How people interact with websites is changing all the time. These days, many website visitors go directly to the page they’re interested in seeing. This has resulted in the Home Page being used less frequently than it was in the past. When considering website design, this needs to be taken into account.

In 2003 a research website had 39% of its traffic going to the Home page. In 2009, this same website had just 19% of its traffic go to its Home page. A technology website in 2008 in one month had 22,000 out of 70,000 page views go to its Home page. This same website in 2010 during the same month had just 2,500 views out of a total 120,000 go to the Home page.

A different technology website in 2007 saw approximately 10% of its traffic land on the Home page. In 2010, it was reduced to just 5%. One of the Internet’s largest websites stated that in 2005, 25% of the visitors came to its Home page. In 2010, it decreased to only 10%.

When people are browsing the Internet, they usually have a pretty good idea of what they’re looking for. Usually they don’t go to Google with no clue about what they’re there for. As people get more and more used to using the Internet, the way they conduct themselves online becomes a lot more focused and specific.

People in the past were satisfied to just get to the Home page and from there navigate through the remainder of the website. However, that isn’t the case any longer, as more individuals are using more detailed searches along with external links leading them directly to the specific page they are interested in.

Many marketers and webmasters assume the Home page serves as the billboard for their websites. These individuals frequently are obsessed with making sure they get this one page perfect and spend lots of time designing it. This is one of the main reasons why a lot of people don’t use the Home page as much as they used to, because they don’t view it as being very useful.

Research shows that individuals usually do not purchase products from advertisements they view on a website’s Home page. For this reason, many websites these days are looking into dual marketing strategies that use both indirect and direct marketing.

It is very important for webmasters and marketers to abandon the old idea of trying to control what visitors see and do. On the Internet this doesn’t work too well. The World Wide Web provides customers with a degree of control that they desire. When online searches are used by individuals they usually have a destination in mind.

Today’s consumers are searching for specific destinations and your webpages need to be designed to work well with this in mind. What people really want these days is the quickest possible way to reach the product or information that they seek. When you are able to offer this to consumers, they are much more likely to want to interact with you.

Another reason why consumers aren’t interested in the Home page as much anymore is because it tends to be viewed as a page that is full of links. Although it is possible for a Home page of this sort to be made so that it works well for you, many website owners negate this potential with useless messages and graphics.

When considering your website design, it is very important for you to consider what the Home page of your website offers to your visitors and customers. You won’t get the results you desire if you work with outdated marketing techniques.