Guides
Practical guides to make a better first impression with your website.
The first screen
10 common mistakes above the fold
The ten mistakes that most often ruin the first screen of a website, from vague headlines to cookie banners, with a quick fix for each.
Read more →Button text that gets clicked: microcopy for your call to action
Why "Submit" and "Click here" get fewer clicks than buttons that say what happens next. Practical rules and examples for button text and the small words around it.
Read more →Homepage or landing page: which one do you need?
A homepage serves every visitor, a landing page serves one group with one goal. When to send traffic to which, and how each one should make its first impression.
Read more →How to write a homepage headline people understand
Most visitors read only your headline before deciding to stay. How to write one that says what you do, for whom, with examples of weak and strong headlines.
Read more →Readability and contrast: is your website easy to read?
Light grey text, small fonts and text over photos make a website look less professional and harder to read. The contrast rules from WCAG, explained with examples.
Read more →Stock photos or real photos: what images do for trust
Why generic stock photos weaken the first impression of your website, when they're fine, and how to get real images without hiring a photographer.
Read more →The first impression checklist for your website
What visitors check in the first seconds on your homepage, and how to make sure they stay. Four questions, with a practical checklist for each.
Read more →Your first screen on a phone: what fits and what doesn't
On a phone, your homepage's first screen is narrow and short. What happens to your layout on a small screen, and how to make sure the essentials still fit.
Read more →Trust
Cookie banners and the first impression of your website
A cookie banner is often the first thing visitors see. How to keep it from taking over your first screen, and what European regulators expect from its design.
Read more →Trust signals: what makes visitors trust a website
The signals visitors look for before they leave their details or money on a website, and how to show them on your first screen without clutter.
Read more →Why do visitors leave my website?
The most common reasons visitors leave a website within seconds, how to tell which one applies to you, and what to fix first.
Read more →Testing and measuring
Did your redesign work? How to measure before and after
How to compare the first impression of your website before and after a change, what you can conclude from the difference, and the mistakes that make a comparison worthless.
Read more →How many votes do you need for a reliable website test?
Why 10 votes is the minimum, what 20 and 50 votes add, and how to tell a real difference from noise. With the margins of error worked out.
Read more →How to test your website before launch
A practical pre-launch check: the technical basics, the first impression on laptop and phone, and getting feedback from strangers before real visitors arrive.
Read more →By type of business
A homepage for a service business that makes people get in touch
For consultants, agencies, tradespeople and other service businesses: what the first screen of your homepage needs so visitors understand what you do and contact you.
Read more →B2B homepage: making a complex offer clear
Business buyers visit your homepage to check whether you're relevant and credible. How a B2B homepage makes a complex offer clear on the first screen.
Read more →Restaurant website: what guests look for first
Guests check your restaurant website on their phone to decide where to eat. What has to be on the first screen, and the mistakes that send them to the place next door.
Read more →Webshop homepage: earning trust before the first sale
Visitors to an unknown webshop look for reasons to trust it before they browse. What a webshop homepage needs on the first screen, from shipping costs to returns.
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