Why Sending Visitors to Another Website High on Your Homepage Can Undermine Your Goals.

Your homepage is the digital front door to your business. It sets the tone, establishes trust, communicates your value proposition, and, most importantly, guides visitors toward the actions you want them to take — whether that’s making a purchase, submitting an enquiry, subscribing, or exploring your content.

Yet, a surprisingly common mistake businesses make is directing users away from their site too early — often with prominent external links or partner logos high on the homepage. While this might seem harmless or even courteous, it can significantly weaken the impact of your website. Here’s why.

1. You’re Losing Control of the User Journey

Once a user leaves your site, you lose control over their experience. You don’t control the messaging, the design, the calls to action, or even whether they ever return. This is especially problematic if you’re sending traffic to:

• A partner or supplier’s website
• A booking engine hosted on another domain
• A social media page
• An affiliate or sponsor site

If the external site is more engaging or provides similar services, users may get distracted or convert elsewhere — and you’ll have no way to track or influence what happens next.

Better alternative: Embed the booking process or key external features into your site or use tracking links and modals that keep users on your domain.

2. It Dilutes Your Brand’s Authority and Trust

Your homepage is where first impressions are formed. When you send users away too early, you’re signalling — intentionally or not — that another brand or platform is more authoritative or essential to the experience.

This can:

• Undermine your brand’s perceived capability
• Cause confusion about who the “real” service provider is
• Make your site feel like a secondary resource rather than the primary destination

Your site should reflect confidence in your offering and demonstrate that your brand is central to the value being delivered.

3. It Disrupts SEO and Conversion Funnels

Search engines reward websites that keep users engaged. If visitors leave your site quickly (called a “bounce”), search engines may interpret this as a sign that your content isn’t useful — especially if the bounce occurs on your homepage.

Additionally, external links high on the page can:

• Reduce time-on-site and pages-per-session metrics
• Cause traffic drop-offs before visitors reach your key content or products
• Interrupt conversion funnels before they’ve even begun

Your homepage should be designed to funnel users deeper into your content or offering — not divert them away before they’ve explored what you can do for them.

4. You’re Potentially Sending Customers to Competitors

Even if you’re linking to a neutral or partner site, that doesn’t mean they’re not competing for attention. Many partner platforms — booking engines, property listings, marketplaces, and even review sites — display alternative providers alongside your listing.

You might be unintentionally:

• Placing your offering side by side with competitors
• Helping users discover alternatives they didn’t previously consider
• Losing potential leads or sales to someone else’s funnel

Unless you’re absolutely sure the external platform promotes only your offering, it’s risky to guide users there before they’ve had a chance to buy into your brand.

5. You Miss Opportunities to Build Trust and Engagement First

Visitors need time to become familiar with your business, understand your value, and build trust. If you rush them to an external page, you’re skipping this vital relationship-building stage.

Instead, your homepage should:

• Communicate your unique selling points
• Offer a clear summary of what you do and why it matters
• Build emotional and visual trust
• Present a clear, frictionless path to action (enquiry, booking, signup, etc.)

The more a user understands your value before you ask them to take action — especially one that takes them off-site — the more likely they are to convert.

6. You Can Always Link Later in the Journey — Strategically

This doesn’t mean you should never link to external platforms. It just means timing and placement matter.

Where appropriate, you can still include outbound links:

• Further down the homepage, after users understand your offer
• On dedicated internal pages, such as a “Bookings” or “Our Listings” page
• Within modals or popups that keep users on your site
• With clear tracking, so you can monitor the user journey and measure effectiveness

The key is to frame these links as part of a well-designed conversion flow, rather than a premature exit.

Final Thoughts

Your homepage is prime real estate. Every element should work toward your goals — not someone else’s.

Before placing an external link high on the page, ask yourself:

• Is this helping the user better understand or engage with our brand?
• Does this enhance trust, or does it defer it to another brand?
• Am I helping or hindering our sales and engagement strategy?

In most cases, the answer is to keep visitors on your site for longer, build trust, and introduce external links only when it’s strategic and well timed. A homepage that focuses on your brand, your message, and your offer will always deliver better results.