Practical Tips for Creating a Landing Page that Converts
November 15th, 2024
When designed correctly, landing pages can turn casual visitors into valuable leads and paying customers.
But building a high-converting landing page is challenging. You need to know how to string the right words and visuals together to lead users to take action. Otherwise, your sales funnel could be a waste of time and money.
Luckily, we have some tips that can help. Let’s take a closer look at creating a landing page that convert traffic into leads and customers.
Understanding high-converting landing pages
A landing page is a standalone web page with a single goal: Conversion.
Whether you want someone to sign up for your email list, download a guide, or buy a product, a landing page directs visitors to that action. Which is why they’re a pivotal component in your sales funnel.
A successful landing page gives users a reason to trust you and makes it easy for them to follow through.
The headline, visuals, and call-to-action should all lead visitors down one path. If your landing page tries to do too much, you’ll confuse your audience and miss the opportunity to convert them.
You also need to make sure your landing pages can handle traffic spikes. (If your landing page goes down during a marketing campaign, you’ll lose valuable leads and sales.) A data backup strategy and a solid recovery time objective (RTO) plan are essential to keeping your page up and running.
Types of landing pages and conversion goals
Different landing pages serve different purposes based on your goals. If you’re looking for fast conversions, text-only landing pages work well. They’re simple, quick to load, and focus the visitor on a single message or call to action.
Long-copy landing pages let you dive into the details. Use these when you’re selling a complex or high-ticket product or service. More copy gives you space to handle objections and build trust with your audience.
Short-copy landing pages get straight to the point. If your offer is easy to understand or familiar, a concise page boosts engagement by reducing decision fatigue.
Video landing pages are powerful for storytelling. They capture attention and work best when you need to showcase a product or build an emotional connection. Keep the video short and focused on the outcome you want.
Components of high-converting landing pages
Creating a landing page that connects with your audience requires a deep understanding of their behaviors and preferences.
It’s all about using data to meet your audience where they are—creating a landing page that feels tailored, relevant, and results-oriented. A high-converting landing page has several important elements.
Headline with a hook
The headline is the first thing visitors see, so it needs to grab attention quickly.
Spark curiosity and speak directly to their emotions. A good rule is to think about the problem your audience faces and the benefit they’ll get from your solution.
Use the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) or PAS (Problem, Agitation, Solution) formulas to structure your headline. These copywriting techniques guide the reader through a journey that ends with them taking action.
For example, instead of a bland headline like “Get More Leads,” try something more engaging like “Struggling to Find Customers? Here’s the Secret to Tripling Your Leads in 30 Days.” It’s specific, emotional, and directly addresses the reader’s pain point.
High-impact visuals (image, video, etc.)
People process visuals faster than text, so be sure to use high-quality images or videos to make your landing page more engaging.
Look for visuals that support your content and connect emotionally with your audience.
Adding a live and interactive demo to SaaS landing pages is a highly effective strategy to boost conversions. It offers firsthand experience so that potential customers can address their curiosity and demonstrate the tool’s value without needing to sign up or schedule a demo.
Take Tyk, a leading API management platform, for instance. The brand offers a live demo of its dashboard directly on the landing page. This hands-on experience lets visitors explore the tool and its capabilities in real-time, which reduces friction in the decision-making process.
This approach helps increase engagement and foster confidence, which ultimately leads to higher conversion rates.
Social proof (customer testimonials)
Social proof builds trust with potential customers. If visitors see that other people are using and loving your product, they’ll be more inclined to follow suit. Even a few customer testimonials can make a huge difference in building credibility.
For example, you could feature a quote from a satisfied user. Or add screenshots of positive brand mentions from social media users who bought and loved your product or service.
You could also have a dedicated “ratings and reviews” section on your landing page.
If you have well-known clients or brands that endorse your product, show their logos, too.
List of benefits
When it comes to landing pages, features don’t sell — benefits do. Visitors want to know how your product or service will make their life easier, business better, or solve their problems.
You need to connect the dots for them. List your product’s core benefits in bullet points (and follow them up with relevant features or explanations). Make sure each point is clear and directly addresses your target audience’s pain points.
For example, if you’re selling an email marketing tool, you might list benefits like:
- “Create more impactful campaigns with audience segmentation”
- “Easily grow your email list with targeted campaigns”
- “Save time with automated email sequences”
Keep it scannable so visitors can quickly understand how you’re going to help them.
Features describe what your product or service does. For example, “Our email marketing tool includes audience segmentation”. Benefits, on the other hand, describe how these features can improve the customer’s experience.
When focusing on the benefits, you’re addressing your visitors’ pain points and showing them how and why your product or service is the best solution for their needs.
Call-to-action
A clear, bold call-to-action (CTA) is critical to conversions. Don’t overload your landing page with multiple CTAs — that’ll only confuse your visitors. Instead, guide them toward one specific action.
This doesn’t mean you can’t list your CTA a few times (especially if you have a long-copy landing page). But don’t change your CTA’s goal.
For example, you could sprinkle “Sign up for your free trial,” “Get your free trial,” and “Get the trial” throughout your landing page. But don’t try to divert their attention with separate goals, such as “Book a demo call,” “Try it now,” and “Sign up for our email list.”
The color of your CTA buttons matters, too. Blue buttons tend to evoke trust, while brighter colors like orange and pink can trigger excitement and urgency in different demographics. Test different colors to find out what works best for your audience.
And always make sure the CTA stands out from the rest of the page. Make the CTA copy clear and action-oriented. Instead of “Submit,” try something more compelling like “Get My Free Guide” or “Start My Free Trial.”
High-converting landing pages examples
Here are some real-world examples of landing pages that convert.
- SoFi’s law school loans landing page
SoFi’s law school loans landing page is a masterclass in conversion. The brand breaks up the page with dedicated sections its audience can read through to learn how its law school loans work.
The headline (“Low-rate student loans for law school degrees”) speaks directly to the target audience and their core needs.
The page also features strong trust signals. A Money Magazine badge and customer reviews build credibility — and the promise that checking your rate won’t impact your credit score eliminates a major barrier to action. Finally, the CTA buttons — “View your rate” and “Learn more” — are clear and intuitive.
Key benefits are also listed on the landing page, all help motivate prospective law students to take the next step.
- Maria Wendt’s coaching program landing page
Maria Wendt’s landing page for her coaching program converts at an impressive 71%. Why? It’s straightforward and focused.
The page features bold, specific headlines that speak directly to her target market’s struggles. She also emphasizes urgency with limited-time offers and includes plenty of social proof through testimonials from satisfied clients.
To build landing pages that convert like this one, Maria recommends to:
- Make sure your landing pages are super intentional (every element should have a clear reason for being there)
- Have a section that compares what you offer versus what the competition offers
- Include an “About Me” or “About Us” section
- Include descriptive mock-up images (so your audience knows exactly what they’re getting)
- Include a “Value stack” or a “Value menu” section with prices
- Use a strong headline (and follow-up headlines)
- Include a “What you get” section
- Add an objection handling section
- Eliminate fluff in your copywriting
- Include a “Who it’s for” section
- Have a testimonials section
- Include a clear next step
- Add an FAQ section
How to build a landing page with Webnode
If you’re looking for an easy way to build a landing page, Webnode is a great solution. Webnode offers templates designed to convert, meaning you don’t need any design experience to get started.
To create a simple landing page, choose a Webnode template that fits your conversion goal.
Customize the design with high-quality images, an emotional headline, and a clear CTA.
Use the drag-and-drop website builder to rearrange elements as needed, and don’t forget to include social proof and a benefits section. (Go the extra mile by infusing all of the tips we’ve covered in this guide.)
Continually optimize your page to keep improving your landing page conversion rate.
Conclusion
Creating a high-converting landing page comes down to understanding your audience and removing friction from their decision-making process.
Focus on crafting an emotional headline, use visuals to support your content, build trust with social proof, and guide visitors with a clear CTA. With these elements in place, you’ll be well on your way to creating a landing page that converts.
Ready to build your perfect landing page? Get started with Webnode for free
Author Bio:
Ioana Wilkinson – Ioana is a business strategist and content writer for B2B tech and SaaS brands. She also helps aspiring entrepreneurs build remote businesses. Born in Transylvania and raised in Texas, Ioana has been living the digital nomad life since 2016. When she’s not writing, you can catch her snorkeling, exploring, or enjoying a café con leche in Barcelona.