Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s generally solid advice, but as the American Psychological Association notes, it’s not that simple. First impressions matter. And as it turns out, that’s not just true in real life, but on the internet as well.

Your funeral home’s homepage is the first thing families will see when they search for you, and that first impression is more important than you think it is. A study found that it only takes 50 milliseconds for a visitor to make up their mind about a website. There’s also research that shows a positive first impression will boost a customer’s satisfaction with any future business. The same goes for the opposite reaction: a poor first impression reduces a customer’s satisfaction, no matter how hard you try to please them.

When it comes to websites, design reasons have the biggest influence on first a visitor’s first impression.

Let’s look at some of the common elements of an inviting homepage.

1. Navigation

Nobody likes feeling lost. You wouldn’t want your customers coming to the funeral home only to helplessly wander around. A good homepage should be easy to navigate. It means that you should avoid the clutter. Provide only information that is absolutely necessary. Customers should be able to navigate through clearly-defined menus and headers.

2. Accessible Contact Information

Every homepage should feature an easy way to contact your funeral home. People are coming to your site to get information. It would seem common sense, but one recent study found that six out of 10 small business sites don’t even list a phone number. Ideally, you’ll want to feature more than one contact method: some families prefer talking on the phone, whereas others prefer submitting online forms.

3. Logo

Much like a homepage, a logo is central to the spirit of your company. It’s a simple element that can help establish consistency and trust with your customers. Visitors spend on average almost 7 seconds looking at your company’s logo alone. Providing a logo on your homepage establishes credibility for your company.

4. Optimized for Mobile

The era of mobile browsing is here. People are browsing more with smartphones and tablets. Mobile searches now exceed desktop searches, and that’s expected to rise. If your homepage hasn’t been optimized for mobile browsing, you may be losing customers. A Google study found that two-thirds of visitors are more likely to buy or use a service when the site is mobile-friendly. They also found that more than 60% of people will abandon a site if they can’t find what they want to know immediately.

5. Your Homepage Should Look Like You

Why look like your competitors? When customers visit your homepage, they should see a unique page designed to tell your story. It needs to quickly set you apart.

Don’t let your homepage hinder your business. Make sure you are making a good impression.