An introduction message in an extremely valuable part of a website, and doing it just right is easier said than done. The message could be too vague, too long, or simply doesn’t make sense. Too often though, I find sites that just don’t have one. Part of a webmasters job is to quickly convey to a new visitor what the site is about. They literally only have seconds to accomplish this, and if they don’t, that visitor may become part of the “Bounce” statistics.

It’s Not Their Site

A big mistake that can be made is assuming a site is just as clear to a new visitor as is it to the creator. It most likely isn’t, and this can start just by looking at the domain name. Let’s use a famous website for example, WordPress.com. If you were to think what the WordPress site was about before visiting, would you think “blog software”, or “blogging community”? I am guessing not, especially if you don’t even know what a blog is. Fortunately though, they have an exceptional introduction message, “Express yourself, start a blog”. You would still need to know what a blog is, but if you do, you instantly know what the site is about.

It Doesn’t Have to be Text

I would always recommend using text when writing an introduction message, but it doesn’t have to be. Take UPS.com for example. Globally known as a delivery service, their introduction message is clear. A picture of a guy wearing their uniform, and delivering a package. Yes, it is clear you are on UPS.com. Sites like this can get away with not having the text message because most everyone on the planet knows who they are. They still need the message though, and this is so visitors can quickly identify that they have landed on the right page.

Abandon Ship!

No message equals bye, bye. The reason I made this post today was because I did a review on a website where the home page was covered with thumbnails of movies. It looked very much like Netflix’s. The site didn’t sell or rent movies though, they reviewed them. There was no indication by domain name that this was a movie review site, nor was there an introduction message. You could only know it was a review site by clicking on the thumbnails. Does this equal a loss visitor? You bet, even if you were a visitor looking for movie reviews. The visitor may see it as a site that sells movies if they don’t click. Point being, make it clear what your site is about, and they easiest way to do it is by having a clear introduction message.