Neither do I.

Why, then, do so many nonprofit and small business homepages feature “Welcome” as the first and most prominent word?

Probably because they really do want to welcome visitors. But making
“welcome” the first thing people see when they get to your website is a colossal waste of valuable real estate.

What would be better? Well, let’s think: How do we welcome visitors to our home? We may or may not say “welcome,” but we definitely do welcoming things.

1. We make sure they can get there.

Home: I still give written directions, because I figure I know how to get to my house better than Garmin or even Google Maps does. Maybe you just give a clear address.

Web: How you help people find your site is a topic for its own e-letter (or a book!). Here are just two tips:

•  Put your URL on everything: print materials, stationery, outgoing e-mails, signage, T-shirts, everything.
• Use key terms repeatedly – a simple but effective form of search engine optimization or SEO. Use words that describe what other people think you do rather than what you think you do. Yes, you’re against hunger, but people don’t search for “food self-sufficiency.” The word “hunger”needs to be all over your site.

2. We make it clear they’ve arrived at the right place.

Home: We leave the front light on, tell the doorman we have guests coming, leave a note by the buzzer, whatever. We answer the door ourselves so guests aren’t startled by a strange face.

Web: Images are key to instant recognition. Of course your logo has to be on your homepage – and every page – but it doesn’t have to be the most prominent image.

Use photos or slideshows to tell the story of your work. If you specialize in healthcare supplies, show a caring nurse using your products on a grateful patient. If you feed hungry people, show a child eating.

3. We greet them warmly.

Home: We may say “Welcome,” but we’re likely to say much more. “Hi, Lila, great to see you! Come in! Did you have any trouble finding us?”

Web: When I go to Amazon, right there at the top it says, “Hello, Jan Gallagher!” If you have member or subscriber logins, you can do the same.

If you don’t have the capacity to greet your visitors by name – and by definition you don’t if they are first-time visitors – you can still warmly invite them in. The text is key to conveying warmth.

• Is the text easy to read? Does it use short sentences and familiar words? Does it use headings and bullets to guide the eye?
• Is the text all about the visitor rather than about the host?

Imagine guests’ reaction if you opened the door and said, “Hello! I’m having a wonderful party and invited all my admirers. There’s great food and some incredibly expensive wines that show my good taste.”

You laugh, but how often do we encounter websites where the organization goes out of its way to tell us how wonderful it is? By contrast, a truly welcoming website makes the visitor feel like the most important person in the world.

4. We attend to their needs and make entry as easy as possible.

Home: “May I take your coat? What would you like to drink? The munchies are this way. I want you to meet someone over here.”

Web: Attending to the needs of web visitors means helping them do whatever they came to do. The key, then, is navigation. Your navigation scheme needs to be clear and intuitive. It should use common web conventions, such as putting the main navigation bar across the top. The search function should be easy to find and use.

You can SAY “welcome” or you can DO  “welcome.” Which do you think will actually make guests feel good about visiting?