Landing Pages
Designing a web site is not just about creating an overall look and feel for a web site. Often the success of a web site design comes down to the performance of individual web pages within that web site. We think of each web page as a standalone opportunity to engage. This is similar to how an accountant is taught to consider that any business document must succeed on the strength of its own four corners.
The 4 corner theory applies perfectly to individual web pages when you consider that a web page is in its ultimate purpose really a LANDING PAGE that moves the visitor forward either to take an action or to go to another page to get more information to ultimately take the desired action.
We maintain that a successful landing page functions as a signpost for users. It gives them clear directions to take the one road or (despite Robert Frost) sometimes the other road - and that's ok too as long as both roads lead the user down a predetermined path to success.
A well developed landing page persuades a user to call, contact, buy or learn more. The goal, of course, being that a visitor becomes a lead, a customer or a referrer. For a landing page to achieve the highest conversions, there are a set of rules or guidelines we've seen develop in the whole landing page industry these last 13 years and here's an overview of the elements we consider when designing the "Perfect Landing Page".
- Use specific landing pages for different types of "Buyers" so you can segment and personalize your primary message to each audience prototype.
- Use smart compelling copy to guide users through your copy and ultimately persuade them. Read Robert Cialdini for more information about psychological persuasion triggers to see how copywriters use them when writing good web copy.
- Gain credibility by inserting text and graphic content that builds trust in who you are what you are selling and thus increases the visitor's confidence that you can deliver on what you are promising. A good example of a credibility builder is a logo from the Better Business Bureau or something really industry specific like an award or testimonial from a noteworthy and recognizable customers.
- Use an FAQs (frequently asked questions) section to provider answers to the most common questions BEFORE the user picks up the phone to call you or fills out a form for information. This enables users to self-inform which gives them the feeling of having more power in the interaction and thus provides a higher level of comfort and control in the situation.
- Follow generally accepted usability tactics when designing the layout and functionality of your site to provide an easy yet comfortable and practical experience.
- Test different versions of your landing pages in order to increase conversion rates. Look at it this way. If you get 100 people per day on a landing page and 10 of them click through and 90 leave your site, it might be a heck a lot of easier to get 5 more to click through than to find another 50 new people to visit your site.