One of the most common mistakes on web pages is simply not saying it!
What is this page for? What can you do here? Why am I looking at this? Whatever it is, just say it!
When you click on a link for "Contact us", you expect a contact page.
When you click on a link to "Buy now", you expect to buy from the next page.
When you click on a link that promises to explain something, you expect to know immediately that you'll get the explanation on the page.
Web pages that attempt to play with their visitors' attention by being clever, coy, or cryptic FAIL. You cannot beat good honest up-front transparency.
Try this test on your own web pages. Without scrolling, can you immediately see the point of the page? Is it shining out? Is there one thing that first draws your eye, which explains in simple language what the page is that you're on?
If these things don't happen, you will not be able to help your visitors answer the only important question there is in web design...
... "Am I in the right place?"
Everything hinges on this simple question.
