With two billion (and counting) websites competing for customer engagement and market share, simply having a strong online presence isn’t enough anymore.
What you need is a customized marketing campaign that resonates with your target customers, supported by a well-thought-out landing page to demonstrate that your business can indeed meet their needs.
Landing page design is a core skill set in its own right, as it requires strategic planning, copywriting, and visual design to nudge potential buyers toward a conversion.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about what goes into designing a landing page, discuss examples of brands that have nailed it, and share some tools that will help you design winners of your own.
But first, let’s get the basics out of the way.
What Is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a standalone page where a user “lands” after clicking a link in a banner ad, an email, or a social media post.
Typically, it’s designed with a single goal in mind, represented by a compelling Call To Action (CTA), such as signing up for a newsletter, booking a free consultation, downloading a gated asset, or purchasing a product.
By crafting a page focused on a specific goal, you can better capture your target customer’s attention and increase their chances of converting.
Why Creating Landing Pages Is Important?
Landing pages are a crucial tool in any marketing campaign, whether you’re driving sales for a new product or building an attendee list for a webinar.
A well-designed landing page clearly explains your offer while delivering an intuitive, sleek visual experience, thereby boosting brand credibility.
It’s also important to highlight the difference between a landing page and a homepage here.
Your website’s homepage serves as a gateway for target customers to explore and engage with your business, aiming to generate interest and keep them browsing, regardless of immediate purchase.
In contrast, every graphic, text, and button on a landing page is designed to highlight your offer. The page is free of any distractions, such as other page links, menus, or competing offers, that could take your target customer’s attention away from where you want them to be.
As a result, your chances of a conversion via a landing page are much higher.
How to Design Landing Pages
A good landing page equals good ROI. Otherwise, it just wastes money. The good news is its basic design principles aren’t that hard. We can divide it into five main steps:
1. Plan the Layout
How and where you place your text, images, forms, and CTAs greatly impacts your conversion rate. You don’t want to overwhelm your target customers with too much content, but you still want them to be able to see everything without having to scroll too much.
Example: For a practical layout, consider the Z-pattern or F-pattern commonly used in web design. These patterns guide the eyes naturally through the page, ensuring they encounter all critical elements.
Tip: A good rule of thumb is the blink test - check whether you can understand the main message in less than five seconds.
2. Craft Compelling Copy
Less is more when it comes to landing page copy. Start with a headline that immediately grabs attention. Avoid walls of text and instead use simple, impactful sentences to engage your target customers.
Be sure to optimize the copy for the keywords you’re targeting. This will improve your page’s search engine ranking and attract more organic traffic.
Example: Use bullet points for key features and benefits, making the information easily digestible.
Tip: Use customer testimonials or short quotes to build trust and credibility.
3. Choose the Right Colors
The colors you use in your landing page design are what you want your target customers to associate with your brand. Ideally, these colors should match the ones you use in your website and logo to make you easier to recognize.
Example: If your brand colors are dark blue and off-white, use these as the primary colors for your landing page. In addition, pick a contrasting color like beige, orange, or yellow for your CTA buttons to make them stand out.
Tip: Use color psychology to influence your target customers’ emotions and actions. For instance, blue often conveys trust and security, while red can create a sense of urgency.
4. Add Images and Media
Images are a helpful way to convey the message and feeling that you’re trying to capture with your landing page offer. Choose creatives that are representative of your brand.
Example: If your product targets college goers, consider using an image featuring young people in a college setting. High-quality videos or GIFs can also be compelling in dynamically showcasing your product’s benefits—just how Zapier does.
Tip: Ensure all media elements are optimized for fast loading times to prevent high bounce rates due to slow performance.
5. Don’t Forget the CTA
This is perhaps the most important part of landing page design! Your CTA button should clearly state what you expect the target customer to do, such as “Download Your Copy” or “Sign Up Here.”
Example: Use a bright, contrasting color to draw attention, and make sure it’s big enough to be seen.