What should be on a homepage?

The first screen does most of the work

The hero section needs a headline that names the outcome and the audience, a line that adds specifics, and a single call to action. “Physiotherapy in Calgary’s Beltline, same-week appointments” tells a visitor more than “Your health, our passion”. On a phone, that first screen is small, so every word has to earn its spot.

A supporting photo should show the real business: the clinic, the team, a finished project. And the main button should say what happens next, such as “Book an assessment”, rather than a vague “Learn more”.

Then the order that usually works

• Services, as short cards linking to each service page.
• Proof, through reviews, logos, numbers you can back up or a short case study. This is your social proof.
• How it works, in three or four steps, if your process isn’t obvious.
• About, a short paragraph and a real photo of the people.
• A closing call to action, repeating the main next step.

This order follows the questions a visitor tends to have: can you help me, are you any good, what happens next.

What to leave off

Sliders that rotate messages nobody waits to read. A wall of text about company history. Five different buttons competing for attention. Auto-playing video with sound. Generic stock photos of handshakes. Each of these pushes the useful parts further down and slows the page. A clear value proposition and one strong next step will outperform all of them.

A useful test is to cover the logo and ask whether the page could belong to any competitor. If it could, the copy needs to get more specific about who you serve and why you’re different.

I write the homepage headline before I design anything, because the layout should serve the message. I test it by asking whether a stranger could say what the business does after five seconds on a phone. Then I build down from there: services, proof, process, a human face, and the same call to action at the end. I keep it shorter than most clients expect. The homepage’s job is to get people to the right page or the contact form, not to hold every detail.