Homepage Content: What Goes on the First Screen

The page loads. You have a few seconds. You still don't know what the company sells or who it is for.

You go back and tap the next result.

Homepage content has one job on the first screen: say what you do, who it is for and what to do next. Do that in a headline, one line under it and one button. Everything else on the page is there to back it up.

What does a buyer need from the first screen?

Three answers. What do you do? Is it for me? What happens now?

The first seconds matter more than most owners think. Nielsen Norman Group studied how long people stay on a page, using data from Microsoft Research. Its write-up says the first 10 seconds of a page visit are critical, and that users often leave in 10 to 20 seconds. Pages with a clear value proposition can hold people longer.

The data covers 205,873 web pages and more than 2 billion dwell times, from a browser plug-in, published in 2010. It is old, and it covers the web in general, not B2B buying. But the shape holds: people decide fast, and a clear first screen buys you time.

What makes a first screen fail?

Usually one of four things.

The headline is a mood, not a statement. "Powering what's next" tells a buyer nothing. The words sit in an image, where a search tool or a screen reader can't read them. Five buttons compete, so nothing stands out. Or the page promises something sales can't deliver.

That last one is worth a number. Gartner's 2025 survey of 632 B2B buyers found that 69% report inconsistencies between what a company's website says and what its sellers say.

So the first screen should say only what you can stand behind on a call.

What should your homepage content say?

Use three parts, in this order.

Headline: what you do, for whom. For example: "Payroll for companies of 50 to 500 people." That sentence is made up, to show the shape. Yours should name your real customer.

One supporting line: how, where or why you. "Run from Pittsburgh. Set up in a week." Again, made up, to show length. One line, not a paragraph.

One button: the next step. "See pricing" or "Book a 30-minute call." The word on the button should say what happens when you click.

Our own audit flagged that our hero didn't say who we help. We changed it.

What does a good first screen look like on a phone?

Most buyers will see it there first, so design for the small screen and let the large one follow.

On a phone, the first screen shows less. You get a headline, a line of text and a button, and maybe a small picture. If your headline needs four lines to say its piece, shorten it.

Put the button where a thumb can reach it, and keep the text big enough to read without zooming. Skip pop-ups that cover the headline before anyone has read it.

If a picture helps, make it show the product or the people. A stock photo of a handshake tells a buyer nothing about you. A short sentence about what you do, in plain text, tells them more.

How do you rewrite yours?

Do it in this order and don't skip the last step.

1. Write what you do in one sentence a 10-year-old would get.
2. Add who it is for. Name a kind of customer, not "businesses of all sizes."
3. Pick one next step and word it as what happens.
4. Cut everything else from the first screen.
5. Open the page on your phone. Show it to someone who doesn't know you for five seconds. Ask what you do.

If they can't say it back, rewrite step 1.

The Swift Site Audit reads your first screen as part of its Open step. It can see the words on the page. It can't see whether a stranger understands them, which is why step 5 is yours.

What can an audit not judge?

Clarity is partly a judgment. An audit can tell if a headline is missing, if the words sit in an image, or if there is no clear button. It can't tell whether your headline is the best one for your buyer.

It also reads one page. Your homepage may be clear while your service pages are not.

What did we change on our own first screen?

Two real things, both from 2026.

The first was where the URL box sat. On a laptop screen it began about 750 pixels down, below the fold, so a buyer had to scroll to find the main action. We tightened the headline and the spacing. Now the box starts at 516 pixels on a 1366 by 768 screen.

The second was a phone problem. Our homepage was 407 pixels wide on a 390-pixel screen, because some cards were rotated and offset on load and poked past the edge. A buyer on a phone could drag the page sideways. We fixed it by clipping the overflow on the main container.

Our homepage headline is "Be the trusted answer they're searching for." Whether it works is for you to judge. The audit's first run said our first screen didn't make clear who we help, and we changed it.

Which screens should you check?

Check three sizes, at least: a phone, a laptop and a large desktop monitor. Layouts that look right on one often break on another.

On a laptop, look for the fold. Is the headline and the main action visible without scrolling? On a large monitor, look for the opposite problem: does the content float in a sea of empty space? On a phone, look for sideways scroll and for text you can't read without zooming.

What if you do many things?

Most companies do. A buyer still wants one answer first.

Pick the thing a buyer would hire you for first, the one that starts most conversations, and lead with that. Put the rest in the supporting line or just below the first screen. A page that tries to say everything on the first screen usually says nothing.

You can still show the range. Do it with a short row of service links under the headline, so a buyer who wants something else can find it in one click.

FAQ

What should be on a homepage?

On the first screen: what you do, who it is for and one next step. Below it: proof, such as reviews, case studies or named people, and a short path to your main services.

How long should homepage content be?

Short on the first screen, longer below it. Buyers who want detail will scroll. Buyers who want an answer won't, so give them the answer first.

Where do you put proof?

Right under the first screen. The first screen makes the promise. The next section shows it is true.

Next, the buyer decides whether everyone can use your page. If you want a person to read your first screen with you, book a free 30-minute consultation. We want your success as much as you do.