Landing Page Hot Tips

Firstly, a big thanks to you. Because of your investment in the book I can reinvest the earnings into making even better content. Next up for me is a series of Landing Page online courses.

Hot Tip #101 is to start from the beginning, again...

Hot Tip #100 is don't forget the why. Sure, your product/service looks great but why is this part of your life's journey?

Hot Tip #99 is to make it fast. Not only does Google favor fast websites but your visitors will be able to decipher your offering quicker.

Hot Tip #98 is to test new narratives for your offering. This is probably the most advanced Hot Tip in the series, but one worth doing if you have the traffic and budget.

Hot Tip #97 is to reinvest your profits into your Landing Page. Once your Landing Page is converting, and you're pleased with your solo optimization efforts, it's time for the specialists to step in

Hot Tip #96 is don't get too fancy. Parallax scrolling, scroll transitions, custom cursors, color switchers… While they all have their time and place, avoid dwelling on them when you are new to Landing Pages and not making sales.

Hot Tip #95 is to reuse your winning Landing Page templates. It's tempting to start a Landing Page from scratch for a new launch, but why not consider reusing an older template that worked well.

Hot Tip #94 is to consider parity pricing. Simply put, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) suggests a discounted price for people earning a weaker currency.

Hot Tip #93 is to emphasize the value. A “$79 Design Systems Course worth $249” doesn't offer much appeal, other than a monetary saving of $170.

Hot Tip #92 is to keep the tone of your copywriting positive. Position your offering as a confident solution, not a snarky competitor.

Hot Tip #91 is to bring it to life. Skeuomorphism is the design concept of making digital items resemble their tangible real-world counterpart.

Hot Tip #90 is to alternate section background colors. Consider a slightly darker or lighter background color for every alternate Landing Page section. This design tip will also help contain section content better as a visitor scrolls.

Hot Tip #89 is to focus on the benefits, not the features. As the proud owner of a product or service, it's natural to want to climb up the tallest building and let the world know how damn awesome the technical features are. Unfortunately, our Landing Page visitor isn't impressed by technical features, nor do they resonate with them.

Hot Tip #88 is to consider a lifetime pricing option for your SaaS service. If your running costs are very low and you have minimal support demands, consider a once-off pricing option for your subscription.

Hot Tip #87 is to focus on form UX. The importance of good form usability is overlooked in Landing Pages. Fancy layouts with too many required fields will drop conversions.

Hot Tip #86 is to include an explainer video. Well-thought-out explainer videos can help improve conversions for complex products or services.

Hot Tip #85 is to show them how it works. The first question most SaaS Landing Page visitors ask is “How much is it?”. This should always be answered with full transparency, no tricks.

Hot Tip #84 is to focus on people, not search engines. Organic search traffic to a Landing Page is brilliant, but Google is an unpredictable beast right now.

Hot Tip #83 is to strategically position testimonials. We've discussed curating testimonials to provide the most value to your Landing Page visitor.

Hot Tip #82 is to prove you are established. Years in the game with revenue/customer/operating stats thrown in is a powerful combo to reduce a sign-up risk decision.

Hot Tip #81 is to set a maximum width for your content. Hot Tip #19 referred to setting a max-width for your typography — but what about defining your Landing Page container width?

Hot Tip #80 is to wrap your screenshots in a device. A device mock-up, with a subtle drop shadow, can really bring your digital product to life.

Hot Tip #79 is to remove inactive social media accounts. Launching your Landing Page with social media icons linking to new profiles with low followers is perfectly fine. Linking to social accounts last updated 3 years ago gives the impression the product or service is either poorly supported or even abandoned.

Hot Tip #78 is to define a clear visual hierarchy. Step back from your Landing Page, squint your eyes, and take note of the content that appears most prominently.

Hot Tip #77 is to implement smooth scroll in your long-scrolling Landing Page. Clicking on a navigation pricing link and jumping to a Landing Page pricing section can feel like a fast page load to your visitor.

Hot Tip #76 is to soft launch with a discount. A soft launch involves moving your Landing Page from private server to live production without a grand public announcement.

Hot Tip #75 is to boost confidence with payment method logos. We've come a long way with online transaction confidence, but some demographics are more hesitant than others.

Hot Tip #74 is to steer clear of a header carousel. A Landing Page journey should always start with intro copy that the visitor identifies with.

Hot Tip #73 is to personalize the success message. The nerds call this Lead Nurturing but think of it more as a cherry on top. The same kind of sweet cherry when someone includes an (unexpected) handwritten note inside a packaged delivery.

Hot Tip #72 is to reassure your visitors during the checkout process. Nerves are high. Settle them with these small reminders, strategically positioned near the checkout form.

Hot Tip #71 is don't take shortcuts on website hosting. Cheap, shared hosting will end up costing a lot more (through downtime, hacks, sluggish speeds, slow support, and frustrated customers) in comparison to the “savings” you'd get from using a reputable host.

Hot Tip #70 is to integrate an in-page product demo. Traditionally Landing Pages demonstrate their products through screenshots, embedded videos, or link out to an online demo.

Hot Tip #69 is to make it accessible. Providing people with health conditions or impairments, the ability to read and navigate your Landing Page easily is the right thing to do. Here are five small tasks that can go a long way...

Hot Tip #68 is to add a hint to scroll. Sometimes, I see long-scrolling Landing Pages with spacious content above the fold, but no indication there is more information further down.

Hot Tip #67 is to seek for background images featuring “negative space”. Negative space refers to the area of an image surrounding the main subject or object.

Hot Tip #66 is to open non-essential links in a new tab. Open links to documentation, support, privacy, and demos in a new browser tab, keeping the primary Landing Page within a tab's reach.

Hot Tip #65 is to offer a demo down-sell. Phone calls aren't for everyone. If your Landing Page suggests “hopping on a call” to secure a high-end sale, offer an alternative info package download.

Hot Tip #64 is to delay your chatbot. If you feel your Landing Page benefits from one, only kick that bugger off once your visitor has scrolled to the pricing table, FAQs, or footer.

Hot Tip #63 is to add a radial burst behind your product imagery. With only a few additional lines of CSS code, you can add another dimension to your Landing Page design.

Hot Tip #62 is to include a support email address within your error messages. If your Landing Page payment integration offers message customization, include a support email address for when a problem persists.

Hot Tip #61 is to trim the fat. This can (and will) uncover scripts, font weights, and code snippets that add nothing but load time to your visitor's experience.

Hot Tip #60 is to liven with illustrations. Illustrated characters, devices, and elements can really bring a Landing Page to life.

Hot Tip #59 is to consider font smoothing. Simply put, adding the CSS font-smooth property to a font will trim it down very slightly.

Hot Tip #58 is to minimize the options. Do you really need 5 different pricing plans? 7 required fields in your enquiry form? 16 different product color choices?

Hot Tip #57 is to only A/B test high traffic pages. A/B testing (aka split-testing) with low data will lead to inconclusive and even misleading results.

Hot Tip #56 is to increase the contrast of your CTA button text. A common design mistake by beginners is keeping the global link color the same throughout Landing Page elements.

Hot Tip #55 is to align your marketing and Landing Page narratives. A Google Ad for freelance time-tracking software that takes you to a page offering time-tracking for teams is confusing

Hot Tip #54 is to consider dark mode. There is something remarkable about a Landing Page with a strong, dark color scheme.

Hot Tip #53 is to focus on solving copy first. Polishing the design of a badly worded Landing Page is counter-intuitive and a waste of time.

Hot Tip #52 is to add social proof. Think of social proof as herd mentality. We tend to follow bigger herds vs. smaller herds. We are influenced by higher ratings vs. lower ratings.