Why Your Landing Page Isn’t Converting (And How UX Fixes That)
Picture this: with a pop, zip, and a wow, your marketing campaign is now live; with your Google Analytics you spy visitors are landing on your page but… no one is converting, what gives?Maybe this has happened to you or are worried that this could happen to your new campaign on the horizon. Threat not, there are preventative solutions that can help resolve this issue.
The answer often lies in the quality of your landing page's UX design. This is where small adjustments can make all the difference in turning visitors into conversions.
Enter the UX designer (audience claps); a UX designer is a person who designs for the user's experience. Our job is to guide visitors on their customer journey, communicate the landing page's message, and get CTA (call to action) results; or in other words, min-max a landing page for maximum results.
We do this by studying existing UX patterns as best practice and then applying analytical tools to dig deeper into what can be made better, minimizing friction in your landing page and creating a smooth, seamless pipeline for your visitors to slide through and convert.
If you would like to read more on UX design, you can read this article:
UX Design: What It Is And Why Does It Matter?
No landing page is a one-size-fits-all; each business and its visitors are unique.
Focus and Clarity: Design for One Goal
A landing page is all about focus.
When visitors arrive, they should immediately understand the page's goal and know what they need to do next.
The goal is to optimise for one call to action (CTA). Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, booking a consultation, or making a purchase, your CTA needs to stand out. This means eliminating distractions and narrowing the focus of the page.
Common Goals for a Landing Page
- Convert potential customers
- Secure investor inquiries
- Book meetings with leads
- Sell a specific product
- Promote a new product
- Grow a subscriber list
- Capture data through forms
A dedicated landing page should have a 1:1 attention ratio: one CTA, one goal, and one outcome. If you can't decide on a goal, consider creating multiple landing pages to test different objectives.
Remove Off-Links
Eliminate any links that lead the user back to your main website. Navigation bars, unnecessary soft CTAs (e.g., "Email us if you have questions"), and other distractions should be avoided. Stay focused on that one action.
A Clear Call to Action
The Call to Action (CTA) is your page’s most important feature. A well-crafted CTA tells the visitor exactly what they need to do.
The biggest friction point for a user is them asking, “Can I trust this button?”, “Who or what’s on the other side of this button?” and “How much effort will I have to expend after clicking the button?”
With that in mind, your CTA needs to be clear, actionable, and concise with the next action.
Bad vs. Better CTA Examples:
Learn More = Explore Our Services
Book a Call = Schedule Your Free Consultation
Contact Us = Talk to Our Experts
Submit = Send Your Inquiry – We’ll Reply Fast
Subscribe = Get Weekly Design Tips in Your Inbox
Commitment cost
Really, the goal is to lower the expected commitment cost, and increase the value by presenting the context of the CTA. It’s easier to ask to borrow a pencil than a car. Asking for a new visitor who is just learning about you won't be ready to marry you at the drop of a hat, but they might be happy to go on that first date.
Forms: Keep It Simple
Less is more, and keep it simple.
If its for onboarding or signing up to a newsletter, forms should be as short as possible and designed to grab the minimal amount of information because the more steps a user has to take, the higher the chance of abandonment.
An Alex Hormozi rule of thumb is that to get someone to enter just their email address requires $20 USD worth of upfront value, which normally correlates with an ebook download. Regardless of what you are trying to sell/ get the user to do, you need to demonstrate that value, not just in the landing page, but in what you are offering. So, naturally, the more you ask from someone on the form, the higher that “upfront cost” goes up.
Additionally, to avoid unnecessary friction, don’t have the form redirect the user to new pages. Instead, embed them directly on the landing page.
Great Landing Pages Start with Great Media
A first impression can make or break a landing page. Users subconsciously look for patterns that signal trustworthiness. If your design resembles scammy websites, your page could be judged unfairly. A skilled designer can help ensure your page has trust signals; think clean design, real photos, user-friendly layout and most importantly, your brand elements. You can read more about trust signals here.
Video/Animation
Video is a fantastic medium for storytelling and showcasing products. It’s especially effective on landing pages because most people are too lazy to read, and it helps visitors quickly grasp the value of your offering. But remember, don’t employ dark UX patterns like auto-play videos or taking away the user’s ability to pause or skip. Let users control the experience.
Text: Design for Scannability
David Ogilvy, one of the greatest ad men, said, “Every word in the copy must count.” But it’s not just about the words themselves, it’s about designing the page for readability. Most users don’t read every word; they scan. So, your text must be easily digestible.
Best practices for copy layout:
- Aim for 50–75 characters per line
- Use short paragraphs (4–5 lines max)
- Use clear, scannable headlines
Readability: The Optimal Line Length
The length of your landing page depends on your offering. For a $5 product or free, keep it brief. For higher-value items (e.g., cars, expensive software), your landing page should offer more details to build trust and overcome objections. Still, it does not mean you should write a bible passage in each section. Link to an interesting article on the matter.
Social Proof
Trust is built when others vouch for your brand. Include testimonials, reviews, logo party, certifications, or case studies to reinforce your landing page’s credibility.
UX Copywriting Trick for Sticky Words
A great UX trick to get a copy to stick in people's brains is to write with concrete nouns because people have a physical world connection to really life items versus abstract nouns, which are vague and fluffy.
In the podcast How I Write, Harry Dry demonstrates this by throwing five words at the host, asking him to remember as many words as possible, resulting in each word remembered being a concrete noun.
Learn Copywriting in 76 Minutes | Harry Dry
Responsiveness: Mobile-Friendly is a Must
More people are browsing websites on mobile devices than ever before. If your landing page isn’t responsive, you’re likely losing customers. Test your landing pages on all devices to ensure a smooth experience. Also, if you have brought a templated landing page, test to see if it works on mobile, it would not be the first time encountering a half-baked templated landing page.
Conclusion
Building a landing page isn’t about throwing every feature into the mix. It’s about knowing your message, simplifying the user journey, and then optimizing every element to increase conversions.
