your homepage is your shop window
whether someone finds you on google, social media, or a friend’s recommendation – your homepage is usually the first thing they see. it’s your chance to make a good impression fast.
if your homepage is unclear, cluttered, or confusing, people will bounce – that is, they’ll leave almost immediately. and if they leave, they’re probably not coming back.
in this post, we’ll walk through five common homepage mistakes that drive potential customers away, and how to fix them.
mistake one: unclear messaging
what do you do, exactly?
the number one problem on most homepages is that it’s not instantly clear what the business does. if a visitor has to scroll or guess to figure it out, they’re already losing interest.
fix it: have a clear headline at the top that says what you do, who you do it for, and where. for example: “affordable web design for uk small businesses.” no fluff. just facts.
mistake two: no obvious next step
what should the visitor do next?
a lot of homepages don’t guide people anywhere. there’s no clear call to action – like “book a free consultation” or “see our work.”
fix it: use clear buttons or links to direct visitors to take the next step. put them near the top of the page, not buried at the bottom.
absolutely lost and just have no interest in learning how to sort your website out?
no worries. hit that button, and let’s organise a chat. it’s free and i don’t bite.
mistake three: too much clutter
trying to say everything at once
it’s tempting to squeeze everything onto the homepage: services, testimonials, about you, news, photos, awards… but this overwhelms visitors and makes your site feel chaotic.
fix it: keep it clean and focused. highlight the most important things, and use clear headings to break up the page. less really is more.
mistake four: poor mobile experience
looks great on desktop, falls apart on phones
we’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating – more than half of visitors will be on mobile. if your homepage doesn’t work well on smaller screens, they’ll bounce fast.
fix it: check your site on your phone. make sure text is readable, buttons are tappable, and it all loads quickly.
mistake five: slow loading time
people don’t wait around
if your homepage takes more than a few seconds to load, most people won’t wait. large images, outdated plugins, or bad hosting are common culprits.
fix it: compress images, update your software, and consider switching to faster hosting. you can test your speed with tools like google pagespeed insights or gtmetrix.
final thoughts
your homepage doesn’t have to be flashy – it just has to work. it should clearly tell people who you are, how you can help, and what to do next.
avoid these common mistakes, and you’ll keep more visitors on your site – and turn more of them into actual customers.