Your Perfect “Start Here” Page

The best “Start Here” page designed for bloggers. Create this free, powerful, and super useful page in under an hour. Learn why every serious blogger needs it, how to build one the right way, and why our template is the best one out there.

Just fill in headlines, copy, links, and images, hit Publish, and link to it front and center. Style it, word it on brand.

What’s included with our basic template:

• Copy+paste into WordPress in 30 seconds
• Follows best blogging, branding, and SEO practice
• Inspired by wildly successful blogs
• Removes guesswork
• Free support (email me your questions, rajshahseo[at]gmail)

Basic Template, 1.0

(Copy and Paste into your WordPress editor’s “Visual” tab.)

Welcome to [Blog Name]

About [You or Your Blog Name or Blog Objectives]

I’m [your name], the creator of [your blog name], and I’m here to [your blog objectives]. [Describe problems your main audience members struggle with, or look for]. [Reiterate or elaborate how you and your blog can help, and what you offer.]

#The above paragraph should be 3-5 sentences long. 

[Your Story: How and why you started your blog, and how it’s evolved since]

#Your story is optional, but recommended to connect to the reader some more on a personal level. Also limit to 3-5 sentences.

Subscribe to [blog name]

[Insert 1-3 main ways you’d like the reader to follow you, your blog, and your social media channels. For example, you can insert an email sign-up box, as social media buttons like your Youtube ‘Subscribe’ or Instagram’s ‘Follow’. Include only channels you actively update. Describe why following you will be worth their time, and what value they’ll get from seeing your content more often.]

#Avoid including social media accounts that aren’t your main focus. This section can greatly help you build a more loyal group of readers long-term.

[Your Most Proud or Popular Work & How It Benefits Readers]

[Talk about and list off the main categories you cover on the blog and link to them like this, [category 1], [category 2], [category 3] , etc.][Next, make a list of your 20-25 (or more if you’d like) top blog content URLs. For example, your top SEO posts and posts with the most social shares. ]

1. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months – this is an optional description of what’s awesome about this post.
2. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
3. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
4. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
5. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
6. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
7. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
8. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
9. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
10. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest Impression or Clicks counts reported in your Search Console for the last 16 months
11. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
12. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
13. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
14. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
15. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
16. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
17. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
18. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
19. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.
20. Your top 10 blog post that has the highest social share counts on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, etc.

#Optional: You can break out this section by multiple categories instead of a long random list.

[Featured on:]

[Find prominent referral sites in your Google Analytics that have featured your work, and sent you boatloads of traffic, and list them here.]

1. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
2. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
3. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
4. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
5. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
6. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
7. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
8. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
9. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.
10. Your top blog post that was featured on referral sites like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and other reputable blogs in your industry.

#To be clear, these are links on your own blog, not links to the Buzzfeed article.

1. Your top blog post title –  Learn how to do this awesome thing yourself.

[Brand Partnerships:]

[Showcase sponsored content or social media collaboration you’ve done with brands and retailers. Include why brands should hire you for their next project, and the best way to contact you for collaboration.]

1. Article title of your work published on a brand partner website.
2. Article title of your work published on a brand partner website.
3. Article title of your work published on a brand partner website.
4. Article title of your work published on a brand partner website.
5. Article title of your work published on a brand partner website.

[Media Kit]

[Include rough monthly or annual statistics on your traffic levels, social media follower counts, and other metrics advertisers may consider in order to do business with you.]

[Exclusive Offers]

[Plug exclusive offers to something you sell on your site like premium printables, or something you sell on the web like affiliate links, or links to your Etsy store.]

[Thanks for Visiting]

[End by thanking the reader, reaching out if they have questions, and encouraging them to stay in touch. Give the Start Here page a finishing touch by ending with your signature or initials.]

Free ‘Start Here’ Page Template provided by House of Ideas for bloggers

Get Started

In the “Preview Template” tab, familiarize yourself with the anatomy of the perfect Start Here page.

How to Add Start Here Page to Your Blog:

If you decide to use the free template, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Get Copy & Paste Code” tab, and on the upper-right corner of the HTML code, press the “Click to Copy” button to automatically copy all the code.
2. Add a new Page in your WP Admin.
3. Go to “Text” tab for the HTML Editor.
4. Paste the Template code.
5. Click back to the ‘Visual’ tab, and fill in all blanks. Try to use notes from the template, but feel free to tinker with the layout, design, and wording as you see fit.
6. Publish Page.

How to Use & Promote It

To maximize value, link to your Start Here page in your main menu. Call it whatever you’d like, such as “Start Here”, or “New? Start Here”

See how prominent bloggers put their very own Start Here page in action in order to make a great first impression, showcase their best work, and boost their professional brand.

Why Every Serious Blogger Needs One

What is a Start Here Page?

It’s the home page for Brand YOU. While your blog home page serves to create a lasting professional impression of your business, the Start Here page serves to create a lasting impression of YOU, the human(s) behind the scenes.

The Start Here page tells your story, showcases your most proud or popular works, and persuades random visitors to become fans. It has many and powerful SEO, branding, and business benefits.

What are the benefits of making a Start Here Page?

The Start Here page has extremely high upside, virtually no downside, and should cost you nothing. If you create, design, and optimize properly, you can maximize your blogging business potential. Just these benefits alone should excite you:

• Increase in new visitors from SEO
• More repeat visitors
• More social media followers
• More email subscribers
• More potential customers for your print designs, (e)books, and other exclusive offers
• Stronger brand recognition

What’s the difference between a ‘Start Here’ page and the ‘About’ Page?

The Start Here page is a chance to sell yourself, your work, and your business, all on a more personal level than the About page. To some bloggers, both pages are the same. If you’re 100% satisfied that your About page offers most or all of the Start Here page components (as seen in template below), then you don’t need one. <1 percent of bloggers are doing this today.

It’s also likely to get more clicks than the About page, because Start Here is not only a page name, it’s a call to action. It’s an attention getter.

How do people find the Start Here page?

The most prominent place you see Start Here page links is the main WordPress header menu. Some bloggers believe in this page so much, they put it right next to their logo.

What are some examples of good Start Here pages?

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