Whether you have a home business, small business, or big business, you need a website. And the first page of your website is the landing page The landing page has to do a lot and it must do it quickly. To help with this, there are 10 elements that every land page must have. These elements begin with the header.

1. Do You Have All 10 Landing Page
Elements in Place?

2.  Below are the10 must-have website landing page elements
we’ll be going over:
 1. Header
 2. Title
 3. Subtitle
 4. Website Navigation
 5. About Page
 6. Contact Information
 7. Responsive Theme
 8. Opt-in
 9. Ethical Bribe
 10. Focus

3.  We’ll go over each landing page element,
starting with one of, if not the most
important, the header.

4.  You need a header that is relevant to the
site’s content and helps let visitors know
what the site is about. Along with this, the
header should be professionally done. If you
use a theme that doesn’t allow for a header
or has a very small header, you might not be
able to take advantage of a professional
header. If this is the case, you might want to
look for a different theme. Let’s look at a
couple of examples.

5. With this header you know exactly what the site is about.
It lists the specific health topics the
site focuses on also.

6. Yuwanda Black has a trademark header that says it all.
This site ranks very high in the Alexa
rating, meaning it gets amazing
traffic.

7. This has a clean design with an intended business feel.
The title and subtitle quickly let the
visitor know what to expect and
what’s being offered.

8. This header tells it all with a simple, yet attractive header.
If you’re a writer, the header should
certainly grab your attention.

9.  You need an effective, optimized title. Your
title should be keyword effective and further
cement the focus of your site to the visitor.
As with any title, it should grab the reader
and let him know what to expect.
 If you look at the three headers above, you
can see that the titles are optimized – they
use keywords.


10.  An effective subtitle is where you can
embellish on the title and add more relevant
site information. Let’s look at the three
headers to check how they used their
subtitles.

11.  The navigation must be quick to see and easy
to use. And, it must be above the fold. This
means it must be immediately visible upon
landing on the site. Let’s take a look at a
common navigation bar.

12. Notice that most sites, including this one, have the
navigation right under the header.
If you have a sidebar navigation make
sure it’s at the top, above the fold.

13.  You need an easy to find About Page. Every
site needs this page. Visitors want to know
who you are, what you’re offering, and why
you’re qualified to offer it. Don’t make it a
guessing game or make the visitor have to
search to find out who runs the site.

14. Here’s an example of an About Page.
Keep the content on this page
conversational.

15.  You need easy to find contact information on
the Landing Page and all the other pages. A
potential customer or client doesn’t want to
search for information on how to contact you
with questions or a project. Have your contact
information on every page (at the bottom of
each page works well).
 Let’s look at an example.

16. This is an example of contact information in a footer at
WebinarKing.com
This footer appears on every page,
including the landing page.

17.  With all the devices your website can be seen
on, you need a responsive theme that morphs
to all formats: websites, iPads, Smart Phones,
etc.
 To check how your site looks on any device
visit: http://ipadpeek.com. If your site
doesn’t measure up, search for a theme that
works.

18.  You absolutely need an opt-in to your
mailing list. The mailing list is considered
‘golden’ and is the marketing tool that will
help you build a relationship with your
visitors and readers. It’s the ongoing
relationship that builds trust, authority, and
conversion.

19. Here’s an example of an opt-in above the fold.
Changing the color on your opt-in is
pretty simple. But, that’ll be another
webinar. 

20.  The most effective tool to get a visitor to
subscribe to your opt-in is the ‘ethical bribe.’
This offering should be something of
perceived value to your target market that will
entice visitors to sign up.
 Below is an example of an opt-in freebie.

21. This is the opt-in from the previous landing page, but
notice how the WIIFM is highlighted.
The visitor knows exactly what she’ll
be getting for her email address.

22.  Your website and landing page must have
focus. From your domain name to the title
and subtitle, to the headlines and content, to
the page titles (urls), your landing page must
be focused. Your landing page, as well as
your entire site, should be focused on a
specific keyword. This allows for better
search engine optimization and increases
your authority.

23. Notice how keywords specific to online marketing and an
author online platform are used.
This focus helps search engine
spiders and visitors quickly realize
the focus of the site.

24.  As promised, here are four bonus website tips:
 1. Page security: To check if your download pages are secure
(meaning if others, aside from those you give the direct link to,
can open your PDFs) go to Google search and put in your
URL/download.

 2. Old stuff – Every site needs updated content for Google juice
(even if it’s a once a month blog post).

 3. Too Distracting: Slow loading and distracting backgrounds
cause visitor anxiety and search engines frown upon them. If you
use a wall paper keep it subdued. Remember, simple works best.

 4. Videos- While a very useful marketing tool, don’t have long
videos on your landing page. And, if you do use a video there,
make sure it has viewer controls: stop, pause, restart.

25.  One of the most important marketing
strategies is to have Connecting links. And,
these links must be front and center.
 If you noticed the Working Writer’s Club
header – the Connecting links are in the
header area.
 If your theme isn’t set up like that then be
sure to have the links near the top of your
sidebar.

26.  Whether you’re an author or freelance
writer, Create and Build Your Author
Online Platform is something you
should think about. This six-week e-
class is through WOW! Women on
Writing and has amazing testimonials.
 Check for upcoming classes.
 You can find all the details at:
http://wow-
womenonwriting.com/classroom/KarenCio
ffi_AuthorOnlinePresence.php
 Or, if you’d rather not be part of a class,
visit: http://www.karencioffi.com/author-
online-platform-ecourse/

27.  For writing and marketing information visit
http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com
 And, to keep current with free writing and
marketing information and instructional
webinars, be a part of The Writing World
(http://thewritingworld.com).