Copywriting
What to write on your home page.
Your visitor gives your home page about as long as a red light. Here is the order in which they want their answers.
Published on 12 September 2026 · 6 min read
A visitor arriving on your home page asks three questions, in this order: where am I, is this for me, and what do I do now? They give you a few seconds for all three. Anything that does not serve those answers can move down or disappear.
Here is what we write, in the order we write it.
1. The top line
It says what you do, for whom, and where. Nothing else. It does not have to be beautiful, it has to be accurate.
- ✗ “Excellence at the service of your projects”
- ✓ “Electrician in Nyon, same-day callouts”
- ✗ “Let's reinvent your communication together”
- ✓ “Logos and visual identities for Swiss SMEs, in two weeks”
Simple test: show the sentence to someone who does not know your trade. If they cannot repeat what you sell, it needs rewriting. And if your trade is local, put the town in it: that is not search optimisation, it is courtesy towards the visitor.
2. The button, straight away
The first call to action goes in the first screen, next to the top line. Some visitors have already made up their mind: do not make them scroll.
A label that says what is going to happen converts better than a vague one. “Request a quote” rather than “Find out more”. “Book a table” rather than “Contact”. And one main button only: two buttons of equal weight is one more decision to make.
3. The three reasons to stay
Just below the first screen, three short arguments. Not ten. They answer “is this for me?” and they have to be verifiable: a lead time, a price, an area, a guarantee, a figure you can prove.
“Quality, professionalism, responsiveness” says nothing because nobody would write the opposite. “Quote within 24 hours, firm price, callouts in the canton of Vaud” says something.
4. The proof
This is the most neglected and the most profitable section. In order of power: photos of your real work, named reviews, client logos, figures.
A rule we apply to ourselves: if you do not have it, do not invent it. A fake review gets spotted, and the day it is spotted it takes everything else with it. When you are starting out and have nothing to show yet, say so and replace the proof with transparency: your prices, your method, your terms. It works better than people think.
5. The objections, before they block
Your visitor has two or three reasons not to write to you. “It is probably too expensive.” “This is going to take months.” “I will end up locked in.” Deal with them explicitly, on the page: a price or a range, a lead time, what happens if things go wrong.
It feels counter-intuitive to write a price when you believe the price scares people off. In practice, the absence of a price scares them off more: it leaves the visitor imagining the worst and going to whoever does display one. That is why our three prices are public.
6. The reminder of the action
Repeat the call to action at the bottom, and give it in two forms: a form for those who write, a number or a WhatsApp for those who prefer to talk. Add what you do with the request: “we answer the same day, Monday to Friday”. The visitor wants to know what they are getting into.
What to take out
- The word “Welcome”. It occupies the most-read line on the page to say nothing.
- The company history, at the top. It is of interest, but later. Its place is an “about” page.
- The carousel that scrolls by itself. Nobody sees the third image, and it slows the page down.
- Stock images. A photo of your workshop taken on a phone is worth more than an American office set.
- Long paragraphs. Two or three sentences, never more, and subheadings that read on their own.
The final test
Have someone from outside read your home page on a phone, stopwatch in hand, for five seconds. Then ask them what you sell, to whom, and what they would do to contact you. If the three answers come out, the page is good. If not, it is not the design that needs changing, it is the order of the sections.
We ask these questions in our starting brief: it is the part that takes clients the longest, and the one that makes all the difference to the result.
Frequently asked questions.
The questions we get asked on this subject, with the short answer.
Should you display your prices on your site?
In the vast majority of cases, yes — at least a range. The absence of a price sends the visitor to a competitor who displays one, and wastes time on enquiries that are outside the budget.
What is the first thing to write on a home page?
A sentence that says what you do, for whom and where. If someone from outside your trade cannot repeat it, it needs rewriting.
Read next.
Two more articles from the journal, on neighbouring subjects.
Wix, Squarespace or bespoke: the honest comparison
What each solution does very well, where each one struggles, and the real cost over three years for a Swiss SME.
Read the article →The 7 sections of a landing page that converts
The order that works, section by section, with what to write in each one and the mistake not to make in it.
Read the article →A view on your own case?
Describe your business in three lines. We answer the same day, Monday to Friday, and we also say when a website is not your priority.