Three questions your first screen should answer

Most website advice is about what you want to say. Very little of it is about what the person on the other side of the screen is trying to work out while you say it.

Every visitor arrives with three questions, roughly in this order. The first screen, everything visible before they scroll, should answer all three.

1. Am I in the right place? Is this the thing I was looking for?
2. Are these people any good? Should I trust them with this?
3. What do I do now? Is the next step obvious, or do I have to work it out?

Am I in the right place?

This is the cheapest one to fix and the one most often missed. The visitor came with something specific in mind. Your first line should confirm that you do that thing, for people like them, where they are.

A headline that could belong to any business in your industry answers nobody's first question.

"Furnace repair and installation in London and Middlesex County" tells a visitor more than "Quality you can trust." If you can promise a response time and keep it, say it. If you cannot, leave it out.

Are these people any good?

People form an impression of quality quickly, and much of it comes from how the page looks and behaves before they have read a word. That is not shallow. A careless page makes them wonder what else was done carelessly.

The answer is not decoration. It is craft: consistent spacing, real photographs of your work, type that was chosen rather than defaulted to, and a page that responds the moment it is touched. Add one piece of real evidence, a recent review or a photo of a finished job, and the first screen says these people are careful without having to say it.

What do I do now?

You have kept them. Now make the next step effortless.

Pick the one action worth the most to your business: call, book, order or request a quote. Make it the most visible thing on the screen, repeat it as they scroll, and use the same words every time. Keep the other routes, like email or directions, but make them quieter.

Five equally loud buttons ask the visitor to make a decision you should have made for them.

Where to spend first

Before adding pages or copy, make sure the first screen answers the three questions. It is usually the smallest change with the biggest effect: a clearer headline, one real photo, a faster page and an obvious button.