Tales of a Designer

Design the Home Page Last

The home page plays a very important role in most websites. It’s the few seconds that you have to grab that users’ attention to keep them on the site. This is why much thought needs to be put into the design. The best way to effectively plan out the home page design is to save it until last.

I know it can be hard to wait. When I first started designing, I always tackled the homepage first. But this was the wrong approach. Most home pages aren’t content heavy, and since content is key, start off by focusing on the important parts.

After analyzing the content, design out all of the inner pages. That way, you learn about the important parts and information architecture. You know what information will be the most relevant to the user experience. Since the home page reflects what content is in the site, designing the inner pages would be the best strategic move to make.

The home page has certain goals, and without getting an understanding of the pages behind that home page, you can’t effectively design for it.