Now a days most of the businesses -be it a start-up or a well-established one have web pages. Websites help you to establish yourself as a Brand and reach more audience. A physical store can grow worldwide but it cannot reach a lot of customers when compared to an online store. So, an online store is as important as a physical store.

Just like you decorate a physical store to attract your audience, an online store also must be presented well to pull the online crowd. This is where web designs come into place.

Introduction to Web designs

A web design is the first look of the website and is done for you by a web designer. Web design process conceptualizes your idea with the help of layout, colors, text styles, structure, graphics, images, and use of interactive features to construct pages for your website. You can design a web page for your business using web design packages or by hiring a web design agency. A web designer adds a lot of animations, graphics, and attractive font to make your website eye-catching. It is necessary for you to make your website design equipped with UI and UX as the online customer sees your brand quality and credibility through your website.

A Web design shows the content in your website in an organized and professional looking manner. The site should also have good content loaded with relevant information which is enough for the users.

A website with a good design helps you to Increase Customer Conversions, helps you in establishing your brand name, attracts customers who can convert into potential clients, encourages visitors to visit other pages on your website and a Responsive Web Design gives you happy customers.

What Makes a Good Website Homepage Design?

A good Homepage design is critically important for you to impress customers. Say that you own a physical store; a customer will first judge you from outside before stepping into your shop. If a new visitor does not like the look of the shop, then he will stay back from entering it as he knows that there are lot many stores that sell the same. The same is the case with websites too. So, to impress your customers you will have to understand their requirement and design your shop accordingly to make that first impression. A good homepage will aid you to make that impression to your customers when it comes to website. The essential elements in a good homepage are,

User Experience

Nobody takes the pains to browse through a complex website to obtain information or a product. With thousands of competitors lined up, it takes only a few seconds to switch over to another website that is welcoming. One of the most ingenious investments that your business can make is developing a good website that is designed with user experience in mind. Your homepage that is designed with user experience in mind is the key that will encourage customers to stay in your website and know more about your brand.

Brand Awareness

When a user visits your website, at a glance he should be able to understand what you are selling by glancing at your homepage. He should understand what your organization does without much use of words. He needs to get a clear sense of your brand and should be able to navigate to other pages easily. A good homepage design helps you in establishing your brand identity.

Plan what you place above the fold

Above the fold is the portion of your homepage that your visitors can see without scrolling.

100% of your visitors will see the content Above-The-Fold and eventually the number of people who will continue to pay attention to your content will drop. If your homepage is impressive above the fold, then it will encourage the users to scroll and get to know more about you. It is definitely not necessary to clutter everything above the fold as it intimidates the user.

Above the fold should contain the following details 

• Bold headline on what your company aims at
• Sub headline on the purpose of your website in a short phrase.
• Primary Call-To-Action to direct user on what to do next.
• A supporting image /a Video/ a Cinema graph to put your motto forward.
• Logo for the user to identity your brand
• Navigation Bar for the roadmap 

Bold Font

An attractive font that is clear and legible and stylish at the same time will attract the users. An illegible font that looks flowery will make it difficult for the user to read through the content and hence abandon the site.

Trust Badges

Trust badges can be certifications that your company has obtained, customer reviews or testimonials, customer quotes regarding his experience with your organization, number of customer satisfaction stats, team member's comments, and number of social network shares etc. These establish the customer trust in your brand and encourage them to buy your product without hesitation.

Team member's photographs and business associates pictures give the customer an indication that your service is personalized and you connect with them which again builds customer trust.

Related: How to Choose the Right Web Design and Development Company

Now that you have understood the components of a best website design, here are some best looking examples that support these, 

Good website design examples

1. FreshBooks

FreshBooks

• The webpage conveys the idea they sell in the form of a story
• The primary calls-to-action are prominent in the homepage giving the user an idea on what to do next and it is in contrast to the background thereby catching user attention.
• The Catchy line used in the CTA -"Get Started for Free" is very persuasive.
• There is a statistic number that says 97% of small business owners recommend freshbooks" This establishes a sense of trust in the customer who is seeking the product. 

2. Airbnb

Airbnb

• It gets straight to the point by placing the destination and date search form that the user came looking for on the top of the page thereby saving the user's time searching for the step.
• The search form uses auto-fill to keep the page ready with the user's last search if they're logged in.
• The primary call-to-action "Search"  that is given in red stands out from the white layout
• The card layout that is clear and organized provides stories to engage customers which will eventually help in conversion. 

3. Mint

Mint

• It follows the minimalistic design approach with the effective use of white space to convey the point.
• The page has all the essential features required and gets straight to the point. A simple heading, a clear sub heading that conveys the motto clearly, and a prominent CTA.
• The prominent CTA: "Sign up free." Is contrasting with the background and the secured lock icon puts across the trust factor that the information is in safe hands which is necessary for a business that deals with finances. 

4. Dropbox (Business)

Dropbox (Business)

• Dropbox website conveys everything necessary through its simple design and headline. It comprises only the necessary information powerfully with minimal words.
• Dropbox's homepage has made use of the whitespace effectively to put their ideas forward without cluttering the user's mind. 
• Its easily noticeable CTA compels the user to give it a try. 

5. Rivers Smokehouse

Rivers Smokehouse

• This is another simple website which has taken the minimalistic approach with a convincing video that is trending among web design and development services and a crisp and a powerful headline "Brisket. 18 years to master. Yours to savor."
• The parallax scrolling that is mobile friendly too takes you through the look and services of the restaurant with HD images.

6. Jill Konrath

Jill Konrath

• The headline and sub-headline gives you a clear picture on how Jill Konrath will help your business.
• The website has convincing points on why businesses should seek Jill's help.
• The Primary CTA "Contact Jill" is prominent and catches our eye easily and is available in two places in the home page to emphasize on the action.
• The subscription CTA that pops up with a convincing number of Jill's fans " 140,000"  gives you a tendency to follow her site and get to know more by subscribing. 
• It includes news outlet logos and testimonials as social proof. 

7. Evernote

Evernote

• Ever note that serves as a remainder puts forward their message with the headline "Remember Everything"
• It uses a HQ Hero Image to attract the user attention to the image that gain conveys the message.
• The call-to-action, "Sign Up For Free." Is very prominent and gets to work right off the bat.
• It also offers the users a simple sign in process with their Google accounts for those who do not want to register.

8. Telerik by Progress

Telerik by Progress

• Even though there are a lot of messages conveyed through the homepage, the layout isn't cluttering. It conveys that the company has a lot of products to offer.
• The Subheading gives a trust with the line "2.1 million developers love"
• The company communicates what it has to offer effectively.

9. eWedding

eWedding

• The homepage is attractive and yet conveys everything in a nutshell.
• "Over 800,000 wedding websites built!" is very convincing.
• The CTA's that are attractive and contrasting are easily findable as it is placed at the center.

10. Basecamp

Basecamp

• The cartoons that the basecamp website has are very attractive and interesting.
• The CTA's is bold and catches attention easily.
• The customer testimonial is displayed in large attractive font that will definitely not miss the user's eye.
• "100,000+ paying customers " displayed in the top of the page is another convincing factor for the users.

11. Charity: water

Charity: water

• The emotional headline, sub headline and the powerful image puts the idea forward in an influential manner.
• The images that are captured with real people captures our emotions and conveys the idea of the website.
• The simple subscription form is another noteworthy point in the website.

12. TechValidate

TechValidate

• This attractive homepage makes use of pleasant colors and white space effectively.
• The CTA's are evident ,simple and aids conversion.

13. Chipotle

Chipotle

• The simple homepage looks convincing and compelling.
• The food's image is personalized and attractive that will charm the users to try it out.

14. Medium

Medium

• This website has made the effective use of whitespace.
• "Text me the link" CTA is a great move to facilitate app downloads. 
• It also suggests popular stories for customer engagement on the page.

15. Digiday

Digiday

• This is a different news website that doesn't cloud the visitors with a lot of trending news. Digiday's homepage has just one article with an eye-catching image.
• The top of the page has a straight approach without cluttering with just a subscribe link and a search icon.

16. KIND Snacks

KIND Snacks

• The words and images are prominent in the website along with an attractive colour.
• The CTA -- "Shop KIND" coerces the visitor to click to click on it and buy it.
• It has a catchy headline and a sub headline that is another added plus to the website.

Related: 6 Ways Responsive Web Design can Benefit your Business

Conclusion:

I hope these best examples have inspired your website ideas. If you plan to hire a web designer to implement these for your website, then it is recommended to go for Top web designing companies, eDesk HUB can help you in selecting the best web design firms in your locality to get the job done for you. When you hire the services of a good website designer or developer through a reputed web design firm, you can be double assured that your online presence will successfully put your brand message across and help in conversions. This is because these companies will offer the best web design services for you with their experience and knowledge of the latest web design trends in the market.