Landing pages are essential elements of any website that’s trying to sell something

Selling something doesn’t even necessarily mean that you’re asking for money directly from clients or customers, but more that you’re using your website for promotion. While a landing page is sometimes defined as any page that someone lands on when they click a link, a more specific definition in marketing and advertising is a page that is intended to get someone to click through to another page or to generate leads. A good landing page can be complicated to design, with a lot of necessary elements. If you want somewhere to start, begin with these features.

An Attention-grabbing Headline

A landing page first needs to get the reader’s attention and let them know what it’s all about. The headline needs to be both informative and interesting if you want to get your site visitors to pay attention. Your headline should make it clear what product or service you’re advertising, or what problem you’re solving with it. It also needs to be short, or you’ll risk losing the reader’s attention. A good subheadline will help to enhance it and provide a little more information.

Visual Design

People like things to be visual. Too much text can have them drifting away to something else because they don’t have the time or energy to keep reading. Images and perhaps even a video can really enhance any landing page, making it more visually interesting. The pictures you use should grab the visitor’s attention and complement the service or product you’re promoting. You can use images to help explain what your product or service does and how it can help.

What’s In It for Them?

People need to know one essential thing whenever they’re on a landing page: what do they get out of it? If they buy your product, sign up for your newsletter, or download your ebook, what benefit are they getting? A landing page needs to explain what you do and what you’re offering. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a separate part of the page. It can be incorporated into your headline, your call to action and even your images.

A Persuasive Call to Action

A call to action is vital for a landing page. In fact, it’s kind of the whole point. You need to persuade your visitors to do something that will generate leads for you. Getting your call to action right can take some time. A/B testing will often help to nail it down, making it clearer where you should put it, what it should say, and even what font and color to use.

An Easy Next Step

Make sure that whatever your call to action says, it’s not directing your visitors to do anything complicated. The next step should be easy, whether it’s entering their email address, filling out a contact form, or just clicking a link.

Take the effort out of nailing the perfect landing page by visiting our page on web design and development. We can help you perfect your landing pages and start collecting more leads.