The Four Doors Traffic Comes Through

"Traffic" sounds like one thing. It isn't — it's four very different visitors, each arriving with a different expectation, and a homepage that only serves one of them loses the other three.

1. Search

They typed a question and you're the answer. They want confirmation, fast, that they're in the right place — a clear headline that matches what they searched for.

2. Social

They saw a post, a reel, a comment reply, and clicked through mid-scroll. Their attention span here is the shortest of the four — they need the point in the first five seconds or they're gone back to the feed.

3. Direct

Someone typed your address in, or it was written on a card, a menu, a storefront. They already trust you a little — they're checking hours, location, or that you're real.

4. Referral

A link from someone else's site or article. They arrive with whatever context that link gave them, which you don't control — so the page needs to make sense with no assumed backstory.

One homepage has to greet all four. That's why the top of the page should establish who you are in one line before it does anything clever.