Your homepage has many objectives that need to be addressed when designing it. When someone comes to your site, theoretically the homepage is the first thing a visitor will see. It will show people what can be found on your site.

The homepage provides the initial navigation scheme which allows visitors the ability to easily move through your pages. When setting up your homepage, try to group like information together. Try to not put too much content though, because people will spend too much time trying to sort through everything.

Your main page should be set up like the contents page of a book. You have a list of "chapters", and when the visitor goes to the "chapter" page, the contents of that chapter are made available.

As you design your homepage, it is a good idea to show some examples of the content contained within your site. This gives the visitor an idea of what he or she has to look forward to.

The homepage is also a place to announce new content. This way when someone re-visits your site, they will know if something has been updated since their last visit.

When setting up the graphics to include on your main page, make sure they are specific and necessary. Avoid things that flash, have odd colors or just interfere with the overall movement through your site by a visitor.