5 Key Ideas for a Welcoming Homepage

Your Website is the front door for prospective members. They may have heard about your synagogue from their real estate agent when they were shopping for a new home, from new friends at a party or from a colleague at work. And where do they go to check out your synagogue? Chances are the first interaction they will have with you is through your website. Is your website ready to welcome them?

Your homepage is the first stop; it is like opening the front door of the synagogue and immediately understanding the community’s soul. Think about the last time you walked into a new friend’s home: Within 15 seconds you knew more about this new friend than hours of conversation with her/him would have revealed. Opening that front door, whether online or off-line, tells the story about your community.
Here are 5 key ideas to increase the vibrancy of your homepage:

• Create a featured slide show or video of compelling images from your community that creates a vibrant header on your home page. Think of this area as the trailer for a fabulous movie. A trailer that draws viewers in to see more.

• Invest in high quality photography. When you walk into your synagogue, are you welcomed with a plywood floor and concrete walls, or do you have a marble walkway that leads you to a warm and welcoming entry? A great deal of thought and money went into your entry area; your website should have the same quality feel. And that requires high quality photography.

• Start telling your story right away. In words and imagery, show and tell the story of your synagogue.  

• Make navigation easy for first time visitors. Holidays, education, your calendar and staff should not be hidden from the first time visitor. Understand what a first time visitor is looking for from your synagogue and then make it easy for them to find it.

• Use Google Analytics. Review how your home page is being used. Review where people are coming from. Understand what is most interesting for people. Where are they most often going? Once you understand what is most important to your website visitors, you can then deepen the content you are providing. Having Google Analytics is like having a snap shot of everyone who walks into your synagogue ... and understanding whether they are headed for the sanctuary, the school or the office.
  
  

Go to your homepage, what 3 attributes would you give it? Is it welcoming? If so, what makes it that way? Your homepage is the welcoming area for prospective members. Invest in it and it will pay dividends.