Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Third, you can resist the temptation to fill your homepage with all of your product offerings and detailed service information, as the immediate purpose of your homepage should be to provide an overview of your brand, tone, and context, and to provide a gateway to the rest of your website.  Once the consumer decides they’re in the right place, they’ll expect to be able to drill down to find specifically what they are looking for, and learn about these products or services in more detail. It should be noted that a clear navigation architecture is imperative, as 76% of consumers say the most important factor in a website’s design is “the website makes it easy for me to find what I want”. (source: HubSpot, 2011).

Finally – the technical details (search optimization, page coding, tags, etc.) are important, but they shouldn’t come at the expense of a consumer-friendly interface. Example: It’s more important to provide the consumer with relevant information, a positive brand image, a pleasurable navigation experience, and a compelling call-to-action, than to stuff a page with SEO-friendly keywords that might cause the consumer to stumble and go elsewhere. A savvy web designer or marketing agency can help to ensure that your site is optimized for both search engines and consumer

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The New Frontier 7-Second Homepage Assessment

Step One: Ask an assistant or colleague to pretend that he/she is a potential client, and have them interact with your homepage for 7 seconds.
Step Two: As soon as the 7 seconds are up, close the browser, and see if they can answer the following four questions:
What’s the name of the business?
What’s the core product, service, or benefit?
Is this site for me? (hint: if they’re a potential client, the answer should be, “yes”)
What should I do next? (clear call-to-action, navigation, and contact information)
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And that’s it! If your assistant nailed all 4 questions after 7 seconds on your homepage, you’re in good shape. If not, then you’ve just identified a key opportunity area for your marketing plan.

Fustrated? Confused? Don’t be! There’s a logical explanation as to why this information needs to be processed so efficiently: