6 Essentials Of Designing An Effective Landing Page

If you’ve ever clicked on an ad or a call-to-action button, chances are you’ve found yourself on a landing page. Even though there are multiple types of landing pages including a website’s homepage, all of them have the same objective: to convert visitors into leads. The content of a landing page consists of a lead form that requests contact information from visitors in exchange for an offer or something else of value.

But why dedicate an entire article on simply creating a page?

Think about the last time you readily gave away your contact information on the internet. It’s hard to convince most people to submit their details online. Which is why it's incredibly important to create targeted and well-crafted landing pages for your products and services. The higher the convincing power of your landing page, the more leads you will secure.

You may also wonder about the purpose of creating a special page just for a form. Why not use an existing page like your website homepage or contact form? The answer lies in the specific design of the landing page. It eliminates distractions like unnecessary navigations and irrelevant links, and ensures that the user’s complete attention is exactly where you want it to be. They are created with the sheer intent of driving conversions. Another key difference is that homepages are usually good for direct traffic achieved through word of mouth or social media advertising, whereas landing pages are found organically, through high-ranking keywords and search results, usually supported by an SEO friendly website design. Studies show that while the average conversion rate for websites is somewhere between 1-3%, the targeting nature of a landing page is able to convert 5-15% of its visitors into leads. And if landing pages are created using best practices, some of which we’ve listed below, the conversion rate can almost double itself.

Let’s take a look at each of these practices:

Craft a consice headline

A human’s average attention span, according to a study done by Microsoft in 2018, is only eight seconds. To keep your visitors from bouncing off your page, you need to pitch your product to them within seconds of them landing on the page. This means creating a clear and concise headline that perfectly communicates your value proposition. It’s best to keep the headline short. And if the complexity of your product/service cannot be summed up in a few words, you can choose to include further information in a subheadline.

If the purpose of the headline is to make the visitor look, then the subheadline should be able to make them stay. It should be persuasive and positioned just underneath the headline. Even though your landing page content doesn’t need to follow an exact formula, it’s important to arrange it in a way that engages readers and efficiently explains what you’re offering.
Incorporate pictures

The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, which is why images are an important component of a landing page. The image should be large, relevant, and high-quality. Remember, visitors will look at the picture you choose before they read any text. It will shape their impression of the brand. This is where a good website and graphic design company can come in use. Videos are also a great visual element to demonstrate complex services. Finally, make sure your visuals are above the fold and created using mobile responsive web design and development.
Limit Navigation

Now that you’ve attracted visitors to your page, the last thing you want is for them to get distracted and leave. Navigation can be limited by reducing any unnecessary exits or redirects. This includes any internal links to other pages of your website. In fact, it’s a good idea to get rid of your website’s navigation bar entirely. This way, visitors can focus on filling your form, subscribing to your product/service, etc.
Add a clear call-to-action

This is the most important component of your landing page and also belongs above the fold. A call-to-action (CTA) should be bold and clear, and utilize action verbs like “download” or “get it now”. Your CTA should be large enough in size to stand out without overwhelming your visitors. Consider using contrasting colors and let the CTA stand out from the other colors on the screen. Research has also shown that CTA buttons with rounded corners fare better than those with sharp corners. Anyhow, you might not be able to nail the CTA design on the first try, so let A/B tests guide you through your iterations.
Keep it simple

Stuffing too much information on your landing page can take away from its clarity and objective. Along with links, also limit the amount of copy, images, and media. Since most visitor are aware that they can scroll down for more information, you can take advantage of the below the fold space, where thorough descriptions can be discreetly hidden. Logically, the simpler your landing page, the easier it will be for your visitors to navigate. Good structural layout elements to stick with are as follows:
- An attention-grabbing headline
- A brief, informative, and enticing description of the offer
- A relevant image
- An above-the-fold lead form
- A compelling CTA
Less is more when creating form fields too. The more fields you ask visitors to fill out, the less likely they are to complete it and convert. Stick to only asking for essential information and opt for requesting additional info on the thank you page. Which brings us to the next point.
Use a thank you page

Once you’ve successfully generated leads by having visitors complete your form, you can send them to a thank you page. It not only gives you a chance to genuinely thank them for their interest and potentially promote them to cusotmers, but also gives you the opportunity to display additional relevant content that might interest them.

By implementing each of these elements into your landing page, you will be well on your way to engage your visitors and convert them.

Landing pages will account for the majority of your leads, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t plan on designing one. Design Master, a leading web design and development company in Kuwait, can help you create high-performing landing pages. Our goal is to create a professional website design and an effective landing page that maintains trust, is clear and consistent, delivers on its promise, and makes conversion easy.