Top 5 Landing Page Design Best Practices

By Bassem Ghali

Bassem Ghali is a 2-time winner of the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year award and a digital marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience working with companies such as Canadian Tire, Vistaprint, Remax Canada, Alpha Laps, Xplornet, and Toronto Star.

Improve your conversion rate by using a landing page in conjunction with your PPC campaign, and any online marketing initiative.

Why link ad campaigns to your homepage where there is a wealth of content that might distract the visitor from their original intentions? Instead, direct traffic to a dedicated campaign landing page that is specifically tailored to the ad campaign keywords, search terms, and target audience. View our Google Ads PPC Services!

The landing page has one goal, and that is to persuade the visitor to perform a specific action… the famous Call-to-Action (CTA).

Top 5 Landing Page Design Best Practices

1. The Design

The overall visual design and color pallet of the landing page should be consistent with that of your homepage and branding. All navigation menus (eg-home, about us, portfolio, etc), links and extraneous design elements should be removed. Present the visitor with only one option to proceed – the CTA.

2. The Call-to-Action

The landing page has one goal and that is to encourage the visitor to perform a specific action (eg – buy a product, fill out a form, download an eBook, subscribe to an email list, etc). The CTA should tell the visitor exactly what to do, and what to expect in return.

a. CTA Title – should describe the offer and benefits, in a short and concise manner.

b. CTA Form Field – should only ask for information that is absolutely necessary, sometimes a name, phone number and email address is enough! Include a privacy statement to put the visitor at ease with sharing their contact information.

c. CTA Button – should be prominently displayed, in a contrasting color, and with text describing the action (eg – “subscribe”, “buy” or “request”).

3. The Headline

The headline is a short, catchy and descriptive statement about the offer/product/services, benefit(s) and value. Reassure the visitor that they are on the right page by matching the campaign search terms and keywords.

4. The Offer, Benefits and Value

Landing page content should focus on defining the offer/product/services, as well as clearly describing the features and benefits to the visitor. Know your target audience personas, their motivations, priorities and challenges, and tailor the message to meet those needs.

5. The 5-Second Test

The landing page should pass the 5-second test; all vital information (including the CTA) should be above the fold – immediately visible, legible and clear to the visitor, within the blink of an eye!

Landing Page Design Helpful Tips:

• Don’t clutter the page with text. Remember, visitors do not read website content, they scan! Use headings within the content to direct attention, lists and bullet points to summarize and highlight key information.

• Use one dominant image on the landing page (not clip art), and ensure that it is relevant to the offer/product/services, and target audience.

• Limit the number of CTAs to 1-2 on short landing pages, and 3-4 on longer pages (well spread out).

• Demonstrate your credibility by displaying 1-2 testimonials, and/or social proof by including social media counts, affiliates, and partners. If using AdWords, include your business Google+ information to maximize on social impressions.

• Once the visitor has performed the desired action, redirect to a Thank You Page where further information about the offer/product/service can be included, as well as relevant links, promotions, articles, etc

Green Lotus designed this Landing Page for a client, and has seen great results with a 5.2% conversion rate:

Design: the logo, page design and color palette are consistent with company branding.
Main Headline : is specific to the campaign and corresponding search terms/keywords.
Headline and Paragraph: provides a description of the products/services, and the main benefits.
Headline and Checklist: clearly displays the top features of the product/services.
Headline and Bullet List: clearly displays the benefits of the product/services.
Headline and Bullet List (optional): clearly displays additional information, the added value of the product/services.
Headline and Paragraph: provides information about the company, including credibility, relevant credentials, and certificates.
Footer: includes a bylaw and/or disclaimer (if appropriate).
CTA – Contact Phone Number: includes the nationality of the company (if relevant), and provides a toll free number.
Image: is relevant to the product/services and audience.
CTA – Contact Form:
A- CTA Title: describes the CTA and what the visitor will receive,
B- CTA Form Field: requests only the necessary information,
C- CTA Button: contains text, in a contrasting color.
Additional Information: includes alternate contact information, or ordering options (should only be included if applicable).