We know the importance of a website. But to generate leads for your business, what you really need is a persuasive homepage. Here are 5 great examples.

Let’s face it, every one of us is a visual creature and like it or not, our mind tells us to pass a verdict on something or someone we’ve met, in the first one tenth of a second.

Some of us even make life choices in that short span of time, like choosing life partners. Oh, the good ol’ love at first sight.

However, it doesn’t only apply to person-to-person interaction. People judge a business through their website, and it’s painfully true how a bad website design can hurt your business.

It’s like going on a first date. We’d definitely dress our best, stress to impress.

Now imagine you see your date with unkempt hair and torn, dirty clothing. BAM! There goes your first impression.

For business, a website shows a lot about you. A bad homepage can lead to disastrous lead generation results. Hence, the presentation of your website (homepage in particular) is pertinent to convert visitors into leads for your business a.k.a making friends online.

MAKING FRIENDS ONLINE

One objective you should set for your content marketing effort is to bring in sales. Friends of your business are your leads and your leads are potential buying customers. We all want plenty of them, as many as possible.

Think of the Tinder app — if you haven’t heard about it, you’ve probably been living under a rock. Individuals with well taken photos and humorous descriptions always end up with more right swipes than the average joe. It’s from these right swipes that we get to know more about our matches.

“Can my business get right swipes?” Yes, it can!

All you need is sow some lead-generating seeds like techs, design, ideas and copy in your homepage, and you’ll be handling more leads than you can handle.

Now, let’s take a look at some homepages and how they qualify as great lead-generating examples.

5 HOMEPAGE EXAMPLES THAT GENERATE LEADS FOR BUSINESS

Of course, there are general brilliant homepage design guidelines we can follow and because we’re nice people, we have included functional websites from live businesses for your ease of reference.

No, this is not a sponsored article.

Evernote

Essentially an online diary, Evernote’s homepage features a clean, uncluttered design with “easy to look at” pastel colors for its logo and illustrations. It starts with a brief description of the brand and form — very straightforward in their approach, inviting visitors to try their services for free.

The homepage also clearly explains what they do, how users can use their product and how users can benefit from their service.

See, being humane and talking to visitors from their POV (point of view) helps leads to conversion. Because it shows that you have their best interest in mind.

Nobody wants to sign up for something that looks sketchy, especially on a site that looks shoddy, right?

Upon scrolling down to the end of the homepage, Evernote reminds visitors that millions of people are already using their product before its CTA (call-to-action) button. This can help visitors feel a sense of security and increase the chance of turning them into potential leads.

However, in the midst of keeping things simple while promoting curiosity, I personally feel Evernote lacks information on what to expect when using their product.

The only way to find out is to sign up and try. Perhaps sharing a video on how their app feels and looks on their homepage would work.

Tip: You might want to consider making your user interface a little more transparent on your homepage for the benefit of your visitors.

HubSpot Academy

As the name says it, HubSpot Academy is an educational portal. Their homepage is a step-up from the simple designs of Evernote. It features a search bar and it works too.

Basically, this wins all. The copy is forthright — visitors certainly know what they’d like to learn. They can too immediately view the benefits they can expect. See, it doesn’t have to be complicated to generate leads for your business.

Also, visitors may look for samples of what they have to offer.

Oh, these people know their stuff.

In the education business, if I can’t find the available courses from the start, I won’t bother proceeding. So don’t spare that expense if your nature of business requires certain information onset, this will greatly increase your chances of getting visitors to register thus, generating leads.

With the same straightforward introduction, video links and how users can benefit from their services, I’d say, these guys make a great homepage.

Snappa

Wow, the examples just keep getting better.

Snappa is in the graphics business and they allow users to create graphics for online content. I am able to describe the site to you purely based on what is shown in their homepage.

I’m guessing, by now, you already know what you have to do.

Sites like Snappa upped the ante. They know what new visitors like myself will be asking, so their homepage features a 55 second video demo next to the business description. Read my mind like a book.

Nice color contrast, informative with graphic examples of their products and how their services benefit user.

Even though the whole homepage feels a little lengthy and wordy, they explained in detail about the benefits users will reap with their services. And that can drive interested viewers to sign up for their service, which can help the business gain leads.

Look at their copy. This makes all the difference. In just one sentence, they managed to explain who their product is for, what their product can help visitors do, and how using it can benefit them.

Not that hard to convince a potential lead to tap on that button, yes?  

Tip: Avoid writing too much and use more graphics if you’re in the graphics business.

Maybe I’m a perfectionist but what do I know? I’m just another visitor and potential lead.

Yodaa

Aha! A tutee-tutor matchmaking site.

The usual, blunt description and inclusion of a search bar since they’re in the education business.

But, after that first step, they ask you a couple more questions. Like the grade of the student…

The preferred lesson frequency…

And before visitors know it, they’d be so tempted to get the profiles, which leads to signing in.

And, the homepage has a little extra something. They have reviews!

Yodaa is centrally a tuition matchmaking site, so it’s natural the quality of their teachers holds more weight than needless descriptions of what they do (since we already know).

By showing reviews, it amplifies the trust factor (critical for generating leads). And they were smart to insert the CTA right underneath to hasten the lead generating process when the trust is still fresh.

Nothing beats transparency and authenticity when you’re a service provider. Showing reviews is being transparent. So, if you’re a maid agency, job agency etc. consider the power of reviews to spawn countless qualified leads for your business.

Grab

The ride hailing app that most Singaporeans know and love.

Grab’s homepage serves 2 purpose:

1. As an informative homepage for users on their service and how it works. Users will need to download the app on their phone before registering.
2. To allow registration of drivers with Grab.

Like any good website that boost lead increment, it’s direct and clean. I’d know what to tap on if I want to join them as a rider or a driver.

Remember we mentioned how Evernote lacks substantial information about the usage of their product unless you sign up and try? Grab did just the opposite. Showing all that you need to know when you start using the app. That’s definitely a lead increment booster. Because as a user, I wouldn’t need to worry about the application’s usability.

Decisively, nothing’s too difficult to use and I’ve decided to get the app. Oh, great! Buttons to tap on.

It brings me right where I need to go to download the app.

And just like how we’re familiar with using it, I’ll have to input my personal details first.

Grab’s homepage took about three steps to effectively turn a viewer into a qualified lead.

Bonus round: Qoo10

If you’re new to this link, you might want to watch out. You’ll be welcomed with a clutter of images, which makes loading time slightly longer than usual. And we know, slow loading time spells disaster for user experience, which in turn fails your lead generation results.

Guess where to sign up.

Their sign-up button can be easy to miss. And the tiny font isn’t helping much.

We’d recommend you NOT to follow this example if generating leads is at the top of your marketing goals.

TO WRAP THINGS UP

The essence of an effective lead-generating homepage lies in its presentation of content and use of resources.

We don’t really want to waste a visitor’s time to fumble through cluttered content or squint their eyes over small font.

Certain rule of thumbs for your homepage if you want to generate leads for your business:

• Optimize for different platforms e.g. desktop view and mobile view.
• Avoid using overly contrasting color schemes — colours that aren’t harmonious can hurt the eyes when viewing.
• Apply what is relevant to your business e.g. reviews for service related businesses.
• Include desirable propositions and call-to-action elements.
• Whitespace! You don’t have to fill up every gap.
• Let the product speak for itself, in the business of graphics, include graphics.