Users scroll when they are given a reason to do so. They'll engage with content below the fold only if what's above the fold is engaging. They don't scroll out of the blind hope that something useful may be hidden 5 screens down. They make a judgement call quickly, based on the information that's immediately available to them. If it's irrelevant, uninteresting, uninformative, or too sparse, they will quickly decide to navigate elsewhere.

In order to draw visitors in, webpages act like good writing: the goal of every sentence is to make the reader want to read the next one.

Your value proposition is the "hook" that draws visitors in. It should be a simple one- or two-liner that tells people exactly what you offer and why it's worth their time. When people land on your homepage, they should be able to grasp the unique value you provide within 5 seconds. A good value proposition gives them a reason to explore further.

Your homepage value proposition will depend on the type of store you run. For example, if you have a small number of products, your homepage value proposition might be more product-focused. If you have a wide range of products, your homepage value proposition might be more company- or brand-focused.

Regardless, keep these guidelines in mind when crafting a value proposition.

Focus on clarity before creativity

Above all, you must ensure your value proposition is clear. Easier said than done, since a value proposition needs to answer many questions—

• What product are you selling?

• Who should buy your product?

• How will buying your product improve the visitor or their life?

• Why should the visitor buy from you and not your competitors?

• When will the value be delivered?

Understand your customer and their voice

The language you use plays a big role in shaping the perspective of people who end up on your site. Your visitors should see themselves in your value proposition. A good strategy is to use the exact words of your current customers to hook your future customers—look to any existing reviews or testimonials for inspiration.

Emphasize specific benefits, not vague hype

If you've walked down a single block in New York City, you've seen dozens of stores claim to have the "World's Best Coffee." Every sign you encounter makes it a little more difficult to believe the previous one.

Hype, which can come in the form of vague superlatives ("best") and exaggerations ("world's best"), can be dangerous that way. Instead, focus on distinct benefits and the concrete value your product delivers.

Forego fading text and other animations for above-the-fold content since it slows users down. While judicious use of animation can help a site feel more polished and engaging, it can also increase bounce rates if it hides content for too long. At worst, users might believe a page is broken—or that it's just too slow to load.

Google’s recent research has revealed that the likelihood of users bouncing off a page increases by 32% when the page load time extends from 1 second to 3 seconds.

A customer arriving on your site is just the first step. Once they're there, you need to grab their attention and give them a direction to move in.

The button above the fold should work to convince people to the next step, and it should link to a high impact action that's most likely to generate value for the business.

Bestsellers, newest products, or a direct link to the highest conversion product often works well for this. Make sure your CTA text makes it clear why someone might want to click the button and continue.

Prioritization alleviates the tediousness of sequential access, because users often won’t need to proceed through many steps. By showing the best items first, a prioritized sequence may draw users in and encourage them to stick with the carousel longer than with a random sequence.

Grouping is a method for connecting related elements that share a context, such as an image grouped with a caption. It visually relates elements and establishes boundaries to differentiate unrelated elements. Grouping helps users recognize relationships between different elements on a webpage or design layout, improving their overall comprehension and allowing for more efficient navigation.

Explicit grouping uses visual boundaries such as outlines, dividers, and shadows to group related elements in an enclosed area. Implicit grouping uses close proximity and open space (rather than lines and shadows) to group related items.

Indicators for a carousel should be obvious. Arrows alone may not be sufficient if they blend in with the background.

Every testimonial needs to be associated a name at least. The more information you include however, the more credible the testimonial will appear. Going beyond the bare minimum and including relevant information about the reviewer can help visitors relate to that person and their needs. This can cause people to feel put at ease—"If someone like me loves it, I probably will too."

An image of the reviewer is great. If it's relevant, their job title or company can be included. You can also get creative in providing context, for example a baby toy company might include a testimonial from a parent who's "mom to a 3yo whirlwind."

Customers are looking to your products to solve some form of problem or entertain themselves. Make sure your testimonials are solutions- or benefit-focused to show the kinds of issues your products are good at solving, and how you go about it.

It's not enough if a testimonial says your products are "pretty great," it needs to provide details about why. It should touch on what problem was solved, or what aspect of someone's life was improved.