Landing Page Design: What Really Matters

What is a landing page?

If you have a product or service, the first time customers interact with it will often be through your landing page. It is the first thing potential customer sees, and it provides the information they need to decide whether they want to buy from you. Landing pages are vital for the conversion of visitors to potential clients or subscribers. Typically, they include a clear call to action encouraging the visitor to sign up, buy, or learn more. In the modern world, landing pages are commonly designed to be visually engaging. They often feature sleek graphics, animations, and high-quality imagery. It is a common view that the more stylish and intricate your landing page appears, the better. Consequently, when it comes to marketing a product, many focus on beautifying their landing page. However, the fact is that landing pages are not about colors, animations, or any other visual elements. They are about conveying the purpose and benefits of your product, making sure that people understand what you sell and why they should care. Founders often spend valuable time and resources on adding bells and whistles to landing pages but often, the customers are not affected by the visual aspect of the landing page.

Modern marketing race to the bottom

The common perception is that the more appealing and eye-catching a landing page is, the more effective it will be in attracting and converting visitors. Today, SaaS websites feature endless gradients, particles, and animations. The entire industry has jumped on this visual-first bandwagon. However, for all the effort put into designing these intricate landing pages, it seems like no one's actually asked the question about what customers really care about. To begin with, many customers dismiss the fancy animations and the 3D graphics. They do not care if the button fades in from the left. They do not mind the white rectangle background. What really matters to them is whether the product solves a problem, saves them time, or makes them money. They want to know if the product gives them return on investment. If your product offers a solution they need, you do not need to worry about the visual aspect. All those animations will not make a visitor buy your product. And this is why builders obsess over design. It is easier to add fancy features to a landing page, to add some new animation, to change the font. These things appear to be productive. Improving the product, making sure it solves real problems, creating it in a way that people need, requires more effort.

Three key facts any customer needs to know

A landing page has three jobs: clearly communicate what the product does, he who it is for, and why they should care. It does not matter if you have a visually appealing design or a stunning animation. If a visitor cannot understand what you are selling in five seconds because of a flashy design or an animation, your landing page has failed.

What the product does

Effective landing pages cut to the chase. They tell you exactly what the product is in a straightforward and simple language. As a visitor, you do not want to spend your time digging through the entire website to find out what exactly your product is. The information should be readily available.

Who it is for

A good landing page tells you exactly who the product is for. It targets a specific audience and describes what kind of problems the customers might have. It helps them relate to your product. The audience does not want to guess if the product could possibly be what they want.

Why it matters

Once the visitor knows what the product is and who it is for, the landing page should convey the benefits of the product. The landing page should clearly describe the reasons why the visitor should care about your product. It should explain why the visitor needs the product, to ensure they want to become a user or a customer.

The flexibility of the landing page

The landing page should be simple, clean, and to the point. It should be easily noticeable to the viewer. Avoid any animations that could be distracting. The purpose of the Landing Page should be clear. If visitors cannot grasp the problem your product is solving, they will move on. The landing page should be flexible and adapt to the desired customer. If your target audience is business owners, you might want a more corporate feel. If you are targeting young people, you might want a more casual look.

Perfecting the art of a perfect landing page

Focusing on the core elements of the landing page can help ensure that a product is shown in the right light. A visitor to a website only has a few seconds to assess whether a product is worth their time. The landing page should effectively convey the purpose and benefits of the product. What the product is, who it is for, and why the visitor should care. Visual aspects of the landing pages are not insignificant. They can help attract attention. However, remember that the ultimate purpose of the landing page is to show a product and make sure people understand what it is about. Because even the best designed landing page will not help if visitors do not understand what the product is about or why they should use it. Before spending valuable time and resources adding animations or 3D graphics, there is a one-word question to ask: do people understand what you're selling in five seconds? If the answer is no, no amount of animations or stunning graphics will help.