In marketing speak, landing pages created for the specific purpose of driving conversions. For example:<\/p>\n
This is Wistia\u2019s home page. Notice how it follows the standard best practices of\u00a0minimalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, check out\u00a0Wistia\u2019s sign-up landing page<\/a>. It\u2019s similar in its dedication to minimalist design, but it\u2019s much more simplistic in terms of what it offers. There are very limited options available on this page: sign up or log in.<\/p>\n The assumption then is that visitors don\u2019t need to be informed at this point. That\u2019s what the rest of the website was for. If they\u2019ve reached your landing page, they\u2019re here for one reason and one reason only: to convert.<\/p>\n While landing pages will differ from business to business in terms of what they say, what they sell, and how they look, the technique developers use to create powerful, conversion-generating landing pages is always the same.<\/p>\n The following guide will lay out all the essential steps and pieces required for building a WordPress landing page that delivers.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s your goal in building a landing page for your WordPress website? Do you want to teach prospects about a game-changing technology solution? Do you want to offer selected visitors a once-in-a-lifetime deal on coaching services? Do you need to sell more spots to an exclusive webinar?<\/p>\n It\u2019s pertinent to have a clear goal in mind before starting \u2013 and to only<\/em> have one. If you have more than one goal, then you\u2019ll need multiple landing pages.<\/p>\n In terms of developing a landing page, there are three essential pieces you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n Take a look again at the landing page example from Wistia above or this one from Shopify:<\/p>\n While the copy, design, and (most likely) analytics pieces are all present, there really isn\u2019t a whole lot going on. And that\u2019s a key point to remember. In general, you want to keep the amount of work visitors have to do to convert at a minimum. Give them less to read, less to scroll through, less fields to fill out, and so on.<\/p>\n Less is always more when it comes to landing pages.<\/p>\n Every landing page has a source. It may be an email marketing campaign, a special offer link on social media, or maybe it\u2019s a redirect from a remarketing ad. Wherever the traffic originated from, it\u2019s important to maintain consistent messaging between the source and the landing page.<\/p>\n Every landing page needs a unique selling proposition (or USP). What will this page do for your visitors that they won\u2019t find anywhere else? Once you know your USP, weave it into the headline and grab your visitors\u2019 attention from the get-go.<\/p>\n While the words themselves matter, so too does the way you present them on the page. This is why landing pages make use of\u00a0eye-catching header text<\/a> to guide visitors easily through the page. Ultimately, each sub-headline (or other stylized text) should support the original USP and persuade visitors to make their way down to the CTA.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t stress this enough. Brevity is absolutely critical to your landing page\u2019s success. Use the copy to be as clear and specific as possible about what visitors will get out of the page. Define their pain and offer up a solution that will ease their worries, questions, or problems.<\/p>\n Barry Schwartz<\/a> said, \u201cAs the number of options increases, the costs, in time and effort, of gathering the information needed to make a good choice also increase. The level of certainty people have about their choice decreases. And the anticipation that they will regret their choice increases.\u201d<\/p>\n One landing page. One choice.<\/p>\n All the basic best practices you usually follow when creating a WordPress website (or new web page) still need to be abided by. Responsive design will ensure people can convert no matter which device they visit your landing page from. Minimalism will keep distractions away and the focus on the messaging. And page optimization<\/a> is important, especially if your goal is to convert.<\/p>\n Although a landing page usually doesn\u2019t show up within your site\u2019s navigation, it should still align with your website\u2019s look and branding. That doesn\u2019t mean it needs to 100% match the site\u2019s design, but there should be a clear correlation between the two.<\/p>\n Images aren\u2019t a necessity for landing pages (see Wistia example above) unless they are relevant to the page and will improve the user experience.<\/p>\n Color, on the other hand, is an absolute must for landing pages. If you\u2019re unsure of how to use color to optimize your landing page and improve conversions, check out this article on the psychology of color<\/a>. It explains basic color theory and how you can use colors to evoke the right emotional response from visitors.<\/p>\n Minimizing the number of options your visitors have doesn\u2019t just mean having one CTA. This also means that you may want to do away with the navigation altogether. This way, there will be one singular pathway leading visitors to convert. If you do want to include outbound links, keep them simple and non-competitive, like links for social sharing or a redirect to a related service\u2019s or product\u2019s landing page.<\/p>\n If you choose to remove the standard navigation from the landing page, consider including alternative methods of communication with your visitors. You can add a short FAQ to the bottom of the landing page to answer common questions about the service\/product\/offering. Or you can add a live chat<\/a> module as a way to stay in contact, just in case.<\/p>\n This is not the time to distract visitors.<\/p>\n Since a landing page\u2019s goal is to get visitors to convert, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to include some trust marks or social proof to give them extra assurance and peace of mind about making their decision. Trust marks include things like customer testimonials, partner logos, security badges, and case studies.<\/p>\n Studies have shown that landing pages that include video can increase conversion rates<\/a> by up to 80%. If you have a short explainer video, a customer testimonial caught on video, or something else that would more effectively capture leads than a whole lot of text, consider creating a video-centric landing page.<\/p>\n Every landing page needs a lead or conversion capture form. Here are a few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n Google Analytics<\/a> is the go-to analysis and performance-tracking tool for WordPress websites. If you haven\u2019t paid much attention to the Conversions module within this tool yet, now is the time to do so.<\/p>\n Within the Admin dashboard of Google Analytics, you can create different goals for your landing pages, including video clicks, time on page, form fills, and Thank You page arrivals. This will help you track the performance of the page and identify any possible missteps made in the copy or design that may be preventing visitors from converting.<\/p>\n Once you have an idea of how your WordPress landing page is performing, you\u2019ll want to dig a little deeper. Maybe there is too little text up top and visitors are confused about what to do. Maybe the imagery and colors aren\u2019t shocking enough. Use a heat mapping tool<\/a> to see if your landing page\u2019s design or copy is tripping visitors up where it shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n Google Analytics and heat maps will let you know what\u2019s happening with your landing page, even if you already have a sense for its success or failure based on the ensuing sales (or lack thereof). Regardless of how well or poorly your landing page performs, it\u2019s important to run A\/B tests on it. You never know. It could be going a whole lot better if you just tweaked the font size or shifted the CTA to a spot slightly higher on the page.<\/p>\n![\"Video](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/wistia-landing-page.jpg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/wistia-signup-page.jpg\")
What It Takes to Build a Great Landing Page<\/h2>\n
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![\"Super](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/shopify-landing-page.jpg\")
Crafting Copy That Sells<\/h2>\n
1. Remember the Source<\/h3>\n
2. Start with the Headline<\/h3>\n
3. Use Eye-Catching Copy<\/h3>\n
4. Be Brief<\/h3>\n
5. Create One<\/em> Call-to-Action<\/h3>\n
Developing Designs That Convert<\/h2>\n
6. Remember the Basics<\/h3>\n
7. Align with Your Branding<\/h3>\n
8. Use Images the Right Way<\/h3>\n
9. Apply Color Strategically<\/h3>\n
10. Customize the Navigation<\/h3>\n
11. Keep in Contact<\/h3>\n
12. Stay Away from Popups<\/h3>\n
13. Add Trust Marks<\/h3>\n
14. Use Video When Possible<\/h3>\n
15. Optimize the Form<\/h3>\n
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Analyzing Your Page for Better Results<\/h2>\n
16. Start with Google Analytics<\/h3>\n
17. Dig Deeper with Heatmaps<\/h3>\n
18. A\/B Test\u2026 Even If All Is Going Well<\/h3>\n