A sales-optimized homepage leads from initial interest through problem and solution to offer, to credible customer reviews and to the next step. Each area answers a question from your ideal customer. The basis for this is a functioning offer and a clear understanding of your target group.
Before you build your website: Understand who you want to convince.
When you're planning a new website, you can immediately start talking about colors, fonts, and animations. But you can also first clarify what the page actually has to say. I would start with the second point.
In my workshop I therefore discuss the basics for a long time before we look at the individual sections. A website does not replace a functioning offer. If you haven't acquired any customers yet and can't explain in conversation why someone should buy from you, a new design won't automatically solve this problem.
You don't have to build ten subpages straight away. In the video, I recommend starting with a well-thought-out homepage or one-pager. If this structure works and suitable visitors reach the site, you can build on it.
You should clarify these four things before designing
- Your target group: What concerns these people? What frustrations, desires, and objections do you hear in real conversations?
- Your language: How do you describe your problem yourself? Instead of thinking up the most impressive marketing terms possible, write these phrases down.
- Your positioning: Why are you the right person for this task? How do your experience, personality and values fit into this?
- Your offer: What result does the customer want? How does he get there with you? What makes the decision or collaboration unnecessarily difficult for him?
Conversations with customers and existing testimonials are valuable for this. Questions that your target group asks publicly can also give you clues. What matters is that you understand these people. A list of “Managing Directors, 35 to 55 years old” is not enough.
Clarify offer.
Answer questions.
and make it tangible.
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01 / The first viewing area
The header: Show immediately what it's about.
The first section of your website needs to grab attention and give you a reason to keep scrolling. Your visitor shouldn’t have to wonder what you’re offering and whether it’s relevant to them.
In the workshop I show four elements: a clear headline, a direct opportunity to act, a sign of trust and a personal or emotional address via the image.
Show in simple words what it's about. Comprehensibility comes before a clever sentence.
Anyone who is already convinced should be able to book an appointment without having to search the entire site.
Relevant customer logos, comprehensible results or other real evidence provide orientation.
A suitable image makes it clear who the visitor is dealing with.
These elements belong together. Make sure that they remain visible on the cell phone even in the first visible area. A strong claim without evidence does not make a convincing entry. And the best start is of little use if you can't find the next step.
02 / The initial situation
Awareness of the problem: Describe the situation of your ideal customer.
Now you meet the visitor where he is. What problems concern him? What isn't going the way he wants? What has he already tried?
This is where your research pays off. If you use the same words that your customer uses in conversation, he doesn't have to translate your texts into his everyday life.
Ein Beispiel für eine Website-Dienstleistung: „Wir bekommen Anfragen, aber kaum jemand hat das passende Budget.“ This describes a tangible situation. “Your digital potential is not exhausted,” on the other hand, remains pretty far removed from what is currently happening in the company.
The example is an application of the principle. The right statements for your site come from your target group. Don't adopt a problem just because it sounds good on another website.
03 / The desired state
Solution awareness: Show what should change for the customer.
Once the visitor has recognized his situation, he wants to know how it could be different. Here you describe the state that he wants to achieve.
What would be easier after working together? What could he do then? What problem would no longer bother him all the time?
Stay specific. A sales-optimized website, for example, is about a presence that makes your expertise understandable and leads suitable interested parties to contact you. This is more tangible for the customer than a long list of technical functions.
Between the problem and the desired result, a question arises: How do I get there? The following areas provide an answer to this.
04 / Your offer
The offer: Explain the benefits behind your services.
Now you can show specifically how you support the customer. In the workshop I explain that this own range of services is possible after awareness of the solution. It is not a rigid mandatory field that has to look the same for every company.
When you present your offer, don't just list what's included. Explain what it brings to the customer.
“You get a content management system.”
“You can maintain new content yourself instead of having to hire someone to make every text change.”
This is an editorial example of the difference between a feature and its utility. The service remains visible, but the customer understands why it is relevant to them.
05 / Credible results
Customer testimonials: Prove that your approach works.
You explained what result should be possible. Now people who have already worked with you have their say.
In the workshop I place testimonials based on awareness of the solution or the specific offer. They show how other customers got from their initial situation to the result.
“It was great” doesn’t say much about it. A meaningful customer voice shows the problem before, the cooperation and the concrete change afterwards. Your visitor can check whether the story fits their own situation.
I'll show you how you get such statements in the article Obtain testimonials: five steps to meaningful customer testimonials. You can find real examples in ours Client testimonials.
06 / The person behind the offer
About you: Why can you help this customer?
This area is more than a resume. Your ideal customer needs to understand why your experience is relevant to their problem.
The workshop is therefore about your history and development. What led you to what you do today? What have you experienced or learned that explains your view of the task?
Personality can be visible. It helps the visitor to classify you as a person. What is important is the connection to his decision: Why should he work with you?
07 / Optionally deepen
An explanatory video can make the method and personality tangible.
A video is an additional way to explain your approach. People hear your voice, experience your style and get a better feeling for working together.
This area is optional in the workshop. You don't need a video just for something to happen between two blocks of text. Use it when it explains something to the visitor or builds trust.
The essential information should still be clearly visible on the page. This means the visitor can move forward even if they don't want to watch a video.
08 / The next step
The appointment pitch: Make contact clear and easy.
At the end it takes you to the next step. A short text, an easily recognizable button and appropriate trust elements are often enough to make the invitation clear.
The visitor should understand why he is booking the appointment. And he should be able to book it easily. Don’t hide the contact process behind unnecessary steps. In the workshop, I always use a CTA within the individual sections: People can be convinced at different points. You shouldn't have to search for the booking link first.
Even after booking, your appearance can still help. One well constructed thank you page confirms the appointment and prepares the interested party for the interview.
Frequently asked questions about building a sales-optimized website
Does every homepage have to have exactly eight sections?
No. The workshop explains the tasks of the areas. A separate offer area and an additional explanatory video are not necessary for every company. What is crucial is that the visitor understands their problem, the benefits, the evidence and the next step.
Can I just copy the structure from another website?
You can understand why a setup works. However, the content and design must fit your target group, your offer and your personality. Simply copying other people's customer problems or promises of success does not replace this work.
Does this structure guarantee more sales?
No. A functioning offer, suitable visitors and a good sales process are also included. The structure helps you to present your offer in a comprehensible way. It is not a blanket sales promise.
My workshop “8 sections on the website that generate 7, 6 and 5 figure sales”. The content is structured for the article and supplemented with explicitly marked application examples.
