How to Create an Engaging Welcome Gate in WordPress (2023)
Are you looking for an effective way to grab your website visitors‘ attention and rapidly grow your email list? Implementing a welcome gate could be the perfect solution for your WordPress site.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explain what a welcome gate is, why it‘s such a powerful conversion tool, and walk you through a detailed tutorial on creating one in WordPress. We‘ll focus on using the OptinMonster plugin, but also discuss alternative options.
By the end of this article, you‘ll have all the knowledge needed to start building high-converting welcome gates that skyrocket your email subscription rates. Let‘s dive in!
What is a Welcome Gate?
A welcome gate is a full-screen call-to-action (CTA) that appears to visitors when they first land on your website. It takes over the entire screen, forcing the user to interact with it before they can access the main content.
Welcome gates typically promote a lead magnet or special offer to entice the visitor to sign up for an email list. By focusing the user‘s attention solely on the CTA with no other distractions, they can significantly boost conversion rates compared to other signup forms.
Here‘s an example of what a welcome gate created with OptinMonster looks like:
[Insert example welcome gate image]Why Use a Welcome Gate on Your WordPress Site?
Welcome gates have a number of advantages that make them an attractive list-building tool:
Maximizes conversions: Since a welcome gate is the first thing visitors see and they have to interact with it to get to the content, it maximizes views and clicks on your offer. This can lead to conversion rates as high as 30-50%, much higher than other types of signup forms.
Engages users immediately: By hitting visitors with a targeted, relevant offer right when they land on your site, you engage them from the start. This sets a positive tone for the rest of their session and makes them more likely to convert.
Promotes your best offers: Welcome gates give you a prominent way to showcase your most valuable content, products, or promotions. You can put your highest-converting offers front and center to accelerate list growth.
Integrates with email marketing: Most welcome gate tools integrate with popular email marketing services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, etc. This allows you to seamlessly pass new leads to your ESP and begin nurturing them.
Provides behavioral triggers: Advanced welcome gate solutions like OptinMonster provide behavioral automation rules to intelligently display them at the optimal time. For example, you can trigger them to appear after the visitor spends a certain amount of time on the page, or as an exit popup when they‘re about to leave.
While you could theoretically build your own welcome gate from scratch, the easiest way is using a dedicated tool. Next, we‘ll look at some of the best WordPress plugins and solutions for creating welcome gates.
Best Tools for Creating Welcome Gates in WordPress
When it comes to creating welcome gates on a WordPress site, you have two main options:
- Use a WordPress popup / lead generation plugin
- Use a third-party service or landing page builder
WordPress lead gen plugins are generally the most convenient and cost-effective way for most users. Some of the best options include:
- OptinMonster
- ConvertPro
- Thrive Leads
- Popup Maker
- Elementor Pro (popup builder)
These plugins let you build welcome gates using a visual drag-and-drop builder, no coding required. They provide pre-built templates along with display rules, behavioral triggers, A/B testing, and more.
Alternatively, you could use a third-party service that embeds a welcome gate on your WordPress site, such as:
- Sumo
- Wisepops
- Sleeknote
- Justuno
- Hello Bar
These provide similar features to plugins but are hosted externally. They tend to be more expensive but may offer more advanced functionality.
Finally, another option is creating a dedicated landing page and setting it as your homepage. Tools like Leadpages, Unbounce, Instapage, and others let you visually build high-converting landing pages to function like welcome gates. The downside is visitors have to click through to get to your actual site.
For most WordPress users, we recommend using a plugin, so that‘s what the rest of this tutorial will focus on. Specifically, we‘ll use OptinMonster, our top pick.
Why OptinMonster is the Best Welcome Gate Plugin for WordPress
We recommend OptinMonster for creating welcome gates because it offers the most features and flexibility compared to other WordPress popups and lead gen plugins. Key benefits include:
- Codeless drag-and-drop builder with 65+ templates
- Multiple campaign types including fullscreen, slide-in, floating bar, gamified spin-a-wheel popups, and more
- Behavioral automation and display rules like exit-intent, time on page, scroll trigger, device-based, etc.
- Audience targeting by location, referral source, cookie retargeting, and more
- A/B testing and smart visitor recognition
- Instant integration with major email marketing services
- Detailed analytics and insights
- Works on any WordPress theme or page builder
Basically, OptinMonster provides all the tools you need to create high-converting welcome gates and optimize them over time. It‘s trusted by over 1.2 million sites and is what we use here on IsItWP.
With that said, let‘s look at how to use OptinMonster to create a welcome gate in WordPress, step-by-step.
How to Make a Welcome Gate with OptinMonster
To get started, you‘ll need an OptinMonster account. Plans start at $9/month (billed annually) but we have an exclusive OptinMonster coupon that gives you 10% off.
Once you‘ve signed up, follow these steps:
Step 1. Install the OptinMonster WordPress Plugin
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New and search for "OptinMonster". Install and activate the plugin.
Click the "Connect Your Existing Account" button and log in with your OptinMonster credentials. This will link your account with your WordPress site.
[Insert plugin installation screenshot]Step 2. Create a New Campaign
In your WordPress dashboard, go to OptinMonster → Campaigns and click the "Create New Campaign" button.
Choose the Fullscreen campaign type. This will make your welcome gate take over the entire screen. Then select a template – OptinMonster provides over 65 pre-built designs to choose from. For this example, we‘ll use the "Coupon" template.
Give your campaign a name and click "Start Building".
[Insert new campaign setup screenshot]Step 3. Design Your Welcome Gate
OptinMonster‘s drag-and-drop builder will open, where you can fully customize the look and layout of your welcome gate:
- Edit text by clicking on any text element
- Upload images with the image block
- Add new elements like buttons, videos, countdown timers, etc.
- Change colors and fonts to match your branding
- Set entrance and exit animations
The popup builder is completely WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), so you can see a live preview as you make changes.
Aim to keep the design and copy focused on the offer – remember, the goal is to get visitors to convert, so avoid any distracting or extraneous elements.
[Insert campaign builder screenshot]Step 4. Configure Display Rules
Next, go to the Display Rules tab to determine where and when your welcome gate will appear. OptinMonster provides two types of rules:
- Conditions that must be met to show the campaign (e.g. visitor is on a specific page)
- Triggers that determine the timing/behavior (e.g. exit intent, time on page)
For example, you could show the welcome gate sitewide but only after the visitor has spent at least 5 seconds on the page, to give them a chance to start reading.
[Insert display rules screenshot]OptinMonster offers many advanced display rules for granular targeting. Some useful ones for welcome gates are:
- Exit intent: Pop up when the user moves their mouse out of the browser window, indicating they‘re about to leave
- Scroll trigger: Display after visitor scrolls a certain percentage down the page
- Referral detection: Show custom offers based on where the visitor came from (e.g. a specific ad or affiliate link)
- Geolocation: Target visitors from specific countries or regions
You can also enable "smart loading" which waits until the campaign is fully loaded before displaying it, to avoid annoying visitors with a blank popup.
Step 5. Integrate Your Email Service
To pass leads to your email marketing platform for nurturing, go to the Integrations tab and click "Add New Integration".
Follow the prompts to connect your ESP. OptinMonster supports direct integrations with 30+ popular email services. If yours isn‘t on the list, you can use HTML form integration or webhooks.
[Insert integration screenshot]Step 6. Publish Your Welcome Gate
Go to the Publish tab and set the Publish Status to "Publish". Then save your campaign.
Back in your WordPress dashboard, go to OptinMonster → Campaigns and find the welcome gate you just created. Under the Actions dropdown, set the status to "Published".
[Insert publish screenshot]Your welcome gate is now live! Open an incognito browser window and visit your site to see it in action.
Keep in mind it may take a few minutes due to caching. If it doesn‘t work right away, wait 10-15 minutes and try again. If you‘re still having issues, try the troubleshooting steps in the OptinMonster docs.
Tips and Best Practices for High-Converting Welcome Gates
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when creating your welcome gate:
Have a compelling offer
Your welcome gate should promote a relevant, high-value incentive like a lead magnet, discount code, free trial, etc. Make sure it‘s something your target audience actually wants.Use persuasive copy and clear CTAs
Keep the headline and body copy focused on the benefits of your offer. Use action-oriented words on the CTA button, e.g. "Send Me The Guide" instead of a generic "Submit".Leverage social proof
If you have impressive stats or testimonials, consider incorporating them into your welcome gate design. E.g. "Join 10,000+ subscribers" or "Trusted by companies like X, Y, Z".Create campaign-specific landing pages
For best results, send welcome gate leads to a dedicated landing page that matches the look and feel of your popup and provides more details about your offer, not just a generic thank you page.A/B test different designs
Use OptinMonster‘s built-in A/B testing to split test different copy, images, and layouts and let data determine the winning variation. Sometimes small tweaks can have a big impact on conversion rates.Don‘t show pop-ups immediately
Give visitors a few seconds to start consuming your content before triggering the welcome gate. 5-10 seconds is usually a good amount of time.Allow users to easily close it
Make sure there‘s a clear close or exit button on the welcome gate so users can dismiss it if they‘re not interested. You don‘t want to trap them or make your site feel unusable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Welcome Gates
Are welcome gates bad for SEO?
Traditional site-wide popups can negatively impact SEO because they make content less accessible. However, the type of welcome gate we built with OptinMonster is different. It follows Google‘s guidelines by:
- Not using a separate URL
- Being easy to close
- Not drastically changing the page content
- Appearing after a delay to allow the visitor to start reading
As long as you configure them properly, welcome gates are fine for SEO. OptinMonster actually has built-in triggers to comply with Google‘s policies.
What‘s the difference between a welcome gate and an exit popup?
Welcome gates appear when a visitor first lands on your site, while exit popups are triggered when the visitor is about to leave (using exit intent technology to track mouse movement). The goal of a welcome gate is to engage users immediately, while an exit popup aims to capture leads from abandoning visitors.
Both can be effective for growing an email list. In fact, you can use them together – a welcome gate for new visitors and an exit popup for returning ones. OptinMonster makes it easy to create both.
Can I create a welcome gate with other WordPress plugins?
Yes, most popular lead generation plugins like Thrive Leads, Convert Pro, Bloom, etc. include the ability to create popups and welcome gates. However, OptinMonster generally provides the most features, integrations, and triggers.
Some other WordPress plugins you can use are:
- Elementor Popup Builder
- Popup Maker
- Hustle
- Popup Builder
- Icegram
If you‘re already using one of these tools, check if it supports welcome gates before purchasing OptinMonster. Just keep in mind that you may sacrifice some functionality.
How do I create a welcome gate without a plugin?
If you don‘t want to use a WordPress plugin, you can use a standalone tool like:
- Wishpond
- Unbounce
- Leadpages
- Instapage
- OptinMonster (works with any website platform)
These let you create a campaign hosted on their server and then embed the code on your site. The downside is they are generally more expensive and may have compatibility issues with some WordPress plugins/themes.
Another option is hiring a developer to hard-code a welcome gate for you. However, this is much more technically complex and costly. We recommend sticking with a plugin unless you have very unique needs.
Start Converting More Visitors into Subscribers
A well-designed welcome gate can be a game-changer for your email list growth. By presenting a relevant, compelling offer to visitors as soon as they land on your site, you can dramatically increase conversion rates.
In this guide, we showed you step-by-step how to create a high-converting welcome gate in WordPress using OptinMonster. It‘s the most powerful lead generation plugin available and makes the process easy with its codeless builder and 65+ templates.
The key things to keep in mind are:
- Have an enticing incentive
- Use persuasive copy and clear CTAs
- Give visitors a few seconds before displaying the welcome gate
- Make it easy to close
- A/B test different variations
Of course, a welcome gate is just one piece of an effective list-building strategy. To grow your email list even faster, also consider using other signup forms like exit popups, floating bars, fullscreen overlays, and content upgrades. OptinMonster supports all these campaign types as well.
Do you have any other questions about creating welcome gates in WordPress? Let us know in the comments!
