Landing Page Best Practices

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a single web page that stands apart from the rest of your website. It's intended for a specific use, focusing on only one type of action you want visitors to take.

Visitors land on these pages after clicking from another source, such as an email, social media post or advertisement, and search and display ads. Unlike regular web pages, landing pages have a single call to action rather than encouraging potential customers to learn more about your business and explore multiple pages. There are many types of landing pages, but the two most common:

1. Click-through landing pages: A click-through landing page provides visitors with the information they need about an offer to make it to the next step in the journey, ultimately progressing them through the marketing funnel to the point of purchase.
2. Lead generation landing pages: Lead generation landing pages are designed to gather information from visitors through a form. These pages typically have no links or navigation and offer something in return for the customer's information, like an e-guide or discount.

8 landing page best practices

Whether you're trying to move visitors through the marketing funnel or gathering information to support sales, your landing page must convince them to take action. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Landing pages must sell with quality content and design elements that entice users to take action. Here are a few landing page best practices to help your efforts become more successful.

1. Have a great offer

All landing pages require you to give something to visitors in exchange for them completing the desired action. For example, you might offer a deal on your e-commerce website with a click-through landing page. However, with a lead generation landing page, you might offer a free e-guide or consultation in exchange for customer information, allowing them to enter the sales funnel while feeling like they're getting something out of it.

To determine the best offer that will increase conversions, consider your customers and their behaviors. For example, if your customers are shoppers, they will most likely convert into paying customers for a discount on their purchase. Meanwhile, leads may want access to important information that they find valuable, such as an educational guide, case studies, or tools.

2. Focus your headline on benefits

Your landing page isn't the place to showcase why you're the best company. Instead, use it as an opportunity to highlight the benefits of your product or services, including the offer. The headline is your first opportunity to tell visitors what they can expect on the rest of the page. If the headline isn't immediately clear or relevant to them, they'll leave the page.

To write an engaging headline, consider your messaging. All the copy on your landing page should match visitor expectations to let them know they're in the right spot and give them a reason for performing the desired action, like filling out a form.

3. Match it to your ad

Copy shouldn't just align with your brand messaging and the offer; it must match the ad in some way. Of course, you don't have to use the same headline you used for your digital ad or email, but you must let visitors know they're in the right spot. Your design elements should also be similar to provide a seamless user experience and meet visitor expectations.

4. Add a clear call to action

A clear call to action (CTA) will let visitors know what you want from them, making it easy for them to figure out if they want to complete the action. Of course, not all visitors will convert, but if you have a CTA that stands out and can help customers understand what they need to do, they're more likely to do it.

CTA buttons must be clear in both copy and design. Of course, you can have a simple "submit" button, but you can make it even more engaging by adding microcopy that's more casual or professional based on your target audience. Simply changing the "submit" button to "let's talk" on your forms can help you attract more casual leads while making your brand seem more friendly and approachable. Additionally, you should consider the design of your button by using contrasting colors to make it stand out from other visual elements.

5. Optimize for search engines

Many visitors will come to your landing page from ads, email blasts, social media, and other types of marketing. However, that doesn't mean you should forgo search engine optimization. Optimizing your landing page gives you more opportunities to convert because you'll be able to bring more people to it.

6. Include social proof

Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to bring customers to your business. Social proof, including reviews and testimonials, can help build trust with potential customers who may have never heard of your business and don't yet know whether they can trust you.

No matter how great your offering is or how many benefits you list on your landing page, visitors are more likely to trust the word of a human rather than a company. Using testimonials from real customers can help you start building relationships with potential customers early in the process, allowing you to convert them faster.

7. Remove navigation

Your website has navigation to allow customers to browse your products and service offerings while giving them the opportunity to learn more about you. Landing pages don't need navigation because it only has one focus– to convert visitors into paying customers or leads. Any navigation that may distract potential customers or force them off the page with your offer can prevent you from achieving your goals.

8. Test everything

Even if you use every landing page design best practice you've learned about, you may still get lackluster results because every business is different, and you must cater to the needs of your audience. Every aspect of your landing page, including every design element, headline, and word, can be A/B tested, allowing you to learn from your successes and failures. A/B testing can help you convert as many people as possible. However, you should only test one element at a time and allow your landing pages to get enough views to help you form an opinion. A/B testing allows you to make informed decisions based on real data, so we recommend testing everything until you've found the right mix of copy and design elements to improve conversion rates.

Landing page best practices examples

Not every successful entrepreneur is a professional website or landing page designer, but you can learn from the most successful companies by studying their landing pages and finding elements that you believe can help you convert visitors. You can also browse Mailchimp's landing page templates to find pre-designed templates that already use best practices for landing pages. Here are a few landing page best practices examples in action to spark your creativity.

Airbnb

Airbnb's landing page is geared towards individuals looking for a place to stay, offering them the opportunity to find a location immediately. The page also uses social proof, allowing potential users to find out what real guests are saying about their rentals, along with the benefits of using their services to find your next getaway location.

BarkBox

BarkBox's landing page immediately hits you with an offer to let you know how you can become a customer immediately. The headline "Get your dog's tail waggin" also aligns with BarkBox's brand messaging with a playful tone. The landing page also uses data, stating that over 2 million dogs have been served by BarkBox, giving visitors a reason to believe that this dog toy and treat subscription box company delivers high-quality products.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool used by companies of all types to manage workloads. On ClickUp's landing page, they have a clear headline that clearly states what the software is used for. They also list their customers, all of which are internationally recognized brands.

The goal of this landing page is to get users to sign up with an office that allows you to get started for free with no credit card required, giving potential users a significant reason to experiment with the software before making an investment.

Develop the best landing page for your company

The most significant benefit of developing a landing page is that it allows you to focus on one action. When visitors aren't distracted by navigation and other links, they're more likely to read your entire landing page and convert. Additionally, you must have a compelling offer and provide reasons why someone should take the desired action.

Of course, there are many ways to design a landing page, and what works best for you will depend on experimentation to find out what drives the most conversions. Mailchimp makes it easy to start designing your landing page with a free landing page builder that allows you to drag and drop design elements and copy and A/B test them.

But don't stop there; you can also integrate your new landing page with your email marketing strategy to increase conversions, whether you're trying to gain more sales or earn more leads. Learn more landing page design tips to take your landing page to the next level and convert more visitors.