The Best Homepage Designs on the Internet and How to Copy Them

Source: Neil Patel

People have been predicting the “death of the homepage” for years.

But the homepage will never go away.

Each site needs a front door to welcome its new users for the first time and give them the lay of the land.

However, the homepage is evolving.

Even just a few years ago, homepages contained tons of different information about every aspect of the company.

They were jammed full of links and places to go. The company wanted to highlight all of the various aspects of what it did.

The problem is that it backfired.

There were simply too many options. It was overwhelming and distracting for users.

One of the best ways to quickly improve website design conversions is by ditching the features that detract from the user experience.

Carousel sliders are a perfect example. They’re commonly used to showcase multiple different things at once.

But that versatility often comes at a cost. Tests have shown that they hurt conversions, SEO, and page loading times.

See that low click percentage in the above image? That’s not a good sign.

In fact, that’s the entire reason I created Crazy Egg. If you can see that users aren’t clicking on what they’re supposed to, you can change the design before it’s too late.

The best homepages take user experience into account.

Here are some of my favorite homepage designs. You can start copying them to get similar results.

1. Bills.com

The first major trend to highlight is the ‘homepage as a landing page.’

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Your ultimate goal is to drive up leads and sales. The ‘online brochure’ website has been dead and gone for years.

The tricky part is knowing the best approach to generate leads on the homepage so that you don’t scare everyone away and force them to bounce.

For example, it’s a lot to ask brand new visitors who’ve never even heard of you to purchase some big product.

So instead, you need a simpler, less invasive approach to ultimately get what you want.

And that’s why I love what Bills.com is doing.

For example, head over to their site, and you will see the following slider:

Now you can interactively slide back-and-forth to choose the debt amount you might owe. It’s so simple that a child can do it.

It’s also the only option they give you so far! That way you don’t feel overwhelmed or get distracted.

After clicking on “Continue,” they ask you if you’re behind on payments or not (and if so, for how long).

They’re qualifying you here. If you’re not behind on payments, they might not be able to help you much (read: make money from you).

They can use this question to personalize the response they’re eventually going to give you. That can even help internally split up which person or department will be best to handle your case if you become a customer.

The next step is to select which state you live in:

Once again, this further qualifies you and also raises any potential issues with state restrictions (that they might have to deal with later).

The very last step is the one they wanted all along: Your personal information!

KlientBoost calls this the “Breadcrumb Technique,” because instead of scaring people away with the initial form, you’re getting them to make little micro commitments.

Each micro commitment takes them a little further along until they’re already so invested that they have to finish the process.

For example, if they would have asked for your name and phone number up front it might have scared you off.

However, by getting you to commit to those other steps first, they give themselves a better shot at eventually converting you to a new customer.

KlientBoost has successfully used this technique to increase conversion rates from 1% to nearly 20%.

The trick with these multi-step landing pages is to start off with the least threatening question possible.

It needs to be related to how you’re ultimately going to help them. However, it should be incredibly simple for someone to provide.

Obviously, there should be zero mention of price or their personal data at this point.

It could even be as simple as asking for a zip code.

The next step gets a little more specific, hinting at the level of service they’re going to need.

After getting them to commit to those first two steps, you can bring up a few more personal questions to follow up with them afterward.

You’ll notice that Bills.com also uses interactive content to keep you engaged on their site.

Qzzr is one tool that you can use to make this happen on your own site. They already have pre-built ‘widgets’ that can be setup in a few minutes (as opposed to paying a developer to custom make it for you).

Victoria’s Secret uses one that asks “What’s your fitness persona?” The Food Network asks, “Can We Guess Your Age Based on Your Food Preferences?”

In each case, these brands are using a fun question that gets you engaged. There’s zero threat in answering those questions initially.

Another alternative tool is SnapApp. They also create interactive calculators and even infographics that people can point, click, and adjust to see new results.

Here’s a funny example of how vain your marketing is that gets you to answer questions in a flowchart fashion.

One final tool recommendation is Brackify. That name sounds like “brackets,” right?

Well, that’s exactly the point! You can create interactive brackets or competitions for almost anything, and let customers or site visitors get in on the action.

Here’s what that might look like if someone asked what your favorite Disney movie is:

2. Kiva

Kiva is a microlending platform.

They connect entrepreneurs in third world countries with donors and sponsors from other parts of the world.

For example, let’s say an entrepreneur in India needs $1,000 for a new commercial sewing machine so that they can produce and sell twice as many products.

So people from all over the world can donate in small quantities and then get paid back over the course of a year or two out of the new cash flow this entrepreneur is able…

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