I get so shocked by the amount of coaches and creatives who tell me their site “doesn’t work.”

Most often this means that it doesn’t convert, which means no bookings or sales. But when I review the site I see that often, it’s a problem with layout.

If you’ve ever tried building your own website, you’ll know it’s easy to get overwhelmed. 

Try to sort out:

Who you are speaking to

What you should say

Where you should add a bio

What about offers?

Plus a few million or two other things…

Urgh. If you enjoy 1000-piece puzzles, you may well have a brain that loves figuring out which section of a homepage should go  where. However, if you have a to-do list as long as an alligator like most entrepreneurs, a tasty little shortcut almost always sounds more delicious. 

That’s why I made this website homepage design template to help. 

But first, why are homepages so hard to write?

Above all, formatting websites can get tricky because so many different visitors come to a page. 

They’re all in a different headspace. And they all want different things. 

Some may have heard about you just seconds ago, others may have trailed you for months. So how do you meet them all and give them what they want?

Let’s use the idea of a traditional sales funnel. 

A sales funnel takes visitors from an aware stage to a ready to buy stage, so that they go from knowing they have an obstacle to buying your solution to help. 

Good website layouts do the same.

Call it a website layout funnel!

What is this magic website homepage design?

Well, less magic, more strategy. 

Anyone selling programs, courses, or services has to earn some trust before a website visitor pulls out their credit card and hits buy. 

So a well-structured website homepage design template should:

• Meet visitors with empathy
• Show how to overcome an obstacle or problem
• Authentically introduce you as an expert to help
• Show how you help
• Answer questions
• Confront mindblocks or hesitations
• Invite a reader to try your service
• Offer a way to take action 

Laid out in a logical way means it’s possible to welcome a brand new visitor and help them decide to take the next step with you. Plus, you’ll find your visitors stay on your site longer – which search engine master Google loves. 

But before you put together the elements in your homepage design, one critical decision has to be made: What should your customer do AFTER they hit the homepage. 

Buy buttons rarely pay back on a homepage

What should your visitor do next?

It’s almost impossible to plan a stand out homepage without deciding what your reader should do next. So before you start putting your homepage design together, figure out what you want visitors to do. 

Now, almost every client I work with says they want a sale…

…Until I ask them how many times they’ve bought something right off the homepage. 

Seriously. Number of times I hit a buy button right off the homepage? 

Big fat zero. 

That’s right. Never. 

And I spend hours wading through websites homepage designs. 

Here’s why:

Because site visitors almost always need to know more before they click buy. 

Either they need:

• A sales page with info
• A free way to sample what you offer, like a blog post or podcast
• Or a free giveaway, like a class, printable or trial

Your homepage is like a hotel lobby and each page is a room. Give a defined or tantalising reason for a guest to enter.

Say hi to your website homepage design template

Here’s how I’d lay out a winning website homepage design for service-providers. Feel free to use it as a template for your own business. (In fact, you can download your own copy, with a checklist of things to include in each section, right here). 

Each section in this homepage design template is included because it helps to keep readers on your page longer, because it gives them all the information they need to build trust in you and your offers. 

11 Best sections for a website homepage design

These 11 sections are highly recommended. If you can, include them all so you really guide your reader. 

Headline – Grabs attention: Say who you are, what you do & how you do it. Short and snappy works best. Try to tell it how you’d tell a friend. 

Bio – Builds connection: Use this brief bio to empathize with your client’s current challenge and show how you can overcome it together. Show how you’ve walked in their shoes. 

Reflect Situation or Painpoints– Speak to your visitors by reflecting the problems and obstacles your potential clients are facing at this moment. Above all, address how they might feel and what they want to feel instead.

Promise – Offer a solution with you as a guide. Explain how you help & why it works.

Vision Statement – This storytelling strategy lets the reader see themselves in a future where their current problems or frustrations are solved. You can also use a testimonial. 

Offers – Stack easy ways to work with you: It’s useful to have an opening lower-priced option, a signature you want to sell most of, and a higher priced white glove option. That way, visitors should self-select which tier suits their needs best and will click through to find out more. 

Proof – Shows your expertise: Include testimonials, reviews, logos of brands you are associated with to build trust. 

An opt-in – Gives a quick win: Now users are in the final stages of your page, offer them a quick and easy way to solve a frustration. Offering something you use in your process, or in one of your programs, is the quickest, easiest way. Make sure it delivers some real value to your potential customer. 

FAQs – Answers burning questions: Because the primary reason people come to any site is to get their questions answered. You don’t always need a dedicated FAQs section, if your text answers questions well, but it’s an easy way to make sure you do respond to commonly asked questions. Plus, if you can answer them on your site, you’ll have less to answer on sales calls. 

Contact Form – Invites connection and lets your reader know you are human, responsive and happy to help them take the next step. Make this easy, with as few boxes to fill as possible if you want more leads or more detailed if you’d rather screen folks ahead of a call. 

Footer – End on a high note with a well-designed footer. Footers can be a perfect place to reaffirm your brand and values. Include T&Cs, social tags, navigation and a final – positive – sign-off.

Extras – If you have a blog, videos or a podcast, include your latest posts or episodes. You may also need livechat messaging, or a calendar booking system, like Calendly. 

Switching up or deleting sections in the homepage design

The order of the sections in this homepage template make good sense. Each section has a strategic purpose, designed to guide readers no matter how close (or far) they feel from buying. 

There’s definitely freedom to reorder them in a way that suits what you do better, but I’d start with all 11 sections in place if you can.  

You can always install a software like Hotjar to test which sections on your homepage get most interest. After that, delete any sections you see that get skipped with joy and abandon! In other words, your homepage will be designed around what your visitors have shown you they want to see. 

Download now

Grab your website homepage design template + checklist for each section here