By Nazreen Daud, Founder of Roquepress · Published 26 Oct 2026 · Updated 26 Oct 2026
What should your homepage say? Enough for a stranger to answer three questions before they scroll: who this is for, what you actually do, and what happens next. Research summarised by Nielsen Norman Group found people often leave a web page within 10 to 20 seconds, so those three answers need to sit at the top, in plain words.
Why I hand my phone to strangers
There's a test I trust more than any analytics dashboard. I open a homepage on my phone, hand it to someone who has never heard of the business, and ask them to tell me what it does.
I do this with my own website too. Once a year, I hand my phone to someone I've just met at a networking event and ask them to go through my site. One rule: be honest. I don't want "looks nice lah." Polite compliments feel good for about five seconds and teach me nothing. I want the part they'd normally keep to themselves, plus a suggestion or two on what to improve.
Yes, it's a bit awkward to give your phone to someone you've only just met. That awkward bit is usually where the useful feedback is.
When I run the same test on other people's sites, most owners are surprised by the answer. Not because the site is ugly. Usually it's well designed. The problem is that it was written by someone who already knows everything about the business, for readers who know nothing.
Think of a hawker centre. You walk past twenty stalls and you decide in a couple of seconds which queue to join. The good stalls don't make you guess. The signboard says the dish, there are photos, the price is on the board. Nobody stops at a stall whose sign says "Passionate about food" and asks the uncle what he sells.
Your homepage is that signboard. A stranger arriving from Google, a LinkedIn post or an AI answer is walking past twenty stalls.
How long does a homepage have to make its point?
Not long. In a 2011 article, Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group, drawing on a Microsoft Research study of page dwell times, wrote that "users often leave Web pages in 10–20 seconds, but pages with a clear value proposition can hold people's attention for much longer." His advice was to communicate your value proposition within 10 seconds.
The data is old (2010–2011), and it looked at web pages in general rather than service businesses in Singapore.
The important bit is the second half of his sentence. A clear page holds attention much longer. You aren't fighting short attention spans. You're fighting vagueness.
What are the three questions in the stranger test?
The stranger test asks whether a first-time visitor can answer three questions using only what's visible before they scroll: who is this for, what do you actually do, and what happens next. If any answer is missing or vague, that's the first fix, before design, SEO or ads.
| Question | Vague answer (fails) | Clear answer (passes) |
|---|---|---|
| Who is this for? | "Individuals and businesses" | "Career coaches for mid-career professionals in Singapore" (example) |
| What do you actually do? | "We help you grow" | "One-to-one coaching to plan and land your next role" (example) |
| What happens next? | "Contact us" | "Book a free 20-minute call" (example) |
The examples in the right-hand column are illustrations, not real clients. Use your own words.
1. Who is this for?
A stranger's first job is deciding whether they're in the right place. If your headline could apply to anyone, it effectively applies to no one.
Naming your buyer feels risky to many owners. They worry that saying "for accounting firms" will scare off a law firm. In practice the opposite usually happens: the right people feel recognised, and the rest were unlikely to buy anyway.
Do this today: put your who in the headline or the line directly under it. Not in paragraph four of the About page.
2. What do you actually do?
"We help you grow" could be a gym, a bank or a fertiliser supplier. Words like help, transform, empower and elevate sound pleasant and say nothing.
The fix is to describe what the client receives, in the words the client would use when describing it to a friend. A buyer doesn't say "I engaged a holistic transformation partner." They say "I hired someone to fix our website and set up follow-ups."
Do this today: find one vague verb on your homepage and replace it with the actual thing you deliver.
3. What happens next?
Even interested visitors hesitate if they don't know what they're signing up for. "Contact us" might mean a sales call, a form that disappears into an inbox, or a price list. Uncertainty makes people put it off.
A button that names the real next step (book a call, see prices, get the checklist) lowers that hesitation. If there's a time, a cost or a format, say so.
Do this today: rename your main button so it describes the next step exactly.
The homepage stranger test checklist
Save this and run it with someone who doesn't know your business:
- On a phone, without scrolling, can they say who the business is for?
- Can they say what you deliver, in their own words?
- Can they say what the next step is, and roughly what it involves?
- Is the main button the same next step everywhere on the page?
- Did they hesitate or ask "so what do you actually do?" If yes, write down their exact question. That question is your new headline draft.
If you want to go a step further, the questions people ask on sales calls are a good source for the rest of the page. I wrote about that in putting sales call answers on your website.
Why does this matter for enquiries, not just looks?
A homepage that fails the stranger test doesn't produce angry emails. It produces silence. The visitor doesn't write to ask what you do. They tap back and open the next search result, and you never know they were there.
That's why I look at the top of the homepage before anything technical when someone tells me their website "doesn't do anything". Better SEO sends more strangers to the same unclear signboard. Fix the signboard first, then bring the crowd.
There's also a quieter benefit. When the first screen says who you're for, the enquiries you get tend to fit better. I've written about the warning signs in a first enquiry that doesn't fit; a clear homepage filters out a lot of those before they reach your inbox.
Want a second pair of eyes on your homepage? Book a call with me and we'll run the stranger test together.
Does the stranger test help with AI search too?
Yes. AI assistants that summarise your business need the same three answers a human does, written in plain text they can quote. A clear statement of who you serve, what you do and where you're based is easier for both a person and a machine to repeat accurately. More on that in AI search visibility for small businesses.
My view: write the signboard last, test it first
I find most homepages are written in the order the owner thinks: history, values, services, and finally, somewhere near the bottom, how to start. Strangers read in the opposite order. They want the signboard first.
So write the rest of the page, then come back and write the top three lines last, once you know exactly what you're promising. Then hand your phone to a stranger and watch their face. It's slightly uncomfortable, and it's the cheapest website test there is.
More on this topic: websites that convert. And if you'd like me to run the stranger test on your homepage with you, book a call.
FAQ
What should a service business homepage say first?
It should say who you help and what you do, in one plain headline and the line under it. Put the next step (a named button) on the same screen. Everything else, such as your story, process and testimonials, can follow further down once a visitor knows they're in the right place.
How long do visitors stay on a homepage?
Not long if the page is unclear. A 2011 Nielsen Norman Group article, based on Microsoft Research data, found people often leave web pages within 10 to 20 seconds, while pages with a clear value proposition hold attention much longer. Treat the first screen as the part most visitors will actually read.
Should I name my target customer on my homepage?
Usually, yes. Naming who you serve helps the right visitors feel recognised and decide faster. It can feel like you're turning people away, but vague headlines rarely win the people you're worried about losing. Start with your best-fit client and test the wording with real people.
What should my homepage button say?
Name the real next step rather than writing "Contact us". "Book a call", "See prices" or "Get the checklist" tells visitors what happens when they click. If the step has a length, a cost or a format, include it so people don't have to guess.
About the author: Nazreen Daud is Founder of Roquepress and a Malay web consultant and marketer in Singapore. He has built websites for businesses since he started freelancing in 2013, registered Roquepress in 2019 and founded Mulacan in 2022. He helps service businesses turn their websites into something that answers questions, gets found and follows up properly.