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Landing Page Design - The 5 Essential Elements Of Landing Page Design
A landing page and home page, while often used interchangeably in website narratives, are vastly different and serve different functions. While a visitor may 'land' on a website's home page, that does not make the home page a landing page.
The difference between a landing page and a home page is more than just semantics, each is used to achieve different goals.
A home page exists as a single page of a larger website. The primary objective of a home page is to direct the visitor to other site pages of relevant content that satisfy their informational needs. In so doing, the home page, and the site as a whole, promotes a company's brand, products and services. It encourages visitors, via a navigation menu, to explore the site with the aim of converting them into loyal customers and buyers of the company's products and services.
A landing page is a standalone web page, designed for a specific marketing purpose.The primary objective of the landing page is to be the only page that satisfies the visitor's informational needs with the intent to generate sales, sign-ups, leads, or whatever specific action the page is designed for. Landing pages are where visitors are directed to or 'land on' after clicking a link, for example, from an advert, a link on website, or a link on social media etc.
In short, landing pages are specifically designed for conversion. The only goal of the landing page is to convert the visitor, either by buying a product/service or signing up to an email list (thus becoming a lead). For instance, this could mean prompting prospects to :-
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Register for a webinar.
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Sign up for a free trial.
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Download a lead magnet such as an ebook.
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Sign up for a product demo.
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Complete a survey.
However, regardless of what is being offered on the landing page, the goal of landing pages is often to collect leads. By capturing the email addresses and other relevant information from visitors that land on a landing page, the opportunity has been created for the business to reach out to them and prompt them to purchase a product or service at a later date.
Landing pages are customised to a specific campaign or offer and guide visitors towards a single call-to-action (CTA). They have unique design characteristics that make it easier for the visitor to perform the desired action.
5 Examples Of Types Of Landing Page
There are five different types of landing page, each with their own characteristics, as follows :-
1. Squeeze Landing Page - Also known as a lead capture page or an opt-in page, the squeeze page aims to 'squeeze' information out of the visitor. This information is typically personal data, such as a name, email, and/or phone number. In exchange for the personal data, the user often receives some type of offer.
Example of a Squeeze Page and link to live site.
2. Long-Form Landing Page - Long-form landing pages, also known as sales letters, are the infomercials of the digital marketing world. They focus on the benefits of the product, and by constantly repeating these benefits the reader is eventually convinced that they have to purchase what the business is offering. The long-form landing page explains every part of the offer to the visitor.
Example of a Long-Form Landing Page and link to live site.
3. Click-Through Landing Page - This type of landing page provides just enough context to persuade people to visit a transaction page. Click-through landing pages warm up the leads so they are more likely to convert to a sale. The page contains sufficient details about the offer, focusing on the benefits and a general explanation of the product or service.
Example of a Click-Through Landing Page and link to live site.
4. Product/Service Details Landing Page - A product/service details page exists on the main website of a business. These pages provide all of the information about a product or service. Visitors are able to read all of the information about the product or service and either complete the purchase or contact a sales representative to learn more about the offer.
Example of a Product Details Page and link to live site.
5. Video Landing Page - As the name suggests, a video landing page includes a sales video. The page might have just a video, or it might have a video and some complementary text. To encourage visitors to watch the video, some businesses only make the offer or form available after the visitor watches all, or at least a sufficient portion, of the video.
Example of a Video Landing Page and link to live site.
While landing pages can look completely different depending on the industry, design, and goal, all well-built landing pages have the same core elements.
Landing Page Design - A General Schematic Of Essential Elements Of A Landing Page
1. Essential Element - Main Headline, Supporting Headline, and Hero Image/Video
The headline is the very first item visitors will see. For this reason, it is essential that it describes very clearly what features a product or service offers, and the unique benefit/s a user will get from that product or service (the value proposition). The short, concise proposition should 'hook' the visitor to continue reading.
The headline should be easily digestible and succinct, and, as such, a supporting headline is therefore needed for secondary messaging. This can be a direct extension of the main headline, or it can be an additional persuasive message that supports and reinforces the primary proposition.
The headline and supporting headline can be supplemented by a bullet point list of the additional features/benefits offered by the product or service. This can provide additional clarity, if needed.
It is important to find a balance between benefit based statements and feature based statements, this gives focus to the viewer's most important needs.
When content has engaging images it gets 94% more views, that is why a hero image or video is so important as a landing page element.
This is the visual representation of the offer and its purpose is to assist visitors to better understand the offer, instead of just describing the offer visually, maximum effect is created by demonstrating context of use.
Different products and services require different types of hero image. The hero image has to speak for the product/service; for example, without any text, will the image still clearly convey the attributes and benefits of the product/service?
Videos allow visitors to experience the value proposition with little effort. A video can walk a prospect through using a product or service, explain intricate nuances of the product much faster and effectively than text can, and even illustrate the benefits of using the product or service in a more engaging way.
Videos convey ideas that images, copy, and animation cannot, and they do it in a format that is universally compelling. Having a landing page video can increase conversions by 80%, and 96% of consumers find videos helpful when making online buying decisions.
2. Essential Element - Call-To-Action (CTA)
Every landing page needs a call-to-action (CTA), which is a short phrase that guides visitors to take a desired action. While the body copy reflects the unique value proposition, the CTA is the site of conversion, with one focused, action-oriented button. A CTA could be signing up for an email list, purchasing a product, filling out a form, a free trial sign-up, and more.
It may only require a few words, or it could be a phrase, but a CTA should be clear about how to convert and what users can expect by converting. A CTA should combine design and copywriting best practices to make it easy for the visitor to act on the offer.
3. Essential Element - Key Benefits
The landing page copy, reflecting the unique value proposition, should focus on the key benefits to the user. The key benefits should address the visitor's pain points and describe how these can be resolved.
Three unique key benefits should be listed in a bullet point summary format to reflect 'the power of three' rule. The power of three, sometimes called the rule of three, is an observation that the human brain tends to break up complex concepts into three parts for easier comprehension and analysis.
It has been proven that limiting the number of options to three makes visitors feel in control, and enhances the prospect of a conversion.
4. Essential Element - Social Proof
Social proof is a powerful way to influence customers, and in doing so, increase landing page conversion rates. Social proof is how the actions of people influence the decision making of others.
With more people turning to online reviews and trusting recommendations from people beyond their own social circles, social proof can be highly effective for converting visitors into customers.
The following are examples of social proof that are used to create high-converting landing pages :-
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Customer testimonials.
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Customer reviews.
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Expert endorsements.
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Media mentions.
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Brand statistics.
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Customer buying trends/favourites.
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User-generated content.
5. Essential Element - Reinforcement Statement and Closing Argument
Communicating trust, credibility and value is vital in landing page design. It is important to include constant reinforcing messages about a product or service as a viewer scrolls the page.
Viewers often skim over the page rather than read it fully, so it is essential to include a prominent reinforcement statement to re-emphasize the features and benefits of the offered product or service.
The closing argument gives yet another opportunity to restate the page's primary message to convince and convert the viewer.
Allowing the visitor to come to trust the offer on their own terms using subtle but clear 'nudges' creates positive reinforcement which naturally makes users more likely to convert.
The length of the landing page will help determine whether it is necessary to include a reinforcement statement and a closing argument. If the landing page is short enough so that the headline is visible at all times, there is no need to incorporate them. However, they are very beneficial when the landing page gets lengthy, in fact, it may well be prudent to include another call-to-action button at this point.
Takeaway
Landing pages are highly specific online marketing tools with a high traffic conversion rate.
A good landing page has the power to help generate more leads, close more deals, enhance a website’s user experience, impress visitors, and ensure the site has a professional, on-brand feel. It also helps build brand image and trust. It must follow a simple design pattern and have a clear call-to-action, engaging content, trust signals, and a clear message.
By adhering to best practices in landing page design, it ensures that the landing page accurately represents the business and converts visiting leads into returning customers.