Over the last few months I have written quite a bit about writing landing pages and offer pages. But I haven't said much about the challenges writers face when writing a homepage.

Homepages can be tricky, simply because your page not only has its own job to do but also has to support a group of second-level pages.

Here's how I approach writing homepages... whether a site has a total of 10 pages or a thousand pages.

1. Use your principal homepage headline to communicate your site's underlying value proposition

This is job one. When first-time visitors arrive at your site, they have a purpose in mind. They are looking for something.

The job of your principal headline is to communicate quickly and clearly the primary value proposition of your site.

That is to say, you need to let people know what your site is about, and why it is better than all the competing sites that offer similar products or services.

This is a tough job in the best of times. But it gets harder when you burden your headline with extra duties.

So stay focused. Understand what your visitor is looking for. Communicate your promise and value quickly and clearly.

2. Use some short introductory text to clarify and expand on your headline

Not every value proposition can be communicated completely in 10 words or less.

You may be able to get close. But if you have a business that offers a number of different product or service categories, you are better off keeping your headline simple, and then using some short introductory text to expand on your message and clarify.

Place this text directly beneath your headline, so there is a natural flow from one to the other. Don't make your readers have to search for this clarifying copy.

In other words, be aware of the eye-path of your readers. If you want someone to read a block of text immediately after reading your headline, place it within the same column, with the same margins, one following directly after the other.

3. Help visitors find what they are looking for