The homepage subheadline: where the explaining happens

Key takeaways

The homepage subheadline is the sentence under the headline that explains who the service is for, where you work and what result they get. A short headline names what you do; the subheadline makes it specific. Keep it to one sentence of about 15 to 25 words, written in the customer's terms.

• The headline names it; the subheadline makes it specific.
• Formula: who it is for + where + the result they get.
• One sentence, about 15 to 25 words.
• Use a number or a time where you can prove it.

What is a homepage subheadline?

A homepage subheadline is the supporting line directly beneath the main headline. Its job is to add the detail the headline is too short to carry: the type of customer, the area or delivery promise and the outcome. Visitors who read the headline read this next, so it is the second most valuable line on the page.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• Homepage hero section: the five parts that convert

What is a good subheadline formula?

A reliable formula is who it is for, plus where, plus the result. 'For homeowners across Bristol and Bath: new kitchens fitted in two weeks, with a fixed price before we start.' It answers three of the five visitor questions in one sentence and gives the button something to promise.

• The five questions every homepage visitor needs answered
• Website value proposition: say it in five seconds

What do weak and strong subheadlines look like?

Weak subheadlines repeat the headline or add adjectives. Strong ones add facts.

• Weak: 'We pride ourselves on quality and service.' Strong: 'Rated 4.9 from 212 Google reviews across Leeds.'
• Weak: 'Solutions for your business.' Strong: 'Bookkeeping and VAT returns for UK sole traders, from your phone.'
• Weak: 'Your trusted partner.' Strong: 'Same-week delivery to 400 UK retailers.'

• Why specific claims convert better than adjectives

How long should a subheadline be?

One sentence of about 15 to 25 words is enough to be specific without becoming a paragraph. On a phone, that is two or three lines. If it needs more, the headline is probably doing too little, or you are trying to say everything at once.

• Homepage message hierarchy: one main point, three supports

When is a subheadline not needed?

When the headline already carries who, where and the result, such as 'Emergency plumbers in Croydon, at your door within 2 hours'. Then use the space under it for a proof line instead of repeating yourself.

• The trust bar under your hero: what goes in it

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a firm agonises over the headline and leaves the subheadline as 'Welcome to our website, we look forward to working with you'. Rewriting only the subheadline to name the customer, area and result is often the single fastest message fix on the page.

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

Subheadline checklist

• Names who the service is for.
• Names where you work or how you deliver.
• States the result in the customer's terms.
• One sentence of about 15 to 25 words.
• Contains a fact you can prove, not an adjective.

• Homepage hero section: the five parts that convert
• Homepage copywriting: a word budget for each section

Next step

Write three subheadlines using the formula and read each aloud to someone who does not know your business. Keep the one they repeat back most accurately.