You built your side hustle with grit and determination. You made sales, grew a following, maybe even left your nine to five. Then someone lands on your website and clicks away in under ten seconds. This means that it’s likely you have a homepage problem.
This guide gives you the homepage design tips you really need for your UK side hustle. Its Jargon free, assumes you don’t have thousands to spend on a redesign, from experience, I know that it works. I’ll tell you what to prioritise, and how to make your homepage do the selling for you.
Your Homepage Has Three Seconds to Do Its Job
When someone lands on your homepage, they are not reading. They are scanning. In about three seconds they are deciding one thing: is this for me?
That means the very top of your page, what designers call above the fold, needs to answer three questions instantly. What do you do? Who do you do it for? What should I do next?
My website used to say Website Design UK. It had a lovely image of something really techy and to be fair, it had a nice aesthetic. But it wasn’t specific enough. It didn’t speak to what people were looking for. I changed the headline to Website Designer in Great Barr, Birmingham | Professional Websites for Side Hustles & Small Businesses. Fast, affordable website design from £1,500. No agencies, no long timelines, no hidden prices. I create professional websites that help you get clients and grow your business. Get Free Quote. View Pricing and this strategy worked to increase the time spend on the website, therefore increasing enquiries.
Your headline is not the place for poetry. Save that for your about page. Your headline is a signpost.
Homepage Design Tips for Side Hustlers on a Budget
You don’t need income from your side hustle before you can afford a good website. You can use savings, a payment plan or a credit card. A professional homepage is an investment, not a reward for already being successful.
With that said, here is where to put your focus when budget is a consideration.
Keep it clean. White space is free. A cluttered homepage overwhelms visitors and makes you look disorganised. Breathing room around your text and images actually builds trust.
Use one call to action above the fold. Maximum tow. Definitely not three. Not a pop up, a banner, and a sticky bar all fighting for attention. Pick one thing you want the visitor to do and make it obvious.
Invest in one good photo. Not a generic stock image, although this can work in the beginning but a real photo of you, your product, or your work is so much more valuable. People buy from people, especially from side hustlers. They want to see the human behind the hustle.
Starter websites built well, with proper structure and a clear homepage, start at around £1,500 in the UK. That is not a small amount, but it is also not the £10,000 agencies charge for the same result. Payment plans exist. You do not have to pay it all up front.
Structure Your Homepage So Visitors Do Not Have to Think
Good homepage design doesn’t just look pretty. It removes friction. Each section of your homepage should answer the questions your visitors will have in a logical order.
A homepage that converts usually follows this order:
- Hero section: headline, subheading, one call to action button
- Social proof: a testimonial, a logo, a result you got for someone
- What you do: a brief summary of your service or product, written for the customer not yourself
- Why you: your unique angle, your story, what makes you different from the rest
- Footer call to action: for the people who scrolled all the way down, give them another prompt to take action
This structure works well because it mirrors how a real conversation goes. You say what you do, you prove you are trustworthy, you explain the detail, and you ask if they need your services i.e. the sale.
The Technical Bits That Lose You Visitors
Design is appearance and performance. A slow homepage will lose you visitors regardless of how good it looks.
Google data shows that if your page takes more than three seconds to load, over half of mobile visitors leave. For a side hustle targeting busy people scrolling their phones, that is a serious problem.
Three quick wins for homepage speed:
- Compress your images before uploading them. Tools like Squoosh or TinyPNG are free and reduce file size significantly without ruining quality.
- Choose a reliable host. Cheap shared hosting will throttle your site when traffic spikes. Managed WordPress hosting like Kinsta or WP Engine is worth the extra cost.
- Use a caching plugin. WP Rocket and LiteSpeed Cache store a version of your site so it loads faster for returning visitors.
Your homepage should also be mobile friendly. Not mobile friendly as an afterthought. Most of your customers might be finding you on their phones. Be sure to design for that.
UK Side Hustle Homepage Mistakes
Most of the homepage design content online is American and there are real differences for UK audiences.
UK buyers are sceptical. We don’t respond well to high energy sales language. Words like “transform your life” and “unlock your potential” make UK visitors cringe. Plain, clear, confident language converts far better here in the UK.
UK side hustlers also tend to underprice and under promote. Your homepage is not the place for modesty. If you are good at what you do, say it plainly. Show your results. Show your prices if you can, because transparency builds trust and saves you time filtering out people who cannot afford your services and goods.
One thing I see constantly with clients in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands is that they try to compete nationally when they could own their local area first. This was also me. I did this. If you have a side hustle serving local customers, say where you are on your homepage. It helps with the search rankings, and it builds instant familiarity with people who know the area. Do this first, then build out from there.
So…Ready to Fix Your Homepage?
Your homepage will either work or it won’t. If people are landing on it and leaving without getting in touch, something is not communicating clearly enough.
You do not need a massive budget to fix it. You need to clarify who you serve, what you want them to do and a clean structure that guides them there. This is something you will need to tweak from time to time to eventually get it right.
If you want to know exactly what is stopping your website from bringing in customers, I offer a Website Audit and Health Check for £195. It is a 15 point audit covering technical issues, SEO problems and security risks. You get a clear report showing exactly what is wrong, what needs fixing first and a walkthrough so nothing gets lost in translation.
It’s a plain English action plan written so you can either fix it yourself or hand it to someone who can.
This works best for side hustles and small businesses with an existing website that has never been properly checked. If your site is older than six months and you suspect something is off, it probably is.
I’m Onika Sabrina, web designer in Great Barr, Birmingham who works exclusively with side hustles and small businesses. Transparent pricing from £1,500, payment plans available and your website delivered in 2-4 weeks. No agency overhead, no corporate pricing, just affordable websites that convert.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on a homepage?
Your homepage needs a clear headline that says what you do and who you do it for, a call to action above the fold, social proof such as a testimonial or result, a brief summary of your services, and a footer call to action for visitors who scroll to the bottom.
How do I make my homepage convert visitors into customers?
Start with a headline that speaks directly to your customer’s problem. Use one clear call to action, not several competing ones. Add social proof early on the page and keep the layout clean so visitors are not overwhelmed before they even read your offer.
Why are people visiting my website but not getting in touch?
The most common reasons are an unclear headline, no obvious call to action, slow page speed, or messaging that talks about you rather than the customer’s problem. A website audit will identify exactly which issue is causing visitors to leave.
How much does a good homepage design cost in the UK?
A professionally designed homepage from a solo web designer in the UK typically starts at around £1,500. This is significantly less than agency pricing and includes the same quality of work. Payment plans are available so you do not need to have the full amount saved before getting started.
How do I write a homepage headline for a side hustle?
Keep it simple and specific. Say what you do, who you do it for, and where you are if you serve a local area. For example: “Handmade skincare for sensitive skin, delivered across the UK” tells a visitor everything they need to know in one line. Avoid clever or vague wording that makes people guess.