How to Create an Eye-Catching Landing Page

When your potential customer sees your landing page after clicking on an ad, the last thing you want is to have them leave at the first sight of your, well, site. Creating a successful landing page that is also visually pleasing doesn't have to be difficult. Achieve better results by creating a positive experience for your visitors with effective landing pages.

Layout Design

Your headline should be the first thing to catch people’s eyes. Quicksprout suggests creating a headline that is concise and clear. Think of it as your elevator pitch. The Evernote homepage has a great example of an effective headline that tells the viewer exactly what the product can be used for.

Want to remember everything? Use Evernote. Notice, too, how the headline, brand and sign-up button are all the same green shade. Creating continuity in your design will strengthen brand and product awareness.

A Silverpop study found single-column landing pages have a higher conversion rate. Create a minimalist design for your landing pages and keep all information in one column. You’ll create a more streamlined, to-the-point experience for your readers.

The landing page for Attending (a free event planning tool) also follows the one-column template many other sites are opting for. Choosing a single-column design will also cater to visitors on a smaller screen.

Typography and Color

Using the wrong typography can cost you conversions. Choose a font that matches your brand and the rest of your website. Consider your font size as well; according to Kissmetrics, the ideal length for copy readability is 39 characters.

Most important of all, the font you choose needs to be browser-friendly. Arial, Arial Black, Courier New, Georgia, Lucinda Console, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Trebuchet and Verdana are all safe choices.

You might be tempted to get creative with color, but simple is always better for landing pages. Blues, grays and whites are great color options. The one area you should use a bolder color (yellow, orange or red) are in buttons that are a call to action.

Take into consideration the emotion you want to evoke in your visitor and use the appropriate shade in moderation. For instance, blue creates a sense of trust and security (often used by banks) and pink is seen as romantic and feminine (usually used to market to a female audience).

Integrating Multimedia

Humans are visual creatures. Use this fact to your advantage by including an image or video on your landing page. It’s typically easier to show your audience what you’re selling than to explain it with words. Remember, landing pages should catch your visitor’s attention within 8 seconds.

Depending on your product or service it might be more appropriate to place a video on your page. You can use high quality Shutterstock footage to add an engaging element to your site without having to record the footage yourself. Kissmetrics states that adding a video can motivate shoppers to look further into your product.

Landing Page Optimization

LPO or Landing Page Optimization is the act of creating a landing page that has a high chance of converting visitors into customers. You can achieve this by balancing the amount of content you include; visitors are scanners not readers, so use bullet points when possible and show what you can through images and other visuals.

Keep all calls to action and product information above the fold, the area that appears on the screen before scrolling. The Netflix landing pageaccomplishes this by keeping everything in direct view of the visitor.

Finally, go easy on the links. Kissmetrics suggests only creating links for your call to action and for more information. If there is room after you've included all the necessary components on your landing page, consider including customer testimonials, awards or well-known, respected companies you currently serve.

Anything that puts your brand and product in a positive light will certainly help you land that sale.