Website sliders and above the fold content
The whole point of a website slider and above the fold content is to grab people’s attention and to get them to delve further into your website.
With this is mind, stop using very generic text and also stock imagery. Make your website slider and above the fold content stand out by following these five tips.
What is a website slider and above the fold (ABF) content?
When you first arrive on a website’s homepage, you will usually see a header (the very top of the page) which often contains the site logo, menus and, sometimes, contact information.
Then, we get to the slider or homepage banner. This can be a static banner – with an image, colour background and/or just text. Or, as is also common it can be slider, which shows a series of images, either automatically or when you press on them. Rather than image videos or GIF style animation can be used too.
They are a great way of grabbing people’s attention and are actually a really important part of your website if you have one, because they show ‘above the fold’ (ATF).
ATF means anything that appears on a laptop, tablet and even a phone screen when you website visitor first arrives on your homepage, without having to scroll down. It comes from newspaper terminology – when they were folded and displayed.
It makes the first impression. This means the imagery and copy work can work well for keeping website visitors, reducing bounce rate and getting people to find out more about your business – when it is composed well!
How to make the most of your website slider and above the fold content
1) Keep it short and snappy
Keep the text short. If your formatting allows, include a title and a subtitle, but don’t write too much as most sliders are meant to change very frequently, within a few seconds, and so only include what is possible to read in the time before the slider changes image.
Don’t be afraid to include very “salesy” copy here. The words need to pitch your business. They need to sell your products and services. You may also want to illustrate your experience. And, you can highlight your unique selling points (USPs). This is a great place for slogans and tag lines too.
2) Cover your whole business
Your website is the equivalent of your shop window. It is a way to show off the absolute highlights of what you offer. Although you don’t want 20 different images on your slider, four or five is absolutely fine.
Think about what you can include on the different slider images to really illustrate the breadth of your business. Consider what you already have in your main navigation menu (which can also often be seen ‘above the fold’) and anything else you have in a header and whether it is important enough to repeat or whether you can use the slider to illustrate further areas.
3) Draw your visitors in
It is common to use terms like ‘About’, ‘Services’ and ‘Contact’ in your main menu along the top of your website (as seen on a desktop view). Whilst I like unique menu headings, I also can see the advantage of using common terms that people are familiar with. However, your slider is where you can be more unique and creative.
It is important to be engaging and to draw your visitors to click on something in your slider to explore more areas of your website. A lot of sliders have the functionality to add a button or hyperlink so think about using a strong ‘call to action’, such as “Find out more”; “Learn more” or even “Contact us” or “Book now”.
4) Choose your imagery with care
I see so much stock imagery on sliders. I appreciate that it is not always possible to include photos of your business, but think carefully about the images you are going to use. If you are going to use stock imagery think about how well the different four/five go together. Consider the mix of gender and diversity if you have pictures of people. Think about images which suit your brand. If you use images from free stock sites, be aware that these are used by 1000s of people everyday, so don’t pick the first one you see. Be selective.
5) Update regularly
Your website need to be kept fresh and updating your slider information is really important. I always recommend a regular ‘spring clean’!
Consider how you are going to do this. Perhaps single out particular services and feature them on rotation, add your latest blog post or include something seasonal.
Update the words and the pictures.
First impressions count
Seriously, people judge a book by its cover…your website is no exception! First impressions count and your slider will be one of the first things people see when they discover your business via your website. Make it work hard for you and really grab your website visitors’ attention.
If you want help writing some attention grabbing copy for your website slider, get in touch with me – kate@thecontentconsultancy.com
Photo credit: Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash