Web Design Basics Designing a welcome Page for your Website
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In the same exact website, a quality welcome page can make the difference between piquing the reader’s interest or sending him or her straight to their back button. Heed the following tips for designing a welcome page destined for success.
Create an aesthetically pleasing page
You want your visitors to enjoy looking at your welcome page. It should be an attractive color. It should not be so overcrowded that it looks unprofessional. You may want to include pictures to draw in the readers. It can have attractive graphics or clip art as well. It should have a cohesive style that represents your website and what it represents, whether it is your own personal page or the page of a company or organization. What this style is will be up to you. You may choose a modern, traditional or upscale look. Consider your readership and what you are trying to portray.
Make sure it is easy to read
You do not want your visitors squinting or reaching for their glasses. If they need glasses to read it, then the font is too small. The welcome page is not generally where you have an excess amount of information, but an introduction and a portal to get them where they want to be.
Place a headline or purpose of the page
You want your visitors to immediately understand the purpose of the page and what it represents. If it is your personal page, then you can make that clear with a picture of you, some prose, a mission statement, etc. A company will have their name, logo and perhaps their slogan. You do not want confusion.
Place basic or feature information
Many will place a selection of important news on the welcome page of their website, a sampling of what is to come. You may place headlines from important pages. These may remain stagnant or change on a regular basis. You want something that will be attractive and poignant to make them want to explore further.
Place important links in an orderly fashion
Of course you may not have every single link leading from your welcome page, however you want to have the most popular ones. For instance, a store website will usually have a store locater on their front page. Consider the popular welcome page links – links to major pages of the website, a contact page, an FAQ page, and About Us page, a Terms of Service page, a site map and more. What exactly you have will depend on your particular website.
A welcome page may be the most important part of your website, drawing in readers and encouraging them to explore further. The above tips can help you design a successful page.