit (metaphorical) fires as kids”.

If you click on the CTA you’ll find out the rest of the story. It goes like this:

“We’re parents who haven’t lost our curiosity. We’re an independent watch brand that gets it. We’ve designed a stylish, analogue watch with a real-deal, Swiss-made heart. Credible with our friends in haute horology, yet self-evidently cool to our magnificently inquisitive, adventurous kids. The Blok 33 educates, engages, and inspires.”

They convinced me, what about you?

Here’s another story coming up via Everyday Robots. They build helper robots, in order to bring back time into our lives. And this is the story:

The story of ReGrocery started because “the grocery industry has made it impossible to avoid plastic packaging and waste, and we want to change that”. I’m pretty sure that this kind of message resonates with many of us.

Storytelling is important on a website. Having a brand story is more important than ever when it comes to businesses, because, in the recent years, our buying behavior moved on from looking at product features to how a product, a brand, make us feel.

Provide a unique value proposition for your homepage design

Every homepage should have its own unique value proposition.

The unique value proposition of a web page communicates what the company does differently than other companies on the market. It delimits the unique benefits people will have from the company.

The unique value proposition is more elaborate than the slogan. It’s, in fact, a succinct, punctual copy – a presentation of the solutions that make users’ choice of them the best possible option.

To help you get a clearer understanding of what the unique value proposition is, we list the key elements that it consists of:

• What you do.

I love how ReGrocery communicates this on their homepage. They deliver groceries in environmental friendly packaging.

Take a look at Vovi, a branding studio. Straight from the hero, you get their message. They do brand, social, website, and video campaigns.

Here’s a great example from Potion,  a tool used to personalize videos, to be used by marketing and sales teams. Potion has three main product benefits that are strengthen by social proof.

• Who you do it for. In the example below, Salesforce (one of the best customer relationship management systems out there) shows how it can help small businesses, sales and customer support teams.Here’s another example, from Woset, creators of imaginative kids toys. Love their copy: “Woset creates imaginative objects for endless play”.
• Why you do it better than the competition. You could say it or let customers say it. Take a look at this homepage testimonial from Netguru, a top software development company, among the fastest growing European companies. The testimonial shows how Netguru was the best choice for their client, and how they are good at going to market with speed.

Now, you could also create separate pages where you can compare yourself with specific competitors. It’s how ClickUp does it (great productivity tool). Their comparison pages are listed in the homepage’s footer.

Ahrefs, a great SEO tool, has a separate page to compare the product with its two main competitors: Semrush and Moz.

Provide an effective CTA

Some sites are more “action-heavy” than “information-heavy”, such as eCommerce websites. And the home page should be the first to set this content frame. For instance, a visitor on a real estate website wants to quickly go and see house listings, rental offers, etc. If the first thing he sees is a wall of text or images in non-actionable sections (with no buttons for reservations, for instance), he’ll immediately press the back button. Such sites really need to include an immediate, and clearly visible “call to action” or CTA to help the user do what he wants to do.

The folks at Lush, a great cosmetics online store, have a lot of calls to action, for various steps in the buyer’s journey, such as:

• “Shop now”, “Add to bag” for the ones ready to buy,
• “Read more”, “Learn more”, for those still doing product their research.

Take a look at the Land of Ride website. They curate unforgettable journeys for sports aficionados of all levels. There are two main calls to action on a page: “Choose land” (as in choosing the place for the adventure) and “Choose ride” (as in choosing the type of adventure: snow, sky, surf, etc.)

Here’s another CTA example, from the Quebec Metropolitan Orchestra website:

Characteristics of an effective homepage CTA:

• It has compelling text, that triggers action
• It uses the right tone (it “speaks in words users want to hear”). E.g. “Let’s Go!” uses a familiar tone, that fits perfectly the buyer persona searching scenario – “I’m gonna start searching for a new home, so…, good…, let’s go…”.
• It’s prominent and stands out from the rest of the page, through contrast.

Use testimonials for your homepage design

Testimonials can be a great way to sustain the homepage content with credibility. They are recommendations of products/services/companies from clients that tested them and have been content with their quality. They are one of the strongest forms of social proof and they have to make new users to try products/services for themselves.

A testimonial means that the person giving it is putting their reputation on the line. That’s why you should never underestimate its power.

According to research, 39% of consumers said they read reviews on a regular basis to determine whether a local business is a good business.

Even more, studies demonstrated that 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts.

Using the persuasiveness force of testimonials on the home page of a website is a good way to push readers into buying products/services of your company.

Here’s an example of the Codeacademy homepage that includes testimonials:

Testimonials should feel genuine, and suggest what makes you or your product worthwhile, like this testimonial for Kemal, a Prague-based photographer.

In B2B, a good practice is to include the picture of the one writing the testimonials, the position, and company, in order for the testimonials to feel authentic. Here’s an example from Miro, a cool online collaborative whiteboard platform.

Use mood boards to set the tone of the homepage design

Now that we talked about some key elements a homepage should include, let’s see how you arrange them on the homepage. What’s to be prominent, what’s slightly suggested, what other elements should complete the “picture”. Because they all have to outline a home page mood.

A mood board tells users how you approach certain subjects and communicates important aspects about you and your company. A mood board needs to create a certain kind of personality for your website or company. It’s an important way to communicate with your audience. If copy is your message, a mood board is how you transmit the message.

A mood board refers to:

• The color scheme of the website
• Typography used in the homepage
• Illustration style (this might be playing with effects such as overlays, image frames, frame shadows, transparency/opacity, gradients, etc.)
• Spacing rules (how much white space is for different portions of the homepage)
• The general contrast (it emphasizes content hierarchy and elements structure).

Here’s the Mailchimp homepage that makes use of illustrations, across all the website pages, offering an attractive and aesthetic element to a website, plus consistency. Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing companies out there.

We can recognize this type of illustrations on the DrinkPerfy website as well. It’s a trend we’re facing in the recent years.

Here’s another example of a homepage that intrigues, arouses curiosity and stirs inquisitive minds. It uses bold typography, 3D visuals, and large images. And, considering that Likely Story, is an award-winning boutique design studio, their own website should be jaw-dropping.

Now, if you’re looking for mood board inspiration, Dribbble is the place to find it.

You homepage design should change

Homepages change and evolve for a variety of reasons. User behavior changes, browsing style changes, web design evolves, and you should keep up with the latest trends. Sometimes, your own analytical reports will tell you there’s a need to update your homepage. There’s no need to get stuck with one homepage design. Your branding guidelines might change during time, or else the company undergoes a shift in activity, and you need a change in homepage design.

Also, you can make incremental changes to the homepage design for your website. You can make optimizations to the home page, for SEO reasons or User Experience, or more conversions.

So, you can replace some elements with others, you can add new elements that fit the new design and branding guidelines, or you can combine elements in a different way. The result will be a refurbished homepage, with a modern aspect and a message that is better for current users.

Below is an example of the Mammut website (outdoor clothing and footfear), and how it changed between 2020 and 2022:

2020:

The 2022 homepage redesign added visuals that are more attractive and dynamic, with a focus on adventure, and living new outdoor experiences.

Web page layouts one can use for a homepage design

The layout is the backbone sustaining all the content placed on the homepage. It plays an essential role in structuring information on the page. So it is easy to read, browse, assimilate by users.

There are a few traits that make the homepage layout to be a good layout:

• It has to be intuitive, so it matches already-formed user behaviors when visiting web pages.
• The layout to be predictable. Hence, it’s easy for users to find what they are searching for, in the order they are searching for.
• It has to address skimmers. White space, usage of lists and columns, headings are all components making a homepage content quicker to assimilate.
• This layout has to be responsive. Mobile responsiveness has become a requirement. So homepage layouts should easily adapt to the screen, depending on the device from which users open the page.

Here are some of the most popular homepage layouts working for a wide variety of niches:

Layout 1 – example

Layout 2 – example

You can check for further details about how to choose the correct layout for your website.

Now, you’re almost ready to start creating your homepage design. Check to see which elements from the above are appropriate for your website and follow the guidelines. Your website homepage will be just perfect.