How You Can Create A Welcoming Website – Part One – Your Home Page

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How You Can Create A Welcoming Website – Part Two – Your Entire Website

How You Can Create A Welcoming Website – Part Three – Your Donation Page

How You Can Create A Welcoming Website – Part Four – Writing For The Web

Even with the advent of social media, websites are still one of the first places people go to in order to get information. That’s why your nonprofit organization needs one that’s welcoming and audience-centered.

What is one of the first things you do before you have people over to your home? You get rid of clutter. Make sure your website’s home page is clutter-free and easy to read (actually,all your pages need to be this way.) Pictures and graphics are great, but go easy with these. You don’t want to overwhelm your visitors. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include pictures on your home page. Put up a few engaging photos of people that can tell the story of what your organization does. Include your logo and tagline or mission statement, too. You can add more information on your About Us page.

Different people will be visiting your website for different reasons. Some folks will know you well, and others might be visiting for the first time. Either way, your home page needs to be audience-centered with up-to-date information on events and whatever else you want to highlight. In this day of instant information, you can’t have content that’s outdated.

You don’t want to include too much information on your home page, because you have other pages people can visit. What you do include needs to pique your visitor’s interest, so they will want to click on your links to find out more. Think of your home page as an entryway.

Engage your visitor by offering them the opportunity to sign up for your newsletter and follow you on social media. Conversely, when you are communicating via social media, invite people back your website by including links in your tweets and status updates.

Your home page should include a Donate Now button that leads to a user-friendly donation page (I’ll write more about this in a future post). If you are recruiting volunteers, post a captivating message, such as Make a difference today and volunteer at our food bank.

Make sure you have a navigation bar that’s easy to use and good titles, so your audience will want to visit your other web pages. You can also include a search button. And, all your links must work!

Use a white background with black type, a simple easy-to-read font (such as Ariel or Georgia), and short paragraphs (more on writing for the web later). 
The key is to create a welcoming home page, which will entice your visitors to stick around and check out some of your other pages. In part two, I’ll write about how to make the rest of your website welcoming.


Resources for Creating a Great Home Page




General Website Resources 







13 thoughts on “How You Can Create A Welcoming Website – Part One – Your Home Page

  1. First of all, if you want your business to be successful online, creating a quality website is a must. And of course, to add an extra push, good marketing and organic seo strategies is fundamental. I'm actually thinking of starting an online business and implement these strategies. Hopefully it'll be effective. I still have a lot of readings and learning to do regarding this strategy, but I'm sure it'll all be worth it at the end.

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  2. It's always important to have a nice welcoming page on your website. This is what will attract your customers and viewers. And since competition in an online business is stiff, having a good home page is essential. Having all the necessary details that will advertise your products and services will be a good content to put. Somehow, it'll be direct marketing.

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  3. I've been browsing through different websites to have an idea of how they look like. It's a huge help whenever I try to brainstorm my possible designs for a website that I'm about to build. From what I've observed, you won't see a durban website design that didn't have a welcome sign. I think this is important because it will make your readers feel that they're welcome to view around your website.

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  4. Several successful online marketing agency would have a competitive team out of designers and SEO. This combination could be so powerful in giving your business a boost in the market. With a good web design, you'll be able to attract several customers viewers. But of course, you can't forget the content because that's what will pull them into you.

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