Which homepage problem should you fix first?

Key takeaways

To prioritise homepage fixes, work up the GBL Homepage Ladder: first anything that stops visitors arriving or seeing the page (wrong traffic, slow loading, broken mobile layout), then the first-screen message, then proof, then the call to action, then the enquiry route. Within each rung, fix what is cheap and reversible first.

• Fix broken things first: forms, phone links, mobile layout.
• Then the lowest failing rung: arrive, understand, believe, choose, act.
• Within a rung, cheap and reversible changes first.
• One change at a time, logged, so you can tell what worked.

Why does the order of homepage fixes matter?

Order matters because each rung of the ladder depends on the one below. Better proof cannot help visitors who left because the headline was unclear, and a better button cannot help visitors who never saw it because the page loaded slowly. Fixing in the wrong order spends money on parts of the page few people reach. General website change prioritisation is covered in our guide to prioritising by impact; this is the homepage version.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• Prioritise website changes by impact, not opinion

What should you fix first?

Anything broken: a form that does not send, a phone number that cannot be tapped, a layout that breaks on iPhones, a pop-up that covers the first screen. These cost enquiries today and are usually quick to fix. Check them before any rewriting.

• Is your homepage broken on someone else's phone?
• Homepage conversions dropped after a change? Check these

How do you choose between the rungs?

Score each rung using the homepage ladder tests and start with the lowest score. If two are equal, start with the lower rung. In practice, the most common first fix on small business homepages is the understand rung: the headline, subheadline and service area.

• The homepage conversion ladder: five rungs to an enquiry
• Homepage conversion checklist: 20 checks

Within a rung, what comes first?

Start with changes that are cheap, quick and easy to reverse: wording, order and removing clutter. Leave changes that need design or development, such as a new hero layout or booking integration, until the cheap ones have been tried and measured.

• Fix the words or the design? Where homepage problems sit
• Change one thing at a time: a homepage change log

When should you break the order?

Break it when a higher-rung fix is trivial and obviously right, such as adding a missing phone number to the header. Also break it for legal problems, such as misleading claims or missing required information, which should be fixed immediately whatever rung they sit on.

• Legal requirements for a UK business website

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an owner has a list of 25 homepage ideas from staff, agencies and competitors. Sorting them by rung and cost usually shows that three or four cheap changes to the first screen and the form deserve to go first, and many of the rest can wait or be dropped.

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

Homepage fix priority checklist

• Test forms, phone links and mobile layout first.
• Score each rung of the ladder.
• Start with the lowest-scoring rung.
• Within it, try wording and order changes first.
• Make one change at a time and log it.
• Fix legal issues immediately.

• A hotel homepage that wins direct bookings
• Fix the words or the design? Where homepage problems sit

Next step

Write every homepage idea you have on a list, then tag each with its rung and whether it is cheap or costly. Start with cheap ideas on the lowest failing rung.