Your startup homepage checklist: 7 must-haves ✅

Homepage checklist

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a startup, begging them to develop a homepage that shows your customers, in clear language:

1️⃣ Here’s what it is ⚓
2️⃣ Here's who this is for, specifically you 🙋‍♀️
3️⃣ Here's why it is better than your status quo 🥇 
4️⃣ Here's how it'll make my life better 🛫 
5️⃣ Here's why you can trust us 🤓 
6️⃣ Here's how it works 💡 
7️⃣ Here's the first step 🏃‍♀️

Many startup homepages jump to talking about points 6️⃣ and 7️⃣. Or, worse, just vague mission or vision focused language that leaves your dream customers thinking, ‘huh?’.

Real examples of homepages

Here’s an example of the hero (top) section of a homepage with a lofty statement. This copy does not check any of the boxes, except potentially 4️⃣ but it is hard to understand without knowing 1️⃣ to 3️⃣.

If an early-stage startup homepage has all 7 items on the checklist covered in a way that their customers can get, they are way ahead of the game. And, they can avoid running out of business before seeing any real traction.

Here’s an example of a startup with a homepage that checks off all the boxes right at the top.

1️⃣ Here’s what it is ⚓
ICP (ideal customer profile) and account scoring tool

2️⃣ Here's who this is for, specifically you 🙋‍♀️
Sales and marketing teams

3️⃣ Here's why it is better than your status quo 🥇 
Helps them find the right accounts (they’ve got a fantastic before / after section on their homepage that further clarifies their differentiator).

4️⃣ Here's how it'll make my life better 🛫 
They will be able to build and maintain ideal account lists for effective sales and marketing.

5️⃣ Here's why you can trust us 🤓 
Not pictured below but their homepage includes logos, testimonials, and other reasons they should be trusted as the experts in this space.

6️⃣ Here's how it works 💡 
Clean visuals showing a peek at how it works, and a free option to try it.

7️⃣ Here's the first step 🏃‍♀️
They are weakest in this point because they’ve got 3 different call-to-actions to check pricing, start free, and demo.

Why many startup homepages cannot check all the boxes

• They don't know their specific early customer segment

• They've not validated market assumptions.

• Their positioning and messaging is vague.

• They're focused on marketing channels.

• They're prioritizing product-market fit.

Instead, they need to discover their Happy Paying Customers and build a go-to-market playbook to find, engage, and convert more of them. This means they need to figure out the fundamentals before they can execute a homepage that resonates.

Don't be like these 90% of tech startups that will fail.

Build a go-to-market plan to get the right early customers. Then, align your startup’s homepage to incorporate 1️⃣ to 7️⃣.

Worry not, drafting a go-to-market will only take 3 hours:

🎁 I've got the cheat code for busy founders.
🍪 It isn't cookie-cutter.
📈 It is a customizable one-page template.

Yup, in 3 hours and an optional 1:1 with me, you'll be on your way to micro-testing it.

And, that's just the onboarding for members of the Founder-Led Marketing Club. You'll also get:

+ ongoing 1:1 coaching in a small group setting via Slack/live sessions
+ access to a growing Founder-Led Marketing Resource Hub
+ company of smart, supportive peers

So, if you're ready to get on the path to your first 100 Happy Paying Customers with a website that actually makes sense to your dream customers, DM me to snag a spot in FLMC in November.

p.s. FLMC is priced at just $250 / quarter (not month) for now. Yes, I realize this is a steal so I'll be increasing prices ~Dec. Join now to lock in this price.