- Jun 22
- 7 min read
Learning how to build a homepage that engages visitors is an essential part of creating a successful website. As the first page most visitors see, your homepage plays a key role in web design, helping communicate your brand, create a strong first impression and guide users to take action.
Wix provides an easy-to-use website builder with designer-made, fully customizable templates, making it simple to create a homepage that looks professional and supports your goals.
In this guide, you'll learn five homepage design tips, from creating a clean layout and choosing effective visuals to optimizing calls-to-action and keeping content fresh.
TL;DR: how to build a homepage
A well-designed homepage helps create a strong first impression, communicate your brand, and guide visitors to take action. By focusing on a clean layout, high-quality visuals, cohesive design elements, effective CTAs and fresh content, you can create a homepage that is both engaging and easy to navigate. Wix provides an intuitive website builder with drag and drop editing, making it easy to design and customize a professional homepage.
Homepage tip | Why it matters |
Keep your layout clean and easy to navigate | Helps visitors quickly find important information and reduces clutter. |
Use high-quality images | Creates a professional look and helps communicate your brand visually. |
Choose a cohesive color scheme and background | Improves readability and creates a consistent user experience. |
Optimize your CTA buttons | Encourages visitors to take action and explore your site. |
Keep content fresh and up to date | Builds trust and shows that your website is active and relevant. |
Building a website for your business, passion project or side hustle should feel simple and exciting. Wix generates a personalized starting point with AI. You can customize every detail with intuitive drag-and-drop tools, while Wix handles the tricky parts to make building your site simple. That way, you can focus on what matters most: bringing your ideas to life. Ready to get started? Create your website today.
How to build a homepage
01. Keep your layout clean and easy to navigate
Keeping your homepage’s layout clean and clutter-free is essential. Site visitors tend to feel overwhelmed if they’re presented with an excessive amount of info and images. You will come off more organized and professional if your site’s content is well thought-out and tidy.
Do: Choose a layout that is clean and easy to navigate. Make sure that all of your most important content and images are kept above the fold, where your viewers' eyes will most likely see them.
Don’t: Avoid cluttering your homepage with too many images, icons, clip art, banners, never-ending text and so on. No one wants to sort through a messy page. So try to maintain a clean and minimalist website design.
You can also take further inspiration from these homepage design examples.
As Wix's AI website builder, Wix Harmony takes you from a single prompt to a business-ready site for any industry or creative vision, so your homepage starts organized rather than cluttered. You can even begin without leaving the AI tools you already use. Wix's native ChatGPT integration allows you to type "@Wix" in a conversation to invoke its Wix Harmony vibe code website builder and generate a full, live Wix website including booking systems and menus. Once your site exists, Aria, Wix's built-in AI agent, keeps it tidy. Aria can generate full sites, rewrite content, restructure layouts, configure business tools and manage site settings through natural conversation.
02. Add high resolution images
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? When it comes to your homepage, this saying rings true. Photos have the ability to let your visitors know what you and your website are all about. If you don’t have access to high caliber photos, you can choose from the Wix Collection of professional-grade images. Simply follow these steps: go to the Wix editor → Add → Image → Change Image → Free From Wix. You can also use this excellent resource for free photos. Strong images can do the job of countless lines of text – use this to your advantage.
Do: Use high-resolution photos that will make your users want to see the other pages of your site. Nothing says unprofessional more than a bad quality pic.
Don’t: There’s no need to add every amazing pic you have at your disposal when still learning the ropes on how to make a website. A few solid images should be more than enough.
03. Ensure your color scheme and background work well together
These simple, yet important elements set the tone for your homepage and will probably be the same throughout all of your site’s pages (for example, if you have a vintage website design, your homepage will reflect that). With that said, don’t you want to make sure that you pick wisely? The Wix editor makes it easy by giving you tons of beautiful backgrounds as well as handy preset color swatches called color palettes. You can click through them to see how they change the look of your site, or you can create your own customized palette. You can even upload one of your own images and set it as background.
Do: Go with a color scheme and background that work well together and reinforce your brand (especially when working on corporate websites).
Don’t: Steer clear of adding too many colors and don’t pick a background that will steal the focus from your main images and text.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out these best website design examples.
04. Optimize your homepage buttons
Not every homepage will have or even need buttons, but if you’re going to use them you should use them right. Your buttons, or call to actions (CTAs), are gateways to other pages, websites, promotional items, product galleries, and so much more. If the purpose is to make people take action and click, you’re going to have to make them tempting.
Do: Keep the wording of the CTA as clear and short as possible – do your best to keep it under 4 words.
Don’t: Try not to let your CTA go unseen. If you want people to click through, don’t overlook the importance of placement.
05. Update content frequently
You can’t have a perfect homepage without good solid text. Your first objective should be to ensure that site visitors immediately understand what your site is about. But remember, you’ll be able to go into more detail on the other pages of your website, so there’s no need to write a novel. For example: writing a bio about yourself on your homepage is just repetitive when you have a separate page titled “Bio.” Getting carried away and writing overly descriptive paragraphs is a surefire way to make your users fall asleep.
Do: Keep your text fresh and current. Doing so will let readers know that your website is up to date and a dependable source of information.
Don’t: Do. Not. Over. Do. It. In most cases, nobody is looking to settle down for a few hours to read all the text on your website. Be sure not to lose your visitors’ attention by going into way too much detail or repeating yourself when you just don’t need to.
Learn more: What is web design?
How to design a homepage that converts visitors
A homepage converts visitors when it makes one offer clear, guides attention toward a single action and removes anything that slows the decision. A good-looking homepage holds attention, but a converting homepage turns that attention into sign-ups, purchases or bookings.
Layer these conversion principles on top of the design tips above.
Lead with a clear value proposition: State what you offer and who it helps in the first thing visitors see. If someone cannot tell what to do next within a few seconds, the page is working against you.
Give the page one primary action: Pick the single outcome that matters most, then make that call to action the visual focus. Competing buttons split attention and lower conversions.
Place social proof near the decision: Testimonials, reviews or recognizable client logos reassure first-time visitors at the moment they are deciding whether to act.
Reduce friction: Fast load times, short forms and simple navigation keep visitors moving toward the action instead of dropping off.
Match the message to the visitor: A homepage converts better when its headline reflects what the visitor came looking for, so align it with your main traffic source and audience intent.
Wix includes built-in analytics so you can track how your homepage converts and adjust it over time.
"Every page on your site should have a purpose. When your headlines, URLs and content all align with one clear topic, your SEO becomes a lot stronger." - Yossi Fest, Senior Technical SEO at Wix
How to make a homepage with Wix
If you're wondering how to make a homepage, Wix makes the process straightforward. With designer-made templates and drag and drop editing tools, you can customize your homepage, add content, and create a professional-looking website without coding. Follow the steps below to get started.
Choose a website template: Start by choosing a designer-made Wix template that matches your website’s purpose, whether you’re creating a business site, portfolio, blog or online store. Wix has over 2000+ pre-designed, fully customizable, and mobile-optimized website frameworks to enable fast website creation without coding.
Customize your homepage layout: Wix provides an intuitive drag-and-drop website builder that lets you adjust your layout, move sections around, and create a homepage structure that fits your brand.
Add your key content: Include the most important homepage elements, such as your headline, supporting text, images, buttons and links to other pages.
Refine your design: Update your colors, fonts, background and visuals so your homepage feels cohesive and easy to navigate. Wix speeds up designing a website with fully customizable templates for any industry.
Preview and publish: Before going live, preview your homepage on desktop and mobile, make final edits and publish your site when everything looks ready.
How to make a homepage FAQ
What should a homepage include?
A homepage should include a clear headline, relevant images, easy-to-navigate sections, and calls-to-action (CTAs) that help visitors find information and take the next step.
How do you build an effective homepage?
To build an effective homepage, focus on a clean layout, high-quality visuals, a consistent design, clear CTA buttons, and up-to-date content that supports your goals.
Can I make a homepage without coding?
Yes. Website builders like Wix make it possible to create and customize a homepage without coding using designer-made templates and drag-and-drop editing tools.
