Fix the words or the design? Where homepage problems sit

Key takeaways

To tell whether a homepage problem is the copy or the design, test the words without the design and the design without the words. If a stranger cannot say what you do from the text alone, it is the copy. If the text is clear but people miss it, cannot find the button or leave before it loads, it is the design or the build.

• Test the words alone in a plain document.
• Test the layout with a 5-second look: what stands out?
• Test speed separately with PageSpeed Insights.
• Most small business homepages need copy fixes first.

Why does it matter whether the problem is copy or design?

It decides who you hire and what you spend. A copy problem is fixed by rewriting, often in days and for a modest fee. A design problem may need a designer and developer. Getting it wrong means paying for a new look that repeats the same unclear message, or rewriting words that nobody can see.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• Rewrite or redesign a homepage that does not convert

How do you test the copy?

Paste the homepage text into a plain document with no images or styling and give it to someone outside the business. Ask what you do, for whom, where and what they should do next. If they cannot answer, the problem is the words, whatever the design looks like.

• The five questions every homepage visitor needs answered
• Homepage copywriting: a word budget for each section

How do you test the design?

Show someone the first screen for five seconds, then hide it and ask what they remember and what stood out. If they remember the image but not the headline, or cannot say where they would click, the visual hierarchy is working against the words.

• Visual hierarchy: guide the eye to the next step
• User testing for small business websites

What if it is neither?

Some problems are technical: slow loading, broken forms or layouts that fail on certain phones. Others are traffic: the wrong visitors arriving. Check speed in PageSpeed Insights and sources in GA4 before deciding it is copy or design.

• Core Web Vitals on your homepage: what to fix first
• Wrong visitors reaching your homepage? Check traffic first

When is it both?

Often the copy is weak and the design hides it. Fix the copy first, because good words in a simple layout usually outperform weak words in a beautiful one. Then adjust the design so the new message is the most prominent thing on the screen.

• Homepage message hierarchy: one main point, three supports

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an owner briefs a designer for a new look, and the plain-text test shows strangers cannot say what the firm does. A rewrite on the existing design is tested first, and the redesign brief changes completely as a result.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Copy or design checklist

• Run the plain-text test with a stranger.
• Run the five-second first-screen test.
• Check speed and mobile layout separately.
• Check traffic sources before blaming the page.
• Fix copy first if both are weak.

• Which homepage problem should you fix first?
• Rewrite or redesign a homepage that does not convert

Next step

Copy your homepage text into a blank document and send it to a friend who does not know your business. Ask them the four questions.