Your home page is almost always the first page your visitor sees, so it needs to accomplish three things:
1) You need to make your page compelling enough so that your visitor reads through at least to the end of the page.
2) You need to provide a solution to your ideal visitor's problem. If you're a florist, and your visitor wants information on English gardens of the 19th century, they want to know immediately if you can help them. If they're not sure, they'll go on to the next site.
3) You need to guide the visitor through the process. That means provide copy that clearly and naturally leads the reader from an explanation of the problem, to how you solve it, to the best ways to contact you or get more information.
Your reader should be able to contact you in multiple ways as well—phone numbers, email, fax if appropriate. So what's the number one goal of a successful web site? To get the visitor to take the next step--immediately. That means deciding what you want them to do and making it as easy as possible for them to do it.
Prospects can do one of four things:
1 Contact you
2 Sign up for something (giving you an email address)
3 Buy something
4 Leave your site
For visitors to contact you, you need to offer something that they want. You need to address a problem that they have, and offer a clear solution. Remember, prospects don't care about what you do, they want to know how what you do helps them specifically. For visitors to sign up for something, say a special report or an ezine, they need to believe you have valuable information.
You only have your home page to convey your credibility and value. Again, emphasize what you offer, and give away a lot of relevant information. Selling products is essential for service sellers.
While signing up for your services is a big step for visitors, buying a sample of what you offer is much easier. Someone who has bought something from you in the past will be more likely to buy again, as long as what you provide is of extraordinary value. Develop an ebook, report, CD, seminar—something tangible that conveys your services and expertise in a bite-size way.
The common denominator in all these suggestions is to provide 5-star value, and ultimately create raving fans. One of the best books I've read on creating a very happy clientele is Ken Blanchard's Raving Fans. People will pay more for value than they will for services.