The 7 Must-Have Elements Of A Landing Page

Your landing page is the first point of contact for people visiting your website via your social media promo posts, email marketing, or PPC (pay-per-click) ads.

When done right, your landing page will be filled with engaging content that draws prospective customers further into your marketing funnel and convinces them to make a purchase or complete a desired goal.

In this article, we will explore the role of a landing page, how it differs from a website page and the essential elements of a landing page that converts.

The difference between landing pages and homepages is that a landing page is designed to persuade a site visitor to complete a specific action.
In contrast, a homepage is designed to showcase everything the website has to offer. 

Landing pages are usually used as another step in a digital marketing campaign promoting a specific product or offer. 

When the site visitor lands on the page, the sole purpose of that landing page is to get the prospective customer to click on the CTA (call to action) button.

For example, Blue Apron’s landing page is a standalone page without any menu or internal links that can divert the site visitor's attention from the landing page. It’s not content-heavy and focuses solely on getting the site visitor to sign up for a meal plan.

In contrast, Blue Apron’s homepage gives a complete overview of the company, and it includes promotional offers and above-the-fold internal links to help visitors navigate the rest of the website.

The Blue Apron homepage distracts the visitor with multiple product options and offers, and the deluge of information and choices can lead to lower conversion rates.

Now that we have covered the fundamental differences between landing pages and a home page, let’s explore the essential elements needed to optimize a landing page for conversions.

Many of your customers will access your landing page using their mobile devices, and the first thing they will see is the above-the-fold or hero section of your page.

You must be able to convey your USP (unique selling proposition) in that section of your page and convince them to keep scrolling.

The above-the-fold section includes multiple components that work together to persuade the site visitor to consider your offer. Elements like your logo, headline, supporting headline, hero image, and CTA button or form will be found in the hero section.

Parallel is an excellent example of what a well-designed hero section should look like.

A Compelling Headline

Your landing page headline must grab the visitor’s attention and communicate what your company has to offer using as few words as possible. You will also ideally insert keywords here for SEO purposes.

An Easily Digestible Supporting Message

The supporting headline follows the main headline, and its role is to further persuade the site visitor to take the desired step. It is usually written in a smaller font than the main headline.

Following on from their inspirational headline, Parallel's supporting headline gives clarity around exactly what their product offers.

A Hero Image

Your hero shot can be a high-quality image or video that helps the site visitor visualize your product or offer. It must make the customer empathize with the emotion and message you are trying to convey in your web copy. 

In the case of our Parallel example, a hero background image is used to try and connect with visitors on a personal level. 

CTA Button

The CTA is one of the most important elements in the hero section of your landing page, and all the other elements build towards it. Your landing page will have fulfilled its purpose once the site visitor clicks on it and completes the desired action.

For Parallel, their goal is to have you search for jobs on their site. Their CTA uses a high impact button colour to grab attention and remain on-brand.

Once you succeed in getting the site visitor to scroll past the hero section, you must drive your message home with the rest of your text. 

Your body copy must effectively describe the features and benefits of your product or offer in a clear and concise way.

Each sentence needs to convince the visitor that your product or service is exactly what they need and answer any questions they may have.

Outsourcing service provider SupportNinja's landing page is an excellent example of a well-planned page content layout.

Numbered list or features list

Your site visitors will find it easier to scan through bullet points and numbered lists than text-heavy content. A list forces you to break down your content into concise, simple benefits.

Supportninja's landing page includes a featured list with icons beneath the hero section. The list highlights some of the key features and benefits of their services.

Use subheadlines

Breaking down your landing page into sections using subheadlines is a great way to enhance the readability of your content and also helps visitors "scan" your page for the content that interests them.

The visuals on your page must work together with your web copy to tell a convincing story about your product or offer. 

The landing page copy will convey the details of the product or offer, while the icons and images will visually illustrate your pitch.

You can use icons, GIFs, photographs, and videos. They must be eye-catching and relevant to the surrounding text.

A good example is Bob Meijer’s landing page for his Google Ads marketing business, which uses icons, founder images, and background colors to achieve a compelling visual effect.

Business Founder Images

Using founder pictures on your landing page is a great way to build trust and make yourself more relatable. It’s all about personal branding, and it works best if you are a service provider and a solopreneur. 

Bob Meijer used his personal photo strategically throughout the landing page. There is one in the hero section just before endorsements from major companies he has worked for. There is another photo in the personal profile section where he pitches his qualifications and a final image in the “What people say about me” section.

Descriptive Icons

Icons help illustrate complex concepts in one graphic. The illustration reinforces the message of the surrounding text and makes it more engaging.

Bob Meijer used custom fonts in the services section of his landing page to help complement the text in each box.

You can use interactive elements like animations, videos, or quizzes to enhance your storytelling. 

It's all about creating an engaging landing page that provides a fun experience that can boost your chances of convincing the prospective customer to make a purchase. 

Interactive landing pages are perfect for complex products that may require a demo to help the site visitor better understand how the product can be used to solve problems in real-life scenarios.

Tesla’s Model 3 landing page is an excellent example of a highly interactive landing page.

User Experience

Your interactive elements must be appealing to your target audience. A customer base of tech-savvy teenagers and young adults will respond well to interactive animations, while an older audience may be more comfortable with quizzes.

Tesla’s Model 3 page promotes a luxury electric car to tech-savvy, young adult buyers, and the page is full of interactive animations and carousels.

Visual Storytelling

An interactive page is more about showing rather than telling. You will use your interactive elements together with videos and high-quality images to convey a compelling story. 

Tesla used images and animations extensively on its landing page. The visuals invite site visitors to explore the page and learn as much as they can about the product.

Recommendations from satisfied customers who have used your product or service can help convince skeptical buyers to also take the leap.

Testimonials are particularly important for new businesses or lesser-known brands because they must convince each prospective buyer of the value of their product or service, unlike big-name brands with established reputations. 

For example, Wondorium has a great landing page with a convincing customer testimonial section.

Recommendations From Real Customers

Your testimonials must come with real images of your customers. Stock photos won’t do if you want to convince prospective buyers.

Wondorium used names and photos to add credibility to its testimonials. Each testimonial is from someone knowledgeable and experienced in the niche, which adds greater validity to their recommendations.

Multiple Testimonials 

Get as many customer testimonials as you can to have a greater pool to pick from. New business owners without customers can give out their product or service for free to select influencers in their industry in exchange for a review.

Wondorium uses three testimonials on its page. Prospective buyers will go through as many reviews as possible, and we recommend using between three to five testimonials on your page.

The visitors to your website must be convinced that paying for your product is money well spent, and one of the best ways to sway them to your side is to show proof that big-name brands are happily using your product.

Endorsements from reputable institutions builds credibility and increases conversion. 

The logic is simple: if a major company with the resources to vet the quality of your product chooses it over other alternatives, then a prospective buyer will be more confident that what you are claiming in your marketing campaign is the truth. 

A good example is Polymer’s landing page, which showcases endorsements from 10 different happy customers.

Real, Paying Customers

Your endorsements should come from reputable brands using your product. You can also use endorsements from review sites recommending your product, but social proof from actual customers works better.

We checked out some of the brands highlighted on Polymer’s landing page and confirmed that many have standalone Career pages on their websites built using the Polymer job board platform.

Top of Page Positioning

The task becomes easier if you can convince the site visitor to scroll further and explore the rest of your landing page. Your endorsements can help build trust and convince visitors to check out your page.

Polymer’s endorsements are positioned just beneath the hero section. Each name and logo endorsement links directly to the endorser’s page to ensure site visitors can verify the endorsement.

You must add another CTA section to the end of your landing page to allow customers to take the desired action without having to scroll back to the top of your page.

If you are building a lead generation page, you should add your lead capture form in this section and your hero section, too, if you like. 

Long forms are unappealing, and we recommend using only a few form fields to avoid discouraging the customer.

A good example is Home Chef’s landing page, which uses a two-step opt-in form to hide the lengthy process required to complete a purchase on its website.

Two-Step Opt-in Form

A two-step form includes a CTA button and the form that pops up or opens on another page after the site visitor clicks the call to action button. 

It is a psychological trick that compels the person to complete the process since they have already taken the first step (clicking the CTA button).

Homechef uses a two-step form to hide its long form. The company's CTA button is in a box with lots of food images to help entice the site visitor to click on the button.

Few Form Fields Per Page

Homechef couldn’t lower the number of its form fields, so it broke down the process into multiple sections on different pages to make it less offputting for customers.
Each page uses stylish fonts, conversational copy, and stylish backgrounds to make the task feel less tedious for the buyer.

It should be clear from the examples why each element is important, and you will need to combine all of them effectively to create a high converting landing page.
Of course, sorting out the design and crafting conversion-optimized copy for each element of your landing page can get a bit overwhelming.

Luckily, OptimizePress makes things easy. The WordPress landing page builder has a library of pre-designed templates that have been fine tuned with design elements and top quality Web copy to help you meet your conversion goals.

All you need to do is add the finishing touches to a suitable template, and you will be ready to take your page live.

OptimizePress is the leading funnel builder and landing page builder that is affordable and designed for solopreneurs and founders who need to get their pages live fast.

The all-in-one platform for marketers using WordPress.  100% of this page was built with OptimizePress.

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