When creating a company site, few things are more important than website homepage designs. The homepage is your brand's virtual front door. If a new visitor doesn't like what they see, their knee-jerk reaction is to hit the "back" button.
What makes a website's homepage design brilliant instead of bland? It has to look good - but it also has to work even better. That's why the most brilliant homepages on this list don't just score high in beauty but also in brains and creativity.
Before we dive into the examples, let's go over best practices. You'll notice the best website homepage designs we look at take these principles and implement them for optimal results.
What Makes a Good Website?
A good website clearly answers "Who I am," "What I do," and/or "What can you (the visitor) do here." It also resonates with your audience, has a value proposition, calls visitors to action, is optimized for multiple devices, and is always changing to adapt to new design trends.
All of the homepage designs shown here use a combination of the following elements.
Not every page is perfect, but the best homepage designs get many of these right.
1. The design clearly answers "Who I am," "What I do," and/or "What can you (the visitor) do here."
If you're a well-known brand or company (i.e., Coca-Cola) you may be able to get away with not having to describe who you are and what you do; but the reality is, most businesses still need to answer these questions so that each visitor knows they are in the "right place."
Steven Krugg sums it up best in his best-selling book, Don't Make Me Think: If visitors can't identify what it is you do within seconds, they won't stick around long.
2. The design resonates with the target audience.
A homepage needs to be narrowly focused - speaking to the right people in their language. The best homepages avoid "corporate gobbledygook," and eliminate the fluff.
3. The design communicates a compelling value proposition.
When a visitor arrives on your homepage, it needs to compel them to stick around. The homepage is the best place to nail your value proposition so that prospects choose to stay on your website and not navigate to your competitors'.
4. The design is optimized for multiple devices.
All the homepages listed here are highly usable, meaning they are easy to navigate and there aren't "flashy" objects that get in the way of browsing, such as flash banners, animations, pop-ups, or overly-complicated and unnecessary elements. Many are also mobile-optimized, which is an incredibly important must-have in today's mobile world.
5. The design includes calls-to-action (CTAs).
Every homepage listed here effectively uses primary and secondary calls-to-action to direct visitors to the next logical step. Examples include "Free Trial," "Schedule a Demo," "Buy Now," or "Learn More."
Remember, the goal of the homepage is to compel visitors to dig deeper into your website and move them further down the funnel. CTAs tell them what to do next so they don't get overwhelmed or lost. More importantly, CTAs turn your homepage into a sales or lead-generation engine, and not just brochure-wear.
6. The design is always changing.
The best homepages aren't always static. Some of them are constantly changing to reflect the needs, problems, and questions of their visitors. Some homepages also change from A/B testing or dynamic content.
7. The design is effective.
A well-designed page is essential to build trust, communicate value, and navigate visitors to the next step. As such, these homepages effectively use layout, CTA placement, whitespace, colors, fonts, and other supporting elements.
Now, let's dive into 23 examples demonstrating what excellent website homepage designs can do for real businesses.
Homepage Examples
- FreshBooks
- Airbnb
- Pixelgrade
- Mint
- Dropbox (Business)
- 4 Rivers Smokehouse
- Cobb Pediatric Therapy Services
- Melyssa Griffin
- Jill Konrath
- Evernote
- Telerik by Progress
- eWedding
- Basecamp
- charity: water
- TechValidate
- Chipotle
- Medium
- Digiday
- KIND Snacks
- Ahrefs
- A24 Films
- Ellevest
- HubSpot
1. FreshBooks
VIEW ENTIRE HOMEPAGE
Why It's Brilliant
- It's easy to consume. There is much debate on whether short or long homepages work better. If you choose to do the latter, you need to make it easy to scroll and read - and that's exactly what this site does. It almost acts like a story.
- There's great use of contrast and positioning with the primary calls-to-action - it's clear what the company wants you to convert on when you arrive.
- The copy used in the calls-to-action "Buy Now & Save" is compelling.
- FreshBooks uses customer testimonials on the homepage to tell real-world stories of why to use the product.
2. Airbnb
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
- It includes the destination and date search form that most visitors come looking for, right up front, guiding visitors to the logical next step.
- The search form is "smart," meaning it'll auto-fill the user's last search if they're logged in.
- The primary call-to-action ("Search") contrasts with the background and stands out; but the secondary call-to-action for hosts is visible above the fold, too.
- It offers suggestions for excursions and getaways Airbnb users can book on the same site as their lodgings to get visitors more excited about booking their trip on the site. It also shows which of these offerings are most popular among other users.
3. Pixelgrade
Why It's Brilliant
4. Mint
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
5. Dropbox (Business)
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
6. 4 Rivers Smokehouse
Why It's Brilliant
- The emphasis on family, community and locally made food gives you every reason to want to support this business. And that's before you get to the video playback, showing the exquisite food here.
- The bright orange buttons for ordering direct your attention to the meat of the page. If you want a great meal, you are just one click away.
7. The Stepping Stone Group
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
- This website is beautiful in its simplicity. The backdrop shows real families who have worked with the Stepping Stones Group and seen results. The headline appeals to the visitors' emotional side: "Transforming Lives Together." This subtle messaging is effective because it includes the visitor in this process.
- There are several pathways visitors can take when they arrive on the page, but the calls-to-action are positioned well, worded, and in contrast with the rest of the page.
8. Melyssa Griffin
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
9. Jill Konrath
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
- It's simple and gets straight to the point. From the headline and sub-headline, it's clear exactly what Jill Konrath does (and how she can help your business).
- It also gives easy access to Jill's thought leadership materials, which is important to establishing her credibility as a keynote speaker.
- It's easy to subscribe to the newsletter and get in touch - two of her primary calls to action.
- The pop-up subscription CTA uses social proof to get you to join her thousands of other fans.
- It includes news outlet logos and testimonials as social proof.
10. Evernote
Why It's Brilliant
- Over the years, Evernote has turned from a simple note-saving app into a suite of business products. This isn't always easy to convey on a homepage, but Evernote does a nice job of packaging many potential messages into a few key benefits.
- This homepage uses a combination of white space and its signature bright green and white highlights to make conversion paths stand out.
- Following a simple headline ("Remember Everything"), the eye path then leads you to its call to action, "Sign Up For Free."
- Evernote also offers a one-click signup process through Google to help visitors save even more time.
11. Telerik and Kendo UI
Why It's Brilliant
12. eWedding
Why It's Brilliant
13. Basecamp
Why It's Brilliant
- For a long time, Basecamp has had brilliant homepages, and here you can see why. It often features awesome headlines and clever cartoons.
- The call-to-action is bold and above the fold.
- In this example, the company chose a more blog-like homepage (or single page site approach), which provides much more information on the product.
- The customer quote is a bold and emphatic testimonial speaking to the benefits and results of using the product.
14. charity: water
Why It's Brilliant
15. TechValidate by SurveyMonkey
Why It's Brilliant
16. Chipotle
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
- The homepage is a great example of agility and constant change. Chipotle's current homepage is all about the food, which it uses as a unique value proposition to get you to start clicking through your site.
- The food photography is detailed and mouthwateringly beautiful. Now that's an effective use of visuals.
17. Medium
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
18. Digiday
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
19. KIND Snacks
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
20. Ahrefs
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
21. A24 Films
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
- The film company's homepage is made up of only trailers for its new films. We know video content is format audiences want to see more of, and this is a great strategy to showcase A24's work in a highly engaging way.
- At the top of the homepage, A24 offers a clean and concise menu that directs customers to all the most important parts of its website.
22. Ellevest
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant
23. HubSpot
View entire homepage
Why It's Brilliant (If We Do Say So Ourselves)
- "Powerful, not overpowering" is a perfect descriptor, paired with a simple image of the CRM to prove our belief in this tagline. Note how white space is used at the top to bring visitors' attention to the different features offered.
- Throughout the homepage, our bright blue and orange themes keep returning to draw your eye to links and CTAs.
Getting Started With Homepage Designs
Finding the perfect homepage design is a tall task, but keep an eye out for the common themes in the designs we curated here. Look for ways to get across cohesive branding imagery without being overbearing.
Most important of all, make sure your company's strengths shine through in your webpage design.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out these incredible About Us pages or a Theme Marketplace.
