Yesterday a client, when I sent her my rate sheet, asked me what’s the difference between writing content for a home page and a normal page because I’ve mentioned different rates and I charge more for the home page. I think it was a legitimate question and the answer deserves a separate page.
Home page
For a website every page is important for you never know which page is going to turn a visitor into a buyer or a subscriber. Still, there are pages, and there are "pages". Your home page is your best foot forward and by the end of the day, it’s your home page that gets the most hits and consequently, the greatest exposure.
Your home page is the essence of your philosophy; it represents the crux of your online presence. No matter from where a visitor enters your website, once he or she has decided to stay and explore further, the natural destination is the home page because from there one can reach all the sections of your website.
Whether it’s just 30 words you have on your home page or 300, every word counts. And when every word counts, then your content doesn’t remain "normal". I spend greater amount of time on your home page copy. I do thorough research. I visit multiple websites (in the field similar to yours) to see how they have written the copy and what impact it makes upon the visitor. The entire message of your website — who you are, what benefits you provide, what’d’s your experience, how much you cost — is summed up in your home page copy. Your home page copy is a sales copy without sounding like a sales copy. It establishes trust. It lays the foundation for further business opportunities. It is your first impression.
Normal page
A normal page can be any information page on your website. Your "services" page, for instance, is an example of a normal page. On this page you list your various services, what methodologies you use and what are the end-benefits to the consumers. Then "about us" is a normal page where you talk about your company, your team and its various abilities, your history, credentials, philosophy, business approach and vision. Case studies can be normal pages.
Normal pages are more focused. They generally handle single topics and their primary purpose is to help the customer or the client arrive at an educated decision. Although you can make a normal page sound like a sales copy, it is often not recommended.
