How to Build a High-Converting Landing Page: From UX Principles to Written and Visual Content

Each landing page is different in its own way, but all landing pages have a common ground

There is no magical recipe for creating a high-converting landing page. It depends a lot on the business type and the goal of the landing page. 

If your purpose is to design an ecommerce landing page, you’ll want to focus on generating more sales. On the other hand, if you own a SaaS business, your main purpose will be to increase the signup rate. Or maybe your goal is to get more leads, and if this is the case, you’ll need to focus on creating a more informative type of landing page that could make users provide their contact details, thus becoming leads. 

When cooking for a friend or relative, don’t you slightly change the original recipe just because you know they like it spicier or less salty? Even though you slightly change the recipe, you’ll still need to keep the basic ingredients. Otherwise, it would turn into a whole new recipe, wouldn’t it? It’s the same with building a high-converting landing page: you’ll include elements that are specific to your business and goals, but at the same time you shouldn’t ignore the basic principles of designing an effective landing page. 

Here are a few tips to help you create a high-converting landing page: 

1. You need a dedicated and relevant landing page

Before anything else, your landing page should be dedicated to the offer in the ad, thus making it a stand-alone page. As soon as you understand this, you can start building your landing page from here. It will only have one goal, one message and one call-to-action, so be consistent and avoid distractions. Don’t include elements that could lead users towards taking other actions.

Let’s assume you own a beauty and cosmetics online shop. You’re running paid ads to increase sales for your organic body lotion. To maximise results, you want to redirect users to a dedicated page where they will learn more about the product and ideally make a purchase. In this case, your landing page will focus on presenting the organic body lotion, highlighting its benefits and will only include one recurrent call-to-action button, let’s say  ‘Buy Now’. 

Don’t include a second CTA, don’t use this page to sell other items and don’t include links that would redirect users to other pages – not even a link to your homepage. You want users to buy the product? Then make sure to put all your efforts into guiding them towards completing this only goal and don’t stray from the path. 

You now have a dedicated landing page. But don’t forget that it also needs to be relevant and deliver on the promise from the ad. If you manage to meet users’ expectations, it means that you’ve created a good user experience. If not, users will bounce and you have just lost potential clients. 

Imagine that you are trying to convince someone to go to a party with you. You promise your friend that there’s going to be a lot of good food, drinks, interesting people and overall, great vibes. Your friend accepts the invitation, but when arriving at the party, he is disappointed. There is no dancing, food tastes bad and people seem bored. Since you didn’t deliver on your promise your friend gets in a cab and leaves early.

It’s the same with building relevance between your ad and your landing page. If your ad promises users they’ll have a certain experience on your landing page, make sure they will. Otherwise they’ll leave the party early and neither of you will get something out of it. 

2. High readability makes for a smooth user experience 

In case you were planning to clutter your page with endless blocks of text, stop right there! Sometimes, less is more, and before anything else remember that Internet users don’t read – they scan. When it comes to consuming online content, NNGroup conducted an eye tracking study according to which the most common eye-scanning pattern is the F-Pattern. Having this in mind, try to organise your content accordingly. 

Here’s what you can do to ensure a smooth reading experience: 

• Use headings and subheadings to better organise your text. They not only increase readability, but are also great for SEO.
• Keep paragraphs short and sweet. Short sentences in short paragraphs make the best combination. This way, users can digest the information easier, without getting tired or bored. 
• Highlight key terms in your text to get your message across quickly. When writing compelling copy, you’ll certainly include keywords to highlight certain things you’re trying to bring to users’ attention. Bolding these keywords will work as a visual cue and let visitors know these are important facts they need to remember about your product/offer/brand. 
• Use bullet points and/or numbered lists. They make your writing seem compact and easy to scan and help Google index your content easier. 

In addition, don’t get too creative with the font size and colour. Dark coloured text on a light background is your safest bet! 

3. Visual elements need to be clear and support your main CTA

Images, infographics, videos and other visual cues need to be functional, appealing, and easy to use. We’re talking about utility and usability. 

Use clear, high-resolution images and make sure they reflect your offer. When it comes to design, keep it as minimal as possible. Avoid cluttering the page and use enough white space around key elements (such as the CTA and the product image) to emphasize their importance. 

The way you arrange your elements on the page also contributes to a good user experience. When designing the layout think about user flow. The most important elements, such as the product and its key benefits, the price and the CTA button will need to be as high as possible – preferably in the Above the Fold Area. 

Product details, testimonials and other sections will follow. It’s like a funnel: on the top of the page you present the offer briefly and as you scroll down the page, you’ll get into specifics, elaborating on what you’ve included in the ATF. 

4. Motivation is a core component of an effective landing page

If you want users to act on your call-to-action, you need to offer them strong reasons to do it. You can stimulate users to convert by presenting a compelling value proposition. 

According to Peep Laja, the Founder of CXL, a value proposition is the main reason a prospect should buy from you and it has three functions: 

• Relevancy – highlights how your product could solve customers’ issues and improve their situation;
• Quantified Value – offers specific benefits;
• Unique Differentiation – lets customers know why they should buy from you and not from your competitors.

You can also get users to act on your CTA by writing concise and compelling copy or by offering them an incentive in the form of discounts, free samples, vouchers or through other promotional strategies. 

5. Visitors will not spend money on your page if they don’t feel safe 

Convincing users that it’s safe to spend money on your platform, be it a landing page, a website or an app, is essential to your conversion rate, especially for e-commerce stores.  Addressing barriers and removing user anxiety could be more important than motivation factors. 

Let’s say that you offer the lowest price on the market, and from this point of view, your offer has an unbeatable value. However, if your checkout process is not transparent and doesn’t convey trust, people will not feel at ease spending money on your page. Their biggest fear is that the payment could not be secure, leaving their cards prone to online frauds and hacking. 

You can address this issue and put their minds at ease by featuring secure badges on the checkout process, and, why not, even on your landing page. Try adding trust seals in the footer, to give visitors a chance to consume the information on the page first. Then, once they’ve made the buying decision, let them know that you have a secure and transparent checkout process. It also helps if you include a privacy policy and offer thorough details on shipping and returns. 

6. Social proof increases trust levels and motivates users to buy

Featuring customer and expert reviews, testimonials and third party endorsements on your landing page has multiple benefits. Not only do they offer users a strong argument to finally decide on purchasing your product, but they are also crucial to your brand’s reputation. 

Customer reviews, testimonials and other forms of social proof convey trust and build credibility with users. People are more likely to buy products that have been purchased and tested by others beforehand. Customer feedback is the strongest form of motivation that you can use in your advantage, besides a powerful value proposition. 

These are some of the most important factors to consider when building a high-converting landing page. If you need help with your optimization process, you can always get in touch with us at [email protected] – we’re happy to hear from you!