The home page is similar to the first impression of a blind date.  When a browser visits the home page they should want to stick around rather than running for the door.  In order to captivate the target audience, the home page should contain some essential elements.  First, all the products and services should be represented by the home page.  A visitor to the web site should know exactly what the site is about at first glance.  Searching for the point loses a surfers interest.  If the client sells a variety of products or services, you can categorize those, listing the categories on the home page.

When selecting the background color, be certain that you understand your clients business and that the colors you select will compliment their message, using corporate colors when possible.  The backgrounds, themes, layouts, graphics, etc. should all compliment the message and the image the client wishes to convey.

When using Photo Editing software to design a Home Page, the page should be 779 x 434 pixels.  The three most commonly used monitor resolutions are 640 x 480, 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768.  By using 779 x 434 pixels, the home page should perfectly fit the screen.

A site that offers free graphics, free images, free downloadable clip art, etc. takes up a lot of space.  To be compatible with web format images should be converted to .GIF or .JPEG.  Cutting the home page into small images and saving them as GIF JPEG improves loading speed, optimizes performance and allows random loading which encourages the visitor to stick around for the show.