Static homepage?
Or homepage showing a list of blog posts?
Which is better? Which do you use when?
If your site is ONLY a blog, then show your blog on the homepage.
Your readers are looking for your blog, so give them your blog. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.
- Don’t hide your content from people.
- Don’t make it take longer to get to the content people are interested in (your blog!).
- Don’t make your readers jump through hoops.
“But Ashleeeey! What about my introduction? How do I show off my popular posts? How do I illustrate all the cool features on my site?”
That’s what your sidebar is for, my friend. That’s what your about page is for.
If your whole site is your blog, why do you want to make it more complicated to access it? Why do you want to make people click through to a secondary page just to get there? What purpose would it serve?
If there’s more to your site than just a blog, a static homepage might make sense.
Do you sell products? Services? Host regular live workshops?
If there’s more to your site than just a list of blog posts, then it makes sense to have a static homepage that advertises and highlights that information.
Above all, your homepage should serve a clear purpose.
Think about your goals…
- What’s your end game?
- Where do you want your readers to end up?
- Is there a specific action you want them to take?
If your goal is for them to end up on your blog and read some posts, don’t force them to go through an extra step to get there. It doesn’t make sense.
If you have a blog but your goal is to get your reader to buy one of your products, then it makes sense to have a static homepage that displays your products and what value they offer.
Build your site with intention and purpose.
Lol, this is funny because it’s just what I’ve been debating with myself all afternoon. I’m setting up a translating business, but even though I like my homepage, I couldn’t help feeling it seems a bit unnecessary.
There are some book bloggers that have homepages, and they don’t seem to annoy. So I think mine might just need something that justifies its existence a little more!
As long as you feel it serves an important purpose, go for it! 🙂
I agree with you, only have a homepage when there’s more to you and your brand. With our wedding website, we’ve opted for a bit of both. I’ve gone for the homepage but one of our big features actually shows the 7 most recent blog posts (I think you have to see to understand). We really wanted our blog to be a big focus–as that’s actually the place where we’ll be updating more with wedding imagery, definitely more so than the gallery section–but not the entire focus. We’ve definitely seen a huge improvement already with bookings and web hits.
It looks great Georgie! Definitely a good combination of highlighting blog posts but also making it clear that your site isn’t just a blog. 🙂
Thank you so much for this informative post!! It made the decision to keep my blog, a blog so much easier! I will switch, when the content for my online shop is ready! For now I just want people to see the meat of of my blog 🙂
Great advice!!!
THANK YOU for this AMAZING piece of advice!!!
I’ve been stuck between my blog posts and a static page and I HAVE MADE MY DECISION. But what about a welcome sticky post that always sits at the top of your blog posts?
I don’t think it’s needed. 🙂 That’s what your About page is for. If you must, put an introduction at the top of your sidebar.
Thanks for the advice!