For most Internet "newbies" who are just getting started building their websites, it can be tempting to jump right in and get distracted choosing nice colors and a fancy logo.

But before you even consider how your design will look, there's a much more basic design step you need to take!

That's because websites not only have to look good, they actually have to work!

After all, what's the good of impressing people with your dazzle, if they end up leaving the site without buying anything?!

Remember that, when someone arrives on your site, there are only two things that can happen: they take an action (click a link), or they leave again.

And that makes the first fold of your homepage (that's the first screen that's visible without scrolling down), the MOST valuable part of your website!

Your visitors will spend -- at most -- 10 seconds looking at your homepage, making their "stay or go" decision, so you really need to GRAB them there, and keep them on your site.

Here are the SIX critical elements of your homepage that you MUST include within the first fold, in order to keep your visitors put.

Critical Design Element #1: Include A Headline Packed With SPECIFIC Benefits

The very FIRST thing that should draw someone's eye when they arrive at your website is a headline that clearly states the biggest benefit your site has to offer.

Your headline should tell your visitor, not just what you're offering, but what the advantages of having your product are.

This would include:
    * Making their lives easier
    * Saving them money
    * Saving them time
    * Helping them in their personal lives
    * Providing additional income
    * Entertaining them
    * Making them more attractive
    * Helping them feel better
    * And so on...

And make sure you're really SPECIFIC. It's not enough just to say "you'll save lots of time," or "we'll help you save money." You need to write headlines that give PRECISE details.

For instance:

    "Discover How You Can Instantly Stop Being Cheated By Car Salesmen, Mechanics, And Insurance Agents - And Slash Your Car Expenses By $2,000 - $5,000 Every Year!"

Finally, make sure you place your headline at the very top center of your page, and use a large font size that will attract attention.

And don't forget to format it! You want to use bolding, italics, and highlighting -- but not too much -- to emphasize key points. You want your visitors to be able to absorb your key benefits at a glance.

Critical Design Element #2: Use Simple, One-Click Navigation

Here's an important statistic to keep in mind: for every extra click you make your visitors take to find your offer, you should expect to lose up to 50% of them!

So make sure you keep your site's navigation SIMPLE. "Click fatigue" is one of the biggest conversion killers this is!

There are a few things you should bear in mind when designing your navigation:

    * Visitors shouldn't have to click more than 3 times at the most to order, apply, or subscribe

    * Your navigation should appear in the SAME PLACE on every page of your website

    * Your navigation buttons should be clearly labeled so it's obvious what will happen when they click.

    * Overall, consider streamlining your site to reduce the number of pages

One way to make sure you've got clear, simple navigation is to ask someone who isn't familiar with your site to work their way through it, while you literally site with them and watch.

Make notes: Where do they get stuck? What confuses them? How often did they end up on a page they didn't want?

Evaluate your notes after the test, and make changes to everything you've identified as a possible point of confusion.

Critical Design Element #3: Provide A Clear "Call To Action"

While having clear navigation on your site is clearly critical to your success, do NOT leave it up to the navigation alone to sell your products!

You must also TELL your visitors EXACTLY what you want them to do at every stage of their visit:

    * Click here to buy...
    * Click here to subscribe...
    * Read on to learn more about...
    * Fill out this simple form...

So, for instance, if you have a site that sells a number of products, you don't just want to use a link that says "products." You'd actually want a compelling link like this: "Click here now to find the best tools for the job."

For a service website, a link that says "About Us" is okay, but doesn't give your visitor a compelling reason to click. Instead, try something like: "Click here now to discover why over 20,000 business owners trust us."

Critical Design Element #4: Testimonials

A strong homepage wouldn't be complete without PROOF that others have already made purchases from your site, and been happy with the results.

So you'll want to make sure you spend time collecting testimonials from your best customers, and putting them on your homepage.

The best testimonials include specific, measurable results.

So avoid the kinds of testimonials that simply says flattering things about you or your product:

    "This is the coolest website we've ever visited. We're telling all my friends about it. Thanks!"

Instead, you'll want to provide testimonials that clearly explain the success your customer had with the site:

    "Thanks for helping me choose the perfect color to paint my living room! My friends are totally jealous that I saved $153 on designer paint!"

It's also important to provide testimonials that clearly identify the customer. If possible, include their full first name and last name, the city or state where they live, and their website URL, if relevant. Better still, include a photo, when possible.

Critical Design Element #5: Include A Compelling Opt-In Offer To Capture Contact Information

Given that so many of your first-time visitors will leave your site without buying anything, it's crucial that you ask for their names and email addresses as soon as possible, so you can follow up with email marketing to drive them back to your site.

If you bury your opt-in offer on an inside page of the site, you'll lose potential subscribers who never make it that far!

Here are three hard-and-fast rules you need to remember when you write your opt-in offer:

   1. Emphasize benefits, not features -- To persuade your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter or opt in to your mailing list, you need to answer their #1 question: "What's in it for me?"

      The best way to do this is by always emphasizing the benefits of your free offer, as opposed to its features.

   2. Include a call to action -- As you learned from our conversation about headlines (above), you need a call to action to tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do.

      This creates a sense of urgency, and persuades them to act immediately.

      So if you want them to fill out fields in a form, make sure you say that: "Enter your name and email address in the fields provided."

      And if you want them to click a link, tell them to "Click here now to subscribe to our FREE newsletter, packed FULL of moneysaving tips and advice."

   3. Include a link to your privacy policy -- A lot of people feel reluctant to hand over their personal information to someone they've never met before.

      The best way to ease their fears is to include a link to your privacy policy whenever you ask for personal information. It's a small detail, but it will play a HUGE roll in reassuring your visitors that you're a reputable company.

      For help writing your privacy policy, check out this easy-to-use "privacy policy generator."

Critical Design Element #6: Create Eye-Grabbing Salescopy That Will Have Your Readers BEGGING To Buy

As we've said, it's tempting, when you're first starting out, to create a website that's FULL of pretty images, interesting graphics, and so on.

After all, who doesn't want an attractive website, right?

But the thing is, it isn't the nice-looking design elements of your site that will actually SELL your products for you... it's the sales copy!

In fact, your salescopy is the single MOST important element on your site. It can make your sales pitch, overcome your customers' objections and close the deal... all without any face-to-face contact with your customers!