There is a small stylistic point about the word “welcome”. It appears on many home pages and should be taken out. Why?
- Any visitor knows they are welcome. Why have you spent hours designing your website if visitors are not?
- “Welcome to Our Website” and the like; or “Welcome to Blogg Street Community Organisation” and the like – tell the visitor nothing new. They know they’re on a website and if Blogg Street CA is in the header, the your h1 heading adds no new information.
- The space ‘above the fold’ (that is on-screen when your website first opens) is prime space, you need to use it to tell your visitors what your site is about. Steer clear of anything that means the visitor has to scroll to find out where they are and what the site is about.
- Show don’t tell. I shall feel welcome if you show me what your site is about. I won’t, if I have to hunt around for basic information.
- The h1 heading is something everyone reads and so should be packed with information. At one time it was important for search engine optimisation (seo). It is less important for seo these days but it is still important to tell your visitors about your site.
- Somebody, defending their big friendly welcome, said if it is good enough for all these other sites then it is good for us. No, the other sites suffer through this type of sloppy content. The reality is good sites are hard to come by and they’re a lot of hard work. Losing the word is a sign you are taking your visitors seriously. Replace it with something that communicates your passion for the subject of the website.
Now you can ask: how can I make my site visitors actually feel welcome, really want to stay and explore the site?
