The most expensive real estate on your website is the bit people see before they scroll. On a phone that’s roughly one screen: a headline, a line or two of text, a button, maybe part of a photo. It needs four things: who you help and with what, where you work, one reason to believe you, and one clear action. If that screen doesn’t tell the visitor they’re in the right place, plenty of them won’t bother scrolling to find out.
The usual homepage we’re asked to fix has a full-width photo of the beach, the word “Welcome”, and a slider cycling through three vague slogans. It’s pleasant. It tells you nothing.
The four things that have to be there
Who you help, with what
Not your mission. Not your values. The thing you do, in words a customer would use. “Electrician” beats “electrical solutions”. “Psychologist for adults with anxiety” beats “supporting your wellbeing”.
This belongs in the headline itself, not in a paragraph underneath. Most visitors read the headline and the button and very little else.
Where
For a local business, location is part of the answer to “am I in the right place?”. Someone in Lennox Head searching for a plumber wants to know straight away that you come to Lennox Head. Put the town or region in the headline or the line beneath it.
This also helps search engines understand where you operate, which feeds into local search rankings, though that’s a bonus. The main reason is the human one.
A reason to believe you
One piece of proof, kept short. A Google star rating with the number of reviews. “Licensed electrician, 15 years in the Northern Rivers”. “Registered with AHPRA”. A recognisable client logo. A real photo of you or your work.
Pick the one that matters most to your customers. Stacking five badges in a row just adds clutter.
The photo counts as proof too. A stock image tells the visitor nothing about you. A genuine photo of your team, your shopfront or a finished job does a lot of quiet work. That’s a large part of why we offer commercial photography alongside web design.
One clear action
One main button. Make it say what happens: “Call 0400 000 000”, “Book a free quote”, “Check availability”, “See the menu”. If there’s a second action, make it visually quieter so it doesn’t compete.
“Learn more” is not an action. Neither is “Contact us”, really, because it doesn’t tell the visitor what they’ll get. We’ve written more on calls to action that do better than “Contact us”.
Weak vs strong: headline rewrites
Here are some before-and-after examples for typical local businesses. The “before” versions are the sort of thing we see every week. The business names are generic on purpose.
Electrician
- Before: “Powering Your Future”
- After: “Licensed electrician in Ballina and Lennox Head. Same-week appointments for homes and small businesses.”
- Button: “Call now” (tap-to-call), with “Request a quote” as the second option.
The “before” could be an energy company, a battery brand or a motivational poster. The “after” tells you the trade, the area and the thing people care about most: when you can come.
Psychologist
- Before: “Your Path to Wellness Starts Here”
- After: “Psychologist in Lismore for adults with anxiety, stress and burnout. Medicare rebates available with a mental health plan.”
- Button: “Book a first appointment”
People looking for a psychologist often have specific worries: will this person understand my issue, and can I afford it? The rewrite answers both. Check that any claim you make here fits the advertising rules for your profession before it goes live.
Accountant
- Before: “Excellence in Financial Services”
- After: “Accountants for Northern Rivers small businesses and farms. Tax, BAS and bookkeeping, with a person who answers the phone.”
- Button: “Book a 15-minute call”
“Excellence” is what every firm says. Naming who you serve (small businesses and farms) does more work, because the right reader recognises themselves.
Pub or restaurant
- Before: “Welcome to The Royal”
- After: “Woodfired pizza, local beer and live music on Fridays. On the river in Ballina, open 7 days from 11:30.”
- Buttons: “Book a table” and “See the menu”
Hospitality visitors usually want three things fast: what’s the food, when are you open, can I book. If the hours are hidden in the footer, people ring to ask, or don’t.
Concreter
- Before: “Building Strong Foundations Since 2005”
- After: “Concrete driveways, slabs and polished floors across Ballina, Byron and Lismore shires. Free on-site quotes, usually within a week.”
- Button: “Book a free quote”, with a photo of a finished driveway alongside.
“Since 2005” is fine as proof, but it isn’t a headline. The rewrite names the jobs people search for, so a homeowner wanting a new driveway knows instantly they’re in the right place. The photo then does the convincing.
Desktop gets more room, not more messages
On a big screen the first view is wider, so there’s space for the photo to sit beside the headline rather than under it, and for a second button or a review snippet. Resist the urge to fill that space with extra messages. The same four things, with more breathing room, almost always works better than adding a slogan, a badge strip and a newsletter sign-up.
What to leave off the first screen
- Sliders. In our experience nobody waits for slide three, and on a phone they push the important text down or crop it badly.
- Autoplay video with no text. A lovely drone shot of the coast doesn’t say what you do.
- Long paragraphs. Save the detail for further down the page.
- Several equal buttons. Four options of the same size usually means none gets clicked.
- Popups on arrival. Let people see the page before you ask for their email.
A quick test you can do today
Open your homepage on your phone. Take a screenshot without scrolling. Send it to someone who doesn’t know your business and ask them three questions:
- What does this business do?
- Where are they?
- What would you tap next?
If they hesitate on any of those, the first screen needs work. Usually that’s a headline rewrite and one better button, not a new website.
The site we designed for North Coast Psychology is a good example of a first screen that is calm and clear rather than clever, which is the right instinct for most service businesses.
If you’re planning a new site, put your draft headline, area and main action into your web design brief from the start. It shapes every other decision. The first screen is also where every website we design starts, before we touch the rest of the homepage.