Homepage content that says what you do in five seconds

The first line does most of the work

A visitor decides in a few seconds whether they're in the right place. They scan for two things: do you offer what they need, and do you cover their area. If you're stuck on what to put on your homepage, start with a line that answers both.

Here's a before and after, based on the kind of homepage we're often sent.

Before: "Your trusted partner for innovative interior solutions."

After: "Kitchen and wardrobe fit-outs for villas in Dubai and Sharjah. Free site visit, written quote within 3 days."

The second version names the service and the area, and gives a reason to get in touch. It's less polished. It's also the one a homeowner in Arabian Ranches would act on.

Notice what's missing from the rewrite. Adjectives. No "premium", no "trusted". The facts do the persuading.

Write the line as if someone at a family dinner asked what your business does. Nobody says "innovative solutions" out loud.

Phrases to cut before you publish

Search your draft for these and replace each with something specific, or delete the sentence.

• "One-stop shop" (name the services instead)
• "Customer satisfaction is our priority" (show a review)
• "Innovative solutions" (say what you actually supply)
• "Years of experience" with no number (give the year you started)
• "High quality at affordable prices" (show a from price)
• "Contact us for more information" (say what happens after they message)

Show proof before you ask for anything

Straight after that line, show you're real. Photos of your own work, your own team or your own shop front do more than any stock image of people shaking hands in a glass office.

Captions help. "Villa kitchen, Mirdif, finished in March" tells a visitor far more than a gallery of unlabelled photos.

Reviews help if they're genuine and easy to check. Pull three or four short ones from your Google Business Profile and link to the full list, so people can see they weren't written in-house. If you have recognisable clients and permission to name them, a row of names or logos goes a long way.

Specifics beat claims. "Over 200 villa kitchens fitted since 2019" is believable, provided it's true. "Quality you can trust" isn't believable either way.

Give a price, or at least a starting point

Owners resist this one more than anything else here. The worry is that a competitor will undercut them, or that a number will scare people off.

But a visitor with no idea of cost either messages you to ask, which eats your time, or leaves for a site that tells them. A "from" price filters out people who were never going to buy and reassures the ones who were.

It doesn't need to be exact. "AC servicing from AED 150 per unit" or "most bathroom renovations land between AED 18,000 and AED 35,000" gives people enough to go on. If every job is different, say what affects the price and give one typical example.

One main action, repeated down the page

Decide what you want a visitor to do. For most UAE service businesses it's a WhatsApp message, because that's how customers here like to start, often well before they'd pick up the phone.

Make that the main button at the top and repeat it after each section, so nobody has to scroll back up. A call button can sit beside it as the second option. A 12-field form shouldn't be the only way in.

On a phone, the WhatsApp button should open a chat with a short message already filled in, something like "Hi, I'd like a quote for a kitchen", so the customer isn't staring at an empty box wondering what to say.

What doesn't work is six buttons of equal weight. Call, WhatsApp, email, get a quote, book now and download brochure, all side by side, just make people hesitate. Our guide on WhatsApp on your website covers the setup.

Check the first screen on a phone

Most people will read your homepage on a phone, often in a queue or the back of a taxi. What fits on that first screen is all they see before deciding whether to scroll.

So open your draft on your own phone. Without scrolling, you should be able to read the main line and reach the WhatsApp button. If a full-screen video or an oversized logo is pushing them down, cut it or shrink it.

Then read the whole page top to bottom on the phone, out loud if you can bear it. Paragraphs that looked fine in a Word document become walls of text on a narrow screen. Break them up. Anything you stumble over reading aloud, a customer will skim past.

Order matters as much as wording. A sensible running order for most service businesses is the main line and button, then proof, then services with prices, then FAQs, then the button again.

Answer the questions you keep getting on WhatsApp

Scroll back through last month's WhatsApp chats. The same handful of questions will keep coming up. Do you cover Al Ain? Are you open on Friday? How long does it take? Can I pay by card?

Those are your homepage FAQs. Put short answers on the page and every enquiry starts further along.

Keep them current. If your hours change in Ramadan, update the FAQ and your Google Maps listing on the same day. A homepage that says you're open while the shutter's down costs you trust you won't easily get back.

A practical warning before you hand this to anyone. No copywriter knows your customers as well as you do, so write a rough first draft yourself, even as bullet points. It's the most useful thing you can give a writer.

If you'd rather not write it at all, our Copywriting add-on (AED 399) means we write it for you from your notes, alongside any of our website design packages.

Send your current homepage link or your rough draft on WhatsApp to +971 52 292 3875 and we'll tell you what we'd change.

Questions people ask