What is a landing page?
A landing page is a marketing product and a conversion tool to turn your website visitors into prospects or customers.
The landing page is a separate web page that promotes an offer, product or service. It sends traffic to where you want your visitors to go, hence the term "landing". You guide them through a conversion tunnel specific to the world of your project or business.
Action: the primary objective
The objective of a landing page is to convert visitors by encouraging them to take an action. If there is one thing to keep in mind when designing a landing page, it is this notion. To do this, users must be invited to "do something", hence the concept of "call-to-action" used in the vocabulary of a landing page.
Actions depend on imagination. Do you want your visitors to solve a puzzle to get to your latest book? Good for you! It's possible.
However, it is imperative to know the most common actions used by companies for one reason: they work.
The first is to get a visitor to enter their email address so that they can sign up for a newsletter or have access to download content.
The second is to encourage the purchase of a product or the use of a service by making an irresistible offer through several levers presented in the next point.
Action against what?
What can you offer your visitors to get them to take the action you want them to take? How can you convert them? That's the question! There are many rewards and they depend on what you want to achieve with your landing page.
Do you want to collect email addresses for the launch of your flagship product? Offer early availability.
You already have a product on the market and you want to boost your sales? Give away a promotional code in exchange for your visitors' email addresses.
You are a consultant and want to get new prospects? Offer your visitors a free white paper or e-book in exchange for their contact details.
Do you write a newsletter with valuable tips on a specific topic? Encourage your visitors to sign up for it and get access to it.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that the reward offered in exchange for an action must be attractive to your visitors, and that the simplest solutions are often the most effective... 😉
Looking for inspiration? Take a look at what already exists. Companies and freelancers are competing with each other to convert their visitors into prospects or customers.
Examples of effective landing pages
There are many examples of effective landing pages on the internet. Let's take a look at three from companies we all know.
Uber
Uber concisely states the benefit to be gained by drivers who register on their platform: generating revenue and having access to the "largest" network of active passengers, thus potential customers.
Here, the call to action is to click on a button to get to a registration form. This action is encouraged by an enticing headline in bold as we arrive at the Uber website. Once the Uber company's commitments are presented, a "Sign up to be a driver" button is again offered.
Spotify
In the headline, Spotify directly highlights the 1 month free offer to its Spotify Premium service. The text that follows outlines its benefits, noting in the subtitle that a user is free to cancel at any time; a sense of freedom that customers increasingly appreciate.
The visitor is presented withtwo actions: either click on the "Start" button and start the 1-month free trial offer or press the "See subscriptions" button to discover the different packages in more detail in a comparison table. Each column has a "Start" call-to-action button to make the action within reach and to encourage the visitor.
Vinted
The title of Vinted's landing page raises a problem that the visitor may encounter and to which the company will be able to provide an answer: helping to sort out the cupboards. This is the "problem → solution" principle that can be found in almost any business.
The call to action button positioned afterwards suggests that in a quick and easy way, a user can upload and sell their clothes on Vinted.
Finally, a photograph shows a young woman happily tidying up her dressing room to make it easier for visitors to identify herself.
Now that you know the principle and functioning of a landing page, illustrated by 3 convincing examples, you probably want to know how to build one in practice and with which solution(s). Let's try to identify the means available to create an effective landing page with WordPress.
The structure of a winning landing page
First of all, it is important to look at the structure of a landing page to get a clearer idea of its design.
Its creation will depend on your objectives, your offer, product or service. Keep in mind that the structure of the elements to be included, which we will look at point by point, is an example among many others. We will omit any menus and footers to concentrate on the essentials.
Title
A landing page should start with a title that conveys a simple and concise message. The promise of an offer or the benefit of a product or service should be displayed.
This title can be accompanied by a subtitle to provide a short explanation.
The call-to-action
The call to action takes the form ofa form or a button.
The form can be one or more fields to enter personal information for the purpose of registration: account creation, newsletter, etc.
The button can redirect the visitor to a service or product page, to a detailed presentation, or to an external site.
To be effective and engaging, this call to action must be placed in such a way that it is seen as soon as a user arrives on a landing page.
The award
The reward is what a visitor gains by taking action. This reward can take the form of a free trial offer, a discount on the purchase of a product, an e-book or white paper to download.
This benefit should be placed so that it is visible at the top of the landing page. Therefore, favour the space between the title and the call to action.
The illustration
If a product or service is promoted via a landing page, it is important to illustrate it.
A photograph in the background, an image of your final product or a mock-up of the service under development will give your visitors a visual representation of its benefit.
The detailed description
A visitor can be redirected to a detailed description by a call-to-action button at the top of the page.
The purpose of this description is toprovide your potential prospects and customerswith details about your project, product or service.
This section is usually located after the first block "title - reward - call to action - illustration". It is recommended to place a few calls to action in this section depending on its size; at least two: in the middle and at the end.
Additional tip: Acknowledgements
A thank you is always appreciated!
These thanks can take the form of a dedicated page to which your prospects or newly acquired customers will be redirected after their action, a pop-up message or an email.
Now that you've learned about the elements of designing an effective landing page, it's time to take a look at the different options available to you with WordPress.
Designing a landing page with WordPress
Creating a landing page with WordPress has never been easier. There are three ways to design a landing page: with a plugin, with a template, or with a page builder. Let's try to present them with some implementation solutions.
Creating a landing page with a WordPress plugin
Every problem has its solution plugin!
There are many plugins to help you design a WordPress landing page easily. Their advantage is that they make your work easier with optimised landing page templates , and offer advanced features: sales tunnels, A/B testing, sales pages, etc.
In the WordPress catalogue, we find OptimizePress or Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Landing Pages by SeedProd.
OptimizePress
OptimizePress is a premium (and therefore paying) plugin that has the advantage of offering tools for creating landing pages, sales pages or launch funnels.
So, for a cost of $99, this plugin offers multiple advanced features to build an unlimited number of pages.
However, for advanced design, including the use of A/B testing, the price tag is a little higher: $199.
Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Landing Pages by SeedProd
A real Swiss army knife and freemium alternative, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Landing Pages is the plugin designed for beginners.
Thanks to its drag-and-drop system and its numerous modules, you will have no trouble creating a whole range of effective landing pages.
For $39, you will get access to the pro version including more than 100 ready-to-use landing page templates, integration of services like MailChimp, AWeber or ActiveCampaign, spam protection, or new modules called "blocks".
Creating a landing page with a WordPress theme
The other option for creating a landing page with WordPress is to use a theme with a landing page template.
Designed to convert, these ready-to-use themes allow you to quickly create a landing page. However, be careful: your entire site will be based on the chosen theme. If you change it, you'll have to do it all over again!
Moreover, if you want to personalise your landing page a little more, you'll have to get your nose into the computer code... Technical knowledge required!
LeadInjection
The theme LeadInjection theme is a premium theme specialised in the creation of landing pages.
For a one-time fee of $39, LeadInjection offers the ability to create any type of conversion page based on pre-designed templates for various themes: consulting, start-ups, online training, etc.
Astra
Astra is a multi-purpose freemium theme for designing WordPress websites. With over one million active installations, Astra is the most popular WordPress theme.
Simple and flexible, its integrated customisation tool makes it the most customisable theme for creating any website.
In addition, Astra offers a multitude of pre-designed templates, including landing pages that can be modified according to your wishes.
Its $49 pro version gives access to premium templates, new customization elements, and plugin integration WooCommerce to create an online shop.
Creating a landing page with a page builder
The third way to design a landing page with WordPress is with the page builder.
A page builder is a WordPress plugin whose purpose is to create all types of pages, from the simplest to the most complex, without being dependent on a theme and without having to code.
So, with a drag and drop system, you can create your landing page from scratch while keeping control of its design.
However, not all page builders offer the elements you want to appear on your landing page. So find out more before you choose your page builder.
Elementor
Known as the gold standard for WordPress page builders, Elementor is a freemium plugin that can be used at no extra cost.
Its intuitive drag-and-drop module system allows you to customise any element of a landing page, including the design.
For a cost of $49 per year, its pro version unlocks access to additional modules and premium templates.
Divi
Like Elementor, Divi is a page builder from Elegant Themes for creating any type of content with a drag and drop system.
Divi's template library includes many landing page templates that you can customise to your liking. In addition, the Divi ecosystem has the advantage that you can get additional themes and templates from the Divi marketplace for a few dollars.
To purchase Divi, it will cost you $89 per year. For a lifetime license, the bill will be $249.
Use your WordPress agency
There are many different methods of creating a performance landing page that converts visitors into leads or customers, and they all have their advantages and disadvantages.
Of course, in order to design a high-converting landing page, you will need to test and retest different formats and methods to arrive at a winning recipe.
So, if you don't have the time or skills to create an effective landing page, our ingenious marketing, communication and web development experts will do it for you.
Creating and convincing are two different things. Entrusting your landing page project to our agency INGENIUS means choosing a sustainable solution with real impact on your visitors.
Did you know about the landing page? What did you think of it?
