The Ultimate Guide to Hero Sections That Wow Visitors

Check this ultimate guide & tutorial on how to design site's hero sections that wow visitors, their essential elements, and best practices

By Claudio Pires
Updated on February 20, 2023
The Ultimate Guide to Hero Sections That Wow Visitors

If you’re not aware, the hero section of a website refers to the first thing people see on a web page before scrolling down. While hero sections can be used on any page of a website, it’s most commonly used on the homepage. Check this ultimate guide & tutorial on how to design hero sections that wow visitors, their essential elements, and best practices.

So, definitely use a hero section on your homepage. So, consider using it on other pages of your website to enhance visitors’ sales journeys.

Remember, the hero section is what most visitors will see first when visiting your site. So a good hero section can be the difference between a visitor deciding to explore your website further. Hitting the back button.

The hero portion of your website should show up immediately on the screen. Typically, it should be positioned under your logo and menu. And it should make a visual impact and concisely explain what you offer, what benefits you can provide. So, what actions visitors should take next.

If you’re new to hero sections, get started by checking out the following ultimate guide.

Use a Visually-stunning and Captivating Image or Video

Choosing the right visual element for your hero section will make a huge difference. So, in how engaged people are when they first land on your website.

Get the visual element right and you’ll find more people stay on your site. Explore it, and follow calls to action. Get it wrong and your website visitors could leave before even seeing what you have to offer.

The visual component of your hero section can be either an image. Such as a photo or illustration, or a video.

Whether you select a still image or a moving video, make sure you use colorful designs and eye-catching visuals. Also, ensure it suits your branding and your industry.

Both still images and videos can work well in hero sections. But videos tend to be better because they can include lots of interesting information compared. With the simple lines of short text that you can add to an image in the hero section.

Therefore, you can provide your visitors with more information by using a video. Just make sure you don’t overload the content with text and info. So much that it compromises the aesthetic appeal of the visual component following the hero sections guide.

Time and time again, studies show that videos can engage and captivate audiences much more than still images and text. In turn, that means videos can create higher conversion rates. And thankfully, you can easily find high-quality stock images and videos to use in your hero section.

For instance, at Videvo you will find a vast library of royalty-free nature videos, lifestyle videos, medical videos, and many other categories of high-quality videos that you can use for your hero section to make it really stand out and grab people’s attention.

Add Text to Your Hero Sections: Guide

The text that you add to your hero section should provide people with key pieces of information about what you do, such as the products or services that you offer.

You should also include information that explains why the potential customer. That should pick you and the perks that you provide, as well as other relevant information. Just make sure the text is concise and to the point.

You can go into a little more detail when using text in videos. As people will be absorbing the information in a different way than they would. By looking at a still image with text imposed on top.

You also have the option of using minimal text or disbanding with text altogether in a video. Instead using a voiceover to narrate to your audience.

But if you do solely use narration in a hero section video. Give your visitors the option to view subtitles, as visitors could have hearing impairments or other issues. Keep following this this ultimate guide & tutorial on how to design hero sections that wow visitors, their essential elements, and best practices.

Create a Powerful Headline

While the content of your text is important, coming up with a powerful headline is arguably even more important because it is the first thing visitors to your website will read.

The more thought you give your one-liner heading to make it as attention-grabbing as possible, the more effective it will be. By creating a powerful headline for your hero section, you can engage people straight away and see more visitors following calls to action.

Follow Up Your Strong Headline with a Great Subheading

You should also consider including a subheading. That enables you to expand on the things you offer and what your company is all about.

You could concisely define things like the benefits of your products or services to instill trust in your audience and encourage them to explore your website further. So, a good reason to follow this ultimate guide & tutorial on how to design hero sections that wow visitors, their essential elements, and best practices.

Include a Call-to-action: Hero Sections Guide

It is crucial that you include a call-to-action in your hero section.

Whether you want to get visitors to download an app, sign up for your newsletter, access a promo code to get a discount off their first purchase, or anything else, you will gain a much higher success rate if you add your call-to-action to your hero section.

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.