If you are design a website for your business, you know that making good use of every square inch of your site is essential. But that doesn’t mean every inch has to be filled. By knowing what to put and where you can increase the time your page spends in front of site visitors. Correct use of tools like a USP bar on your home page can help you maximize your efforts.
It’s easy to overwhelm your home page. After all, you want to share a lot of information with your potential customers, don’t you? The key, then, is to learn what will give you the best return on your investment. Designing a USP bar for your site can be effective in gaining and retaining visitors.
What is USP?
The term USP, or Unique selling proposition, is an important step in running a successful business. Your USP is basically what sets you apart from your competition. Maybe you are providing the fastest service, the lowest prices, or your product is available in most colors compared to all other retailers. Your USP should be how you intend to stand out from the crowd.
A company’s USP often involves or surrounds its goals and brand identity. If you haven’t identified a USP for your site, consider starting with a mission statement. This will help you narrow down what you want to deliver, who your target audience is, and how you plan to approach the product or service. You might also want to think about what issues your customer is facing and how unique you can solve them.
What is the difference between USP and VP?
Another term that you may have heard with USP is Value Proposition, or VP. While these terms are similar, it’s important to know the difference, especially when deciding what information to include on your site.
While the USP deals with how a business is shaping up against its competition, the VP shows how the lives of your customers will be improved by giving you their business. This is still useful for a site, but it doesn’t fit as well in the USP bar on your home page.
Ways to Express Your USP on Your Home Page
So you know what your company’s USP is. You may be wondering what is the best way to communicate this quickly to your customers. If you can give your site visitors quick information that goes straight to the heart of who you are as a business, they’ll be much more likely to remember you. Here are some ideas on how you can quickly communicate your USP to your audience on your website:
- Slogan or slogan – a short phrase that the customer can remember.
- Blog – share your industry knowledge to prove your expertise.
- Portfolio – show and explain the work that demonstrates your USP.
- USP Bar – a website element that summarizes your USP quickly and in a memorable way.
Of all the ways to share your USP, the USP bar is by far the most convenient and useful.
Do you need a USP bar?
Yes. Whether you like it or not, the chances of every site visitor taking the time to read your About page are pretty slim. Most customers are looking for quick information so they can be on their way. The more extensive information they have to read ahead of time, the higher your bounce rate is likely to be.
Fortunately, a USP bar helps you understand clearly and quickly what makes you special. Think of it as a pitch that sticks to your site. Your site visitor will read it before they even access the rest of your home page.
Where should a USP bar go?
Typically, a USP bar will go above the main menu on your home page. Most of the time, you’ll see them included as a horizontal bar, although they can be vertical when positioned in other locations. The bar is usually the same width as the menu, or full size if the menu is shorter.
If you already have promotional bars on your site for upcoming deals or holiday events, these may distract from the impact of your USP bar – you may want to consider including them elsewhere on your site.
Let’s go over some of the pros and cons of including a USP bar in your homepage design.
Benefits
- The bar will be easily visible on the page.
- You can share your company’s values and principles right away.
- You can include the bar on every page of your site.
- Even if the site takes a long time to load or you have a lower resolution, the bar should load smoothly.
Disadvantages
- Some viewers may be blind to the banners on a page and ignore them altogether.
- A USP bar may conflict with other promotional banners on your page.
USP Bar Design Tips
While USP bars can be really useful, not all bar designs will be equally effective. As with any web design element, think about how you display your information. These tips can help you get the most out of your site’s bar.
1. Location
Keep your USP bar in the header of your site. Viewers will probably spend the most time searching here. You can also include the bar on every page, not just the home page.
2. Simplicity
Your bar should be clean and easy to read quickly. Avoid large paragraphs or even sentences. Focus on keywords and phrases to get your point across.
3. Icons
Images are always more effective in attracting attention than plain text. Suppose your USP has three aspects like buyer protection, secure payments, and 24/7 service. Try to find icons or symbols that you can include to represent each of these elements. They should be simple, clean and easy to recognize.
4. Direction
As tempting as it is, we recommend that you stick to a horizontal bar instead of a vertical bar. It will take up less space and will fit your header more perfectly.
5. Compatibility
Make sure your USP bar homepage design is cross-functional. It should work well for both a PC or your smartphone, and you’ll want to consider an iOS platform over an Android phone as well. A well-designed bar is not good if it does not work in all areas.
Using this great feature is a simple way to make a big impact. As you put the finishing touches on your business website, don’t forget to add a USP bar!