If you’ve been around the block a few times or even just creep up on the corner occasionally you have probably heard of some pretty big named landing page software. I am going to be super blunt, SAVE YOUR MONEY!

You absolutely do not need to spend $50-$100 a month for a drag and drop software to design landing pages. If you already have a website then you can easily design your own landing page and call it day.

I hear you yelling, “But they have been proven to convert.” Of course, they have. That is their business to design, have others pay them to use it and then track the results. That is their business. Split testing designs on your dime. But hey, I’m not saying don’t use them. I’m just saying if you are on a bootstrap budget or simply don’t like throwing money like confetti I am going to show you how to design your own landing page template.

But before you get started I want you to think about something. Think about the last time you signed up for a freebie. Do you remember what the page looked like? No? That’s okay. From now I want you to grab screenshots of every page that you opt-in to and keep them in a folder. This will help you down the road when you are trying to figure out why you are attracted to certain pages and if the freebie lived up to your expectations based on the landing page.

There are so many variations of landing pages and they aren’t all the best choice what you are offering. So before we dive into designing your landing page we need to determine what the purpose of your page is.

Are you offering a freebie? Are you hosting a live training? Are you selling a product? Are you selling a service? Something else?

Because all of these pages will be different I want this post to cover the basics. The essential elements you will need to incorporate in any of them. This will be pretty in-depth series so we will dive into each specific design over a few posts.

The 4 Essentials of a Landing Page

There are four essentials that every landing page you create will have. Actually, these should be applied to every page on your website. And while they might sound obvious all too often one or more of these gets skipped or tweaked and throw off the conversions of your landing page.

The Title and Subtitle

I know it sounds like a no-brainer that every page should have a title but for some reason when folks design landing page it often gets skipped or the title doesn’t really make sense.

It’s important that your title draws in your audience. If someone lands on your page the first line of text they should read is the title. This is where you hook them. Your title needs to be clear and attention-grabbing.

Another key thing to remember when writing your title and designing your page is to utilize hierarchy. A title should have the H1 tag. This is important for SEO. This is important so I want you to read it twice, a title should always have the H1 tag.

While your title will grab the visitors attention you may need to add a bit of clarification, this is where the subtitle will be your friend. This gives you the extra space to add more information about what you are offering but still the chance to keep it short and sweet so that the visitor will stick around a little while longer.

Your subtitle should be relatively short, a sentence max. It is here to complement your title and add clarification. But not get into the nitty-gritty details.

Consistent Branding

I know that it can feel like a good idea to make your landing pages seem different but resist the urge. You want this to be cohesive with the rest of your brand. I’m not saying don’t have fun with it but remember your branding essentials.

Color

Color is easily the most recognizable element of your visual branding, especially if you use some colors that really pop. This of how the Coke red always stands out. You don’t have to read the text on a bottle to know who made it. The color speaks for itself.

This should be your website. The same colors that you used on that Facebook ad to lure someone to your freebie should be on your landing page.

Fonts

The use of distinct fonts is just as important as color. If you have invested in a premium font, read not using a free font from Google for your website. You want this to be incorporated with your brand. Premium fonts cost money and that means not everyone with a freshly minted website will be using it. Take this as a sign to incorporate it into your visual branding as much as possible.

Not using it is like throwing cash down the garbage disposals.

Branding Elements

If you have hired a designer to really kick up your visual branding game you probably have a set of icons and other graphic elements you can use to make your visual branding stand out even more. A landing page can be a great use of these graphics.

Don’t just add them to the page if it doesn’t make sense. But if it fits, get your money’s worth.

Show, Don’t Tell

Do you know those landing pages that just a really long letter? You know the ones that you rapid scroll to the bottom hoping there is a button there? Yeah? Don’t do that. You could fill it all in with dummy text and maybe one person would read it all.

Humans are visual and they don’t need fifteen thousand words to tell them why they should pick up what you are throwing down.

Video is the hottest thing right now and you should be utilizing it, if possible. If you can record a quick video telling folks why they should grab your offer do it. They are more likely to watch a video.

Don’t have the time or resources to make a video? That’s okay. You some pictures. Mock-up what you offering.

Got an e-book? Show the cover on an iPad or as a physical book.

Got a workbook full of pages? Create a mockup showing that they get a lot of pages.

Got a pack of visuals? Show them.

The point here is that is easier for you to show people what they are getting and not waste their time with a ton of copy they are not going to read. Not to mention you save time by not having to write it.

Leave the sales letters where they belong… in the junk mail pile on your kitchen counter.

Clear CTAs

I am going throw the next one out there even though it will seem face palming obvious. Make sure you tell the visitor exactly what to do. Click a button to get a freebie. Tell them to click the button.

Your call to actions need to be ridiculously clear. They need to be so obvious a Google bot will want to take action.

Easy Design Tools

Now that you have the essentials for all of your landing page let’s talk about the tools of the trade. Now you don’t need a lot but there are two things that will make designing kickass landing pages insanely easy, even if you are not a web designer.

Now I am going out on a limb here and going to assume if you are building a landing page then you already have a website up and running. If not, you can read how to set up a WordPress site inside of Get Your Blog On! (it’s a free course, so you have nothing to lose).

Divi Page Builder

One of my favorite tools to build custom pages for my website is the Divi Page Builder. If you are already utilizing the Divi theme you are ready to go but if not, you can use the page builder with nearly any WordPress theme you have.

The Divi page builder is the drag and drop interface that every non-designer loves. It is easy to use and makes it breeze to design great looking landing pages in minutes.

You can even find a plethora of page templates that make the process loads easier. In fact, each part of these series will include a template that you can just grab and get to work.

I am not going to dive into using the Divi page builder until we are using it for each page but get it ready in your toolbox for the upcoming parts of this series.

Photoshop

I mentioned earlier that you will need some mockups to show your visitor what they are going to get from you. My go-to resource for designing graphics for my website and social media is Photoshop. I know that it gets a bad rap because it is an Adobe product that comes with the notions that it is complicated and expensive. I am going to shut both of those down right here.

Yes. Photoshop is an extremely robust program but it is not difficult to use for things like graphics and will actually save you so much time down the road by using it over some web-based competitors, like Canva and Picmonkey.

Also, Photoshop is not expensive. You can easily get a bundle with Lightroom, perfect for editing photos, for about $10 a month. If you are a blogger that takes a ton of photos this is probably a no-brainer for you. But still, $10 a month for just Photoshop is a crazy good deal considering how much you can actually use the program for.