'Welcome to our website': the wasted first line

Key takeaways

"Welcome to our website" tells visitors nothing they did not already know, and it sits in the most-read spot on the page. Replace it with a line that says what you do, for whom and where. The same goes for 'Hello and welcome', 'Thank you for visiting' and 'We are a family business established in…' as opening lines.

• The opening line is read more than any other on the page.
• 'Welcome' spends it on nothing; say what you do instead.
• Move warmth to the tone and photos, not the first sentence.
• History belongs further down or on the About page.

Why is 'welcome to our website' a wasted line?

'Welcome to our website' is wasted because visitors already know they are on your website and still do not know whether you can help them. The opening line is the most-read text on the page, and Nielsen Norman Group found users often leave within 10–20 seconds. A greeting spends those seconds without answering anything.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• The five questions every homepage visitor needs answered

What should the opening line say instead?

Say what you do, for whom and where, in plain words. Compare the pairs below; the second line in each gives a visitor enough to decide whether to stay.

• Before: 'Welcome to Smith and Co.' After: 'Commercial cleaning for offices across Manchester, evenings and weekends.'
• Before: 'Hello and welcome!' After: 'Dog grooming in Cardiff, with same-week appointments.'
• Before: 'Thank you for visiting.' After: 'Payroll for UK firms with 5 to 50 staff, done for a fixed monthly fee.'

• Homepage hero section: the five parts that convert
• The homepage subheadline: where the explaining happens

Does removing the welcome make the site feel cold?

No. Warmth comes from tone, photos of real people and how quickly you reply, not from a greeting. A friendly, specific opening line feels warmer than a generic welcome because it shows you understand what the visitor came for.

• Tone of voice for your website: sound like a business
• Team photos on your website: what works and what does not

What other opening lines waste the same space?

Watch for 'We are a family-run business established in 1987', 'Your one-stop shop for all your needs', 'Excellence in every project' and 'Here at…'. Each can be true and still useless as an opening, because none tells a stranger what you do.

• Mission statements on a homepage: why they rarely help
• Tagline vs headline: what your homepage really needs

When is a welcome line acceptable?

In a members' area, a customer portal or an intranet, where visitors already know who you are and why they came, a short greeting is harmless. On a public homepage aimed at new buyers, it is almost always better spent.

• Job seekers, suppliers and customers: clear the homepage

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see on older small business sites: the headline is the company name, followed by 'Welcome to our website'. Swapping those two lines for a specific description is a ten-minute change that often moves more visitors on to the service pages than the redesign the owner was planning.

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

Opening line checklist

• Remove 'welcome', 'hello' and 'thank you for visiting'.
• Name what you do in the first line.
• Add who it is for and where in the next line.
• Move founding dates and history lower down.
• Read the first line aloud to a stranger.

• Homepage copywriting: a word budget for each section
• Is your homepage about you or your customer?

Next step

Write a new opening line using 'We [do what] for [whom] in [where]', then remove the 'we' and tighten it. Put it live today; it is reversible.