When your reader lands on your webpage, you want to be sure that you connect with them fast. The longer it takes for them to confirm that they have arrived somewhere that will resolve their problem, tell them what they were trying to find out, or give them advice on the subject they were researching the higher the chance they'll click that back button.

Realistically, you've got a few seconds - probably no more than 7, before they lose interest and disappear. This means that the first thing - and the most prominent - they see needs to be the headline. It needs to be big, bold and compelling!

• It's no good if it's 14pt bold - it will be too small to read without an effort - and websurfers are known for being lazy and impatient; just watch someone (or notice yourself) when it takes a few seconds for a website to load. The fingernails tap, lots of sighing goes on and occasional some bad words are muttered!

• It's no good if it says 'Welcome to our website'. That doesn't tell me anything - how do I know whether you're going to give me the help or information I want from that?

• It's no good if it's all about you 'We can do this'; I'm not interested in what you do - I want to know what I get.

Your page title is not a headline. In fact, if you can get your web genius simply to make the menu choice for that page a different colour, that's all that you need. Don't interfere with getting your message across fast.

Also remember that you cannot guarantee which page people will land on. It depends on the words they've searched for - that means that every page needs a headline, for the content of that page. That includes the About us and Contact us pages.

If your headline doesn't tell your reader they're in the right place and there's something in it for them, they've gone!