Homepages are typically built to grab attention, serve as navigation to the rest of the site, demonstrate site offerings, and provide relevant information to new and returning users. Homepages guide navigation through links and menus to the rest of the website's content.
Home pages are usually the most important page on the entire site. The code, copy, images, widgets, and other elements tell users and search engines alike what the site is about.
Website Home Page vs. Browser Home Page
While a website home page and a browser home page might seem similar, they are quite different. A website home page is the primary page of a website, while the browser home page is the primary page of your web browser itself, serving as a gateway to the rest of your web browsing experience.
Typically a website home page will give you an overview and guide you to the pages you're looking for across that single site. You'll find navigation menus, search bars, and links to various areas of the site.
On the other hand, browser home pages are the pages that automatically load when you open your web browsers, like Google or Safari. They’re completely customizable with your favorite tabs, a cool background, or other widgets.
The key difference here lies in their functionality. A website home page is specific to that site alone, and a browser home page is specific to you. Aside from this, there are a few other differences to note:
- Website home pages have a lot of content and multimedia that help you navigate the rest of the site. At the same time, browser homepages typically only display search bars plus any other customization elements you’ve added.
- Website home pages are meant to grab your attention, while browser home pages are designed to send you to other websites quickly.
- Website home pages often show promotions, discounts, or other information related to their services, while browser homepages usually display news headlines or content from YouTube or Google Play.
Ultimately, both play a role in your browsing experience.
What Is the Purpose of a Home Page?
The primary purpose of a home page is to represent the rest of the website.
The home page should help you quickly find the information you need from the website. If it doesn’t have the information directly on the homepage, it should have navigation elements, including a menu, to other core sections of the site.
For SEO, home pages are critical. A well-optimized home page can help drive in hundreds, thousands, or millions of views in organic search traffic — critical for a website's success.
How To Get to a Website Home Page
The simplest and most direct method to navigate to a homepage is by typing the domain URL directly into your browser:
- Open your preferred web browser.
- Type the website's domain name (URL) into the address bar and press Enter.
- Voilà! You've arrived at the website's home page.
If you type too quickly, skip a letter, or forget to add the period before the “.com,” you may be redirected to an error page or find yourself on an entirely different page than expected. No worries, there are easy ways to avoid this! Consider bookmarking your favorite sites to access them easily on the bookmark bar.
And, of course, you can always search for the site's name. That will pull up a search engine results page (SERP) with important pages from the site you’re searching for, typically with the home page at the top.
How To Get to the Browser Home Page
The process for reaching the browser home page is almost identical to visiting a website's home page:
- Open your preferred web browser.
- Locate and click the "Home" button (typically a house icon) on the toolbar.
- You're at your browser's home page!
Try customizing your browser's toolbar or setting a preferred website as your browser's home page for quick access.
Is Home Page One Word or Two?
Ah, the great debate: is it "home page" or "homepage"? Well, you'll find that style guides vary on this topic.
Some prefer "home page" as two words, while others argue that "homepage" as a single word is acceptable. In reality, both versions are widely accepted. So, whether you choose "home page" or "homepage," stay consistent throughout your writing.
Now that you know what a home page is try customizing your browser home page or browsing different sites to see all the various ways you can create one for yourself!