Landing page design is never as easy as it seems.
Designing landing pages is usually an excruciating and continuous process of testing, repeating, and testing again, then tweaking left, right, and center. Suppose you are responsible for pushing your company’s landing page creation, design, optimization, and testing. In that case, you should already have noticed that there is too much headache before everything clicks. When you are facing your boss, and they tell you that the conversion rates are slim, low, and everything negative… when it’s your career is on the line because possible leads don’t seem to be converting, you understand that you have everything to fight for at that point. Creating this landing page guide for the best practices, design tips, and optimization ideas is the closest we could come to helping you figure out things and turn those conversion rates around.
Best practices for landing page design
1. Don’t use universal rules
The universal rules don’t work for landing pages because this is something that, like a cog, doesn’t fit into every wheel. You have to customize your own, and several things work or don’t work. Sometimes, something as simple as a full stop instead of an exclamation mark could make a huge difference, while other times, a simple tweak of words in a sentence will propel your conversions to limitless possibilities. Including an image on your landing page adds more visual appeal to the piece, and even further does the work of paraphrasing with a paraphrasing tool to tell the visitors what your product is all about and why they should take your call to action seriously.
2. Design your landing page from scratch
Building your landing page from scratch allows for complete customization and better alignment with your brand’s identity. Ready-made templates often lack the flexibility to meet your specific needs, leading to limitations in design and functionality. While creating a custom landing page might be more time-consuming and costly, it offers the freedom to incorporate unique elements that resonate with your target audience. This approach also allows for better optimization, as you can tailor every aspect of the page to enhance user experience and conversion rates.
3. Eliminate unnecessary navigation
A successful landing page requires a focused approach. Remove all unnecessary navigation elements that could distract visitors from the main message. By limiting options, you guide visitors toward your desired action, whether signing up, making a purchase, or downloading a resource. Simplifying the navigation helps maintain the page’s primary purpose and keeps visitors engaged with the content that matters most.
4. Ensure data privacy and build trust
When asking visitors for personal information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, it’s crucial to build trust by assuring them that their data will be handled carefully. Clearly state that their information will not be shared with third parties or used for spam. Including a privacy policy link on your landing page can further reinforce this assurance. In today’s digital environment, where data breaches and privacy concerns are prevalent, offering these reassurances can significantly increase conversion rates by making visitors feel secure and valued.
5. Simplify forms to encourage completion
A streamlined form is critical to keeping visitors engaged. Limit the number of fields to only what is necessary to avoid overwhelming users. The more questions or information you request, the higher the chance of form abandonment. Instead, focus on gathering essential details first and consider using progressive forms that require additional information in later stages. Aligning your form’s design and branding with your overall website and company identity will also help reinforce trust and recognition, making visitors more likely to complete the process.
6. Avoid overselling
Honesty and transparency on your landing page are crucial for building long-term relationships with your audience. Overselling or making exaggerated claims can lead to disappointment and damage your reputation. Communicate what your product or service offers and why it benefits the customer. Being straightforward and authentic in your messaging fosters trust and sets realistic expectations, which can lead to more satisfied customers and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
Landing page design tips for the best landing pages
a) Get straight to the point
There is nothing as time-wasting as reading many paragraphs when the point is so easy to see and could have been said in one short sentence or illustrated using a string of one, two, or three illustrations. People who come to your landing page directly from Google or maybe through your Pay-per-click (PPC) campaign don’t have the time to read through all that nonsense. They are looking for something and know why they want it, so any attempts at wasting their time will see them bounce off the page in seconds.
b) Colors should play the pull effect
There is a reason colors exist. When used wisely, they can skyrocket your conversions. Using welcoming, warming, or exciting colors works better than dull or repulsive colors. For dull colors like blue, it is easy to contrast the page by adding an exciting color like Orange or Red. The secret to your color fiasco is to always stick to white and two contrasting or complementary colors. As a designer, this has always been my color tip. However, if you want to do more color experiments, getting someone who knows how to mix up colors will help you get the one that works. As I mentioned in the best practices above, sticking to your brand’s colors is usually better.
c) Place your logo
The logo is a very powerful aspect of any modern business. It helps assure your visitors that they are indeed in the right place. Stamping your logo on your landing page is as good as gaining online cred. I would be very skeptical about entering my personal information or purchasing something online from a landing page without a logo. Again, this is a matter of letting the brand do the talking. While you don’t need to make a statement with your logo, just let it be somewhere strategic on the landing page, however small.
d) Bullet points are critical in your landing page design
Use bullet points instead of explaining what you’re offering in long paragraphs. People searching for things online don’t read everything you write. Usually, they skim through the page to see if it’s the right fit. At that rate, using bullet points with short statements that are straight to the point will land you more customers than the opposite.
e) Above the fold
People don’t usually scroll through landing pages; if the information they want is not above the fold, they will probably not bother to scroll further to find it unless there is an excellent reason for them to do so. As a rule of thumb, please keep all your bullet points, stats, call-to-action (CTA), and information above the fold so they don’t have to scroll. However, if they must scroll, give them a good reason for that, and they may do it.
f) Appeal in 5 seconds or forever remain silent
There is an alarming fact about people: first impressions. If your landing page doesn’t catch the eye of your visitors in the first five seconds, consider those leads gone. That is why you must test every appealing page to find the one that converts the most visits. It will probably be the most appealing one.
g) Credibility
The fastest way to gain the credibility and trust of leads who haven’t used you before is to openly display your contact information, which includes your email address, customer support contacts, social media proof, and telephone and cell phone numbers, among other things. When a customer knows that they can call, tweet, or email you in case of any problems with your service and get quick feedback and support, they are more likely to become converting visitors to that landing page.
Optimization ideas to get more conversions
i) Clear headlines
Headlines that are huge and clear are usually very inviting. When I walk along the street and pass by a newspaper joint, the thin line between buying a paper or not stopping at all usually depends on the big headlines. Those make me stop and read on, then buy the paper. The same story goes for a landing page; huge headlines help grab the visitors ‘ attention, so they will read more about the offer and then choose what to do next.
ii) Let the experience be consistent
If necessary, the experience must be great, elegant, and consistent across the divide from the pay-per-click ad to the landing page to the website. Consistency shows discipline; if disciplined, people will know they can trust you with their money.
iii) Let everything on your page support your core value proposition
Everything from your written copy, stats, and landing page building should support your core value proposition. The best way to find out is to test, or sometimes just letting the page stay and look at it after a day or two usually works. Read and repeat until you find nothing placed on your landing page that doesn’t fit there.
iv) Enable sharing
One of the best ways to market your landing page and gain visitors is by including sharing buttons. Allowing people to share your page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., will lead to more shares of your landing page with their friends, which will get you more views. While most of those views may not convert, some may get you excellent leads.
v) Ask only for the information you need.
Don’t ask your visitors to complete too many forms. What you need online from your customers is usually their first and last names and an email address. If these aren’t enough, be careful how much information you ask your customers to provide. They will leave if you ask for too much personal information.
vi) Testimonials
If there is more space on the page for a testimonial or two, do it. Testimonials from other customers who have used your product are an excellent way to attract new customers who might yearn for the same experience. Don’t invent fake testimonials and put images from image-sharing sites. If you don’t have customers yet, there are other things you can put there instead of adding phony customer testimonials. In our next article, we will review some of the best landing page creation services available and look at LeadPages and Unbounce, among other available services and platforms. Meanwhile, check out our previous article on the best landing page examples to implement on your online store.
Pressfarm can help you attract attention to your landing pages by distributing press releases and pitching journalists for a feature story. Contact us or check out our packages.
