Numbers on your homepage: proof or decoration?

Key takeaways

Statistics on homepage sections persuade when they are specific, relevant to the buyer and checkable, such as '1,400 boilers fitted since 2012' or 'average reply in 47 minutes'. They decorate when they are vague or inflated, such as '1,000,000 cups of coffee' or '100% satisfaction'. Use two to four real numbers and keep evidence for each.

• Use 2 to 4 numbers that answer a buyer's worry.
• Specific beats round: 1,412 is more believable than 1,000+.
• Keep evidence for every number, as the ASA expects.
• Drop counters about coffee, hours or 'happy clients'.

Why do numbers work on a homepage?

Numbers work because they are easy to scan and harder to fake than adjectives. Visitors' eyes stop on digits, and a specific figure signals that someone counted. 'Rated 4.9 from 212 reviews' is more persuasive than 'highly rated' because it can be checked.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• Why specific claims convert better than adjectives

Which numbers persuade buyers?

The persuasive ones answer a question the buyer is already asking.

• Experience: jobs completed, years in this specific service.
• Speed: average reply time, typical lead time, same-day share.
• Quality: review score and count, repeat customer rate.
• Scale or fit: clients in their sector, coverage area.

• The trust bar under your hero: what goes in it
• Show your availability on the homepage, honestly

Which numbers should you avoid?

Avoid numbers that cannot be checked or do not relate to buying: cups of coffee, lines of code, 'hours of passion', '100% satisfaction' and animated counters that tick up to round figures. They read as decoration, and a claim like '100% satisfied customers' needs evidence that is hard to hold.

• Homepage design trends that cost enquiries

How do you make sure numbers are defensible?

Keep a simple record of how each figure was calculated and when. The ASA expects marketing claims to be substantiated, and a figure on your homepage counts. Update the numbers at least yearly, and say what period they cover, such as 'average reply time in 2026'.

• How often should you update your homepage?

When do numbers hurt more than help?

Small numbers can hurt: '12 happy clients' may make a firm look tiny. In that case use a different kind of proof, such as named qualifications or a detailed case study. Numbers can also mislead if they mix services, such as counting all jobs when the visitor cares about one type.

• New business website: credibility before you have reviews

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an animated row of four counters that took a developer a day to build and shows rounded, unverifiable figures. Replacing it with two specific, sourced numbers in the trust bar is faster to load and more believable.

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

Homepage numbers checklist

• List every figure you can prove.
• Keep only those that answer a buyer's worry.
• Use exact figures with the period they cover.
• Record how each was calculated.
• Remove decorative counters.
• Update the numbers at least once a year.

• Case study teasers that pull visitors deeper
• Before-and-after work on your homepage

Next step

Ask your bookkeeping or job system for three figures: jobs completed in your main service, average reply time and repeat customer share. Those are your candidates.