Don’t Make the User Think: 8 Landing Page Design Tips

In my time as a product manager, I’ve read a great deal of literature about website usability. It can all be boiled down to one concept: “Don’t make the user think.” (There is even a book on this exact subject). While the phrase refers to web usability, it can also easily be applied to landing page design.

I often tell our clients that a cleanly-designed landing page will convert customers better than a landing page featuring a flood of information. Below, I have outlined 8 solid guidelines that can help you to produce better landing pages and convert your audience.

1. Make converting the only action available on the page. If you want the user to convert, do not give them the opportunity to get distracted. You do not need to include the headers from your site on the landing page. If the user wants to leave the page, make them work to do so. Other than links to your privacy policy and terms and conditions, your landing page should not have any external links. Unbounce does an excellent job explaining this concept with they have dubbed the “Attention Ratio.”

“Attention Ratio is the ratio of the number of things you can do on a given page to the number of things you should do.”

In this VWO case study, a South African kitchen tool retailer removed the top navigation on their landing page. This decreased their Attention Ratio from 15:1 to 3:1. The result? A 100% increase in their conversion rate, from 3% to 6%.

In summary: If you don’t want a user to take a certain action on the page, do not give them the option to do so.

2. Page load time matters. In an excellent infographic, KissMetrics demonstrates how a 1 second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in total conversions. Want to check your landing page speed? Pingdom has a great (free!) tool that will give you page load time and advice to improve it.

3. Make sure your page is mobile-responsive. You would be surprised by how many landing pages do not look great on mobile devices.

4. Include testimonials. Testimonials are powerful conversion mechanisms. For one client, we found that moving the testimonials to the top the page increased the conversion rate by a whopping 40%.

5. Don’t bury the lead. Use clear, concise headlines to explain your offer.

6. Test different calls to action. Experiment with language. For a fundraising client, we found that using the phrase “Raise Money” versus “Sign Up” provided a 30% increase in conversion rate.

7. Make the “call to action” button stand out. Use a different color to make it pop. In one recent test, utilizing the Facebook blue color for the button provided a 17% lift in conversion rate with 94% confidence. Data below:

8. Leverage software. There are quite a few software options out there to help you create and test landing pages. I prefer Unbounce for its ease of use and simplicity. Some others to check out are Leadpages and Instapage.

Optimizing your landing page will play a huge role in generating leads. Optimizing media is only half of the equation – landing page design is the other half. If you want to lower your CPAs, you need to test and optimize your landing page. Want to learn more? Click here to get a free 30 minute landing page consultation.