If you own a business of any kind, whether you are selling goods or services, you need a strong online presence if you hope to stay alive in today’s competitive digital world. So how can you make sure your landing page is the best that it can be? There are countless articles and blogs and even books written on what you need to do, so we wanted to focus on something a little different- the five biggest mistakes you will want to avoid if you want a strong landing page for your business website:
Too Many Images
A picture is worth a thousand words it is true. And when you are selling products online you need photos to show what it is you are selling and why your customers need them. However, you do not want to go overboard with too many images. A lot of images on a single page can make it look cluttered and it can also make the page slow to load and respond. Also, the more images you have the more chance there is for display issues to occur for visitors using phones and tablets to view your site. Use enough to get your message across and make sure they are the best photos you have- 3 great photos are better than 10 photos that are just ok.
Too Much Text
Another common mistake businesses make when they first design their websites and create a landing page is they try to fit too much information on the page and it ends up packed with text. They feel they have to include all the information they want to present on the same page. You want to have enough text and information to entice your visitors to keep reading and to explore other pages of your website. Putting long blocks of text on a page totally kills the readability and will often make visitors close the page without even attempting to read it. So be smart with the text you use on your landing page, break it up, and find a good layout that works!
Ineffective Layout
They way your layout your landing page can have an impact on how people react to your brand and whether they become new customers or just another passing visitor. You will want to make sure any landing page has a good layout so it is easy to read and navigate. Break the text into smaller paragraphs that are easy to read. Use white space to help dirt the reader to important information. Add photos to enhance the text you are providing. Headers and bullet lists are a must so people can skim for the key points if they are in a rush. Taking the time to make sure all the components of the page work together rather than against each other will make your site strong.
Poor Colors and Fonts
Anyone who visited websites in the early 2000’s when the first rush of ‘make your own website’ platforms came about knows how terrible some colors and fonts look on the computer. Bright green font on a black background is murder on the eyes and so is white font on a black background. Fancy scripted fonts are hard to read as are fonts that are written in caps or in any sort of ‘abnormal’ style. When you are designing a landing page for your website, keep it simple. Use basic fonts and colors and don’t try to be fancy or cool or hip with your colors and text. Sell your site by the content not by how flashy it looks- you will be much more successful!
Weak Information
The final mistake you are going to have to avoid making when building your landing page is knowing when to keep going and when to stop. Information is good and you want to convey all the important details and information to your visitors and customers. However, you have to make sure that everything you are giving them is vital and applicable to your page. Fluff content will turn people off and cause them to go elsewhere to get what they need. You do not want your customers reading an entire page of text for the information they could have gotten in just a paragraph or two. So be smart and remember strong applicable content is essential!
A landing page is often the first page new customers will see for your business. If done correctly, it will lead them deeper into your site and hopefully, end with a sale and a new customer. If done incorrectly, it will be the last page your visitors see and it will be the last you see of a potential new customer. So learn from these mistakes that others have made and make your landing page the best that it can be!