Did you know that according to data from Adobe, 38% of people will hit X on a website if it is unattractively designed?
And it doesn’t stop there.
There are numerous site design pitfalls that can drive visitors/potential customers away from your site and its offers. And the worst part is that these design mistakes are super easy to make!
The good news, however, is that after you read this post – you will be safe from these page blunders, and primed to create a landing page design that converts like nobody’s business. A well-designed web page can not only boost your brand’s reputation, but it can also make the difference between stagnation and growth.
If growth and increased sales sound like something you want – then read on. Because I am going to share with you a few powerful strategies for creating a killer landing page. So that your business can shine!
State Your Value Right Away in Your Headline
The first thing that visitors see when they land on your page is your headline. This is why it is very important that you state your value within the headline of your page.
Our attention spans are believed to be less than 8 seconds these days. If you do not immediately state to visitors what the value of your offering is, and why they need it, you run the risk of losing them before they have found this out.
To give an example, instead of saying ‘Get More With X Product” or “Welcome to X Company Page”, craft a headline that incorporates the key benefits associated with your offering. Also keep in mind that benefits are a more powerful draw to potential customers than features, so rather focus on how the overall product/service is of benefit instead of individual features.
Get Specific in Your Value Statements
It’s easy to come up with a vague value statement. Such as ‘The best weight loss supplement on the market’. It is also easy to skim over a value statement like that because – let’s face it – we have seen them a hundred times before, and, value statements like this don’t actually say anything.
Instead, opt for a numbers-driven value statement if you can. Such as ‘The only weight loss supplement on the market that can make you lose 2 inches of belly fat in 2 weeks’. Or, ‘The SEO service that is proven to boost leads by 120%’.
It might take time to gather some hard-hitting data for your value statement, but once you do so, it will be well worth it.
Cater to Skimming and Scanning
Newsbreak: not all the text on your page is going to be read. In fact, less than half of it.
According to research, only 28% of words on a page are read by visitors. Not everybody has time to read through a whole page of text and information, which is why most of us skim read while browsing the web.
This means that you need to come up with a way to make sure that your visitors get all of the key information you want to convey, without having to read every paragraph.
The way to do this is to create eye-catching headlines that summarize the text they refer to. This way your visitors will have a good idea of what you do, even if they only have time to scan the page.
Make It Look Good
Remember that stat at the beginning of this post? About how 38% of people will leave a site if it is ugly? Well, with a few good design practices you can keep all of those visitors on your page and loving the aesthetic.
To accomplish this make sure that you incorporate the following:
- Attractive images (ones which contain people generally outperform those that don’t)
- The use of negative space
- On-brand color schemes
- Video if applicable
Pages that utilize a minimalistic design aesthetic tend to be more appealing than busier pages, so also make sure that your design is clean, simple, easy on the eye and in no way cluttered.
Use Copy to Build Motivation
In your headings and text, aim to build motivation for visitors to take advantage of your offering. You can do this by outlining the ways in which it will benefit them, stating that it is easy to get started eg ‘your powerful page building solution is only one click away’, and creating a sense of urgency, such as ‘offer ends soon’, or ‘limited seats available’.
Pay a Lot of Attention to Your CTA
All of the previous points are super important to the success of your page. But above all of these things, your CTA (call to action) button is the most vital.
Once you have done all of the hard work of getting visitors to the point where they are ready to take action and buy your product/service, start a free trial, etc, it is critical that your CTA is easy to find and compelling to click on.
If you include the CTA button as an afterthought, and it is hard to see and does not have compelling text – you could lose out on a lot of potential conversions.
So, make sure that CTA buttons are big enough, are of a contrasting color to their background and sports text that draws visitors to click on them.
For example, rather than saying ‘click here’ or ‘register’, make your CTA buttons speak by saying things like “Claim my free trial today,” “Join millions of others,” or “Get started – it’s free.”
Set up a Fast Conversion Path
Once you have successfully wowed visitors and provided them with an attention-grabbing CTA, they will be in your conversion path. To ensure that they make it to the end, try to make your conversion path as fast and easy as possible.
Conversion paths that ask people to click through multiple pages and enter a lot of information are no fun. If yours is too long, a percentage of your conversions will abandon the process before completion.
Don’t Drop the Effort After Customers Have Converted
After your customers have finished their purchase, wow them again by creating a thoughtful and attractive thank you page. With a little effort, you can make this page media-rich by incorporating video, extra information, and links to more content on your site.
This will have the doubled-up effect of making your customers feel appreciated, and give them the chance to continue engaging with your content and page.
Test Your Landing Page Design
Once you have created a great page, there is one more thing that you need to do. And that is to test it using A/B testing. Conducting A/B testing will allow you to tweak things on your page while keeping a copy of your previous version live so that you can compare conversions between the two.
These comparisons make it possible for you to fine-tune your landing page to a tee.
If you have enjoyed this article on how to make a great landing page, you may also want to take a look at my post on the 12 worst website design mistakes to avoid in 2019!
Final Word
Although there are many design mistakes that one can make which will tank your page and its conversions – there are also a number of strategies that you can use to create landing pages that work.
And guess what? You now know about the most critical of these.
If you are unsure about carrying out your own landing page design, don’t hesitate to reach out to me to discuss your web design project. I have a passion for building clean and professional looking websites that convert visitors into happy clients or customers.
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