According to Jakob Nielsen, there are three key things that a user must accomplish in the first thirty seconds of viewing your site. 1. Who are you? 2. What do you do? 3. What should I (the user) do next.

If you aren't able to discern this at first glance, neither are your viewers.

Let's look at the first question: Who are you?

Tell it quickly and in the most old fashioned way possible...readers read left to right; place your logo at the top left and you'll provide that information and branding for your viewers.

What do you do?

This is difficult for many site owners. Avoid high gloss words or slogans; just tell people what you do. Are you selling something or offering a service or just providing free information...tell it quickly and succinctly.

Finally, make it clear what to do next. If your home page has enticed them with what you do; they want to get to it. Use a call for action; text or image that tells them such as 'Contact Us for Free Stuff' - something your designer should know how to do.

If your site is not providing these basics; maybe it's time for a re-design.

Barbara Kiebel
Kinetic Webs
A Denver Web Design Firm