A landing page could be the simplest page on your website. It could also be the one that has the greatest impact on how well your business does.
When new users arrive at your website, they will likely only stay there for a few seconds. They will either click off – OR – follow your call to action (CTA). Every aspect of your landing page should be optimized for conversion, so here are six tips to help you arrive at the perfect landing page.
1. Stick to a Single Goal
The purpose of a landing page is to convert, meaning you want users to do whatever your call to action asks of them.
Your CTA should be the most prominent feature of your landing page. It should be by far the most prominent text on the page and be located near the top. The first step in the landing page design process is figuring out what you want users to do.
Do you want users to sign up for an email list or newsletter? If that’s the case, then there should be an area where they can input their email address, such as in the example below:
The CTA could also be a single button. Maybe a “Schedule a Free Consultation” button directs users to a calendar feature where they can select a time slot.
Whatever the CTA, just make sure there’s only one on the page. Give users a clear direction. If there are multiple CTAs you’re torn between, you can always perform A/B testing to find out which one has the higher conversion rate.
2. Keep it Distraction-Free
The name of the game is simplicity. Having established that we’re trying to stick to a single goal, you don’t want to include unnecessary information. Landing pages should generally be light on copy. It’s okay to have some text, but don’t overwhelm the user. The page’s purpose is just to keep the user’s attention and compel them to act upon your CTA.
3. Include Either Pictures or Illustrations
It’s imperative that the landing page keep peoples’ attention. For that reason, the visual element of landing pages is probably the most important. While there are some creative ways to get away with not using pictures, that’s the exception to the rule.
It’s generally a best practice to include a compelling visual. This could be a still image, illustration, or even an animation that makes up the background. Here’s an example of how even a simple design can be visually engaging:
The background is just a single still image, but it works. The colors of the flowers are vibrant and varied, and it clearly points to the product Native Poppy sells. As with most aspects of landing pages, less can definitely be more.
4. Integrate Video
Including a video is an excellent way to increase the time users spend on the page. If your business or nonprofit already has a YouTube video summarizing its goals, it’s easy to embed it in a web page using WordPress.
This method is especially effective if you have a lot of information you want to convey. Videos are usually more engaging than written text and can communicate the same amount of information while taking up less space on the page. If you do include a video, it will likely be the page’s centerpiece.
If there’s a video on the page, having a section where people can type their email addresses to sign up for a newsletter would make it too busy. It’s an either-or situation.
5. Include a Statistic in the Page’s Copy
Yes, #2 on this list is to keep the page distraction-free. As long as you’re limiting the page to just a single sentence of copy below the CTA, then including a statistic in that sentence could make a compelling case for your business.
A statistic like “Our clients see a 15% increase in sales on average” is a compelling argument for why people should use your services in just a few words. Pairing it with a CTA like “Schedule an Initial Consultation” should be easy money. Of course, just make sure your statistic is accurate.
6. Link to Social Media Accounts
The whole thesis of this – and any other blogs we’ve written about landing pages – is to keep them distraction-free, but linking social media accounts would do little to clutter up the page.
For the space it takes up, including the Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn icons, it also has tremendous potential to lead to repeat business. A glance at your social channels would give users a better idea of your services and brand identity better than any landing page could.
If the landing page in question is the website’s homepage or part main wireframe, you could put the social icons in the header next to the main navigation.
There’s also the option to put them on a footer, even one that stays on-screen as the user scrolls. Here’s an example of how to include them below the page’s copy:
Rather than the standard buttons linking to social media that are more-or-less just the logos, Nauto decided to go with round buttons that better fit the page’s overall aesthetic.
While not really considered a best practice, there are plenty of original ways to seamlessly integrate social media icons into a background illustration. You could match the colors of the icons to its background while giving them strong outlines. That way, they’ll be clearly visible, but not stick out like a sore thumb against a beautifully designed background.
