how to design a great landing page

Landing Page Design

July 2013

Wednesday, July 17, 13

Co-founders of Designlab, the Codecademy for design.

We teach design principles to people to help them create web and mobile products.

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You can do a ton of legwork in getting visitors to your site: generating word of mouth, buying Adwords, creating the next viral Twitter campaign, etc.

A landing page is your chance to make a great first impression.

But without a landing page that informs and excites users - your work is pointless.


Similarly, a good landing page couples clear, compelling content with easy-to-understand design.

Any great product combines design and content in a meaningful way.

Your content and design should allow the user to understand what your product does clearly, at first glance.

Honor the key principle for your users: “Don’t make me think!”


Content


A great landing page typically has the following 4 elements:

Anatomy of a landing page

1. Headlines + primary copy (what is this?)2. Support copy - product highlights (why should I care?)3. Call-to-action (how can I use this?)4. Social proof (who else is using this?)


• On average, you have eight seconds to grab a user’s attention

• Use a headline that’s clear, to-the-point, and catchy

• Don’t be vague or keep the user guessing about what your product actually offers

• Get users excited about what your website does without being over-the-top - sell your product’s biggest benefit and use your discretion

Headline


• Provide details about your product that answer the question “what will this product do for me?”

• Use either 3-5 bullets, OR a short description paragraph

• Simplify, simplify, simplify - be as concise as possible while selling your product’s benefits

• Seriously, simplify

Product Benefits

Your headline got the user interested in reading more - now what?


• Give the user one clear action they can do on the page - sign up, leave their email, download, etc. Usually a verb.

• More than one objective confuses the user and reduces conversion rate - don’t do it.

• The call-to-action is usually a button/form that stands out from the rest of the page and is obvious - we’ll talk about how to use color, placement, proximity, etc.

Call-to-action

Okay, I’m interested - what do I do now?


• User testimonials, especially when you can use photos. People trust faces!

• Press badges - e.g. “As seen on TechCrunch”

• Social media badges - e.g. “4000 people like us on Facebook”

Social Proof

Some users will still be on the fence - indicators of your product’s credibility really help here. Some examples:

The goal is to build trust and credibility with your product - reduce the user’s anxiety about interacting with a new, unknown web site.


Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.

— Charles Eames


Layout


CONTRAST


Contrast creates interest. It is defined as "the juxtaposition of dissimilar elements" — the state of being strikingly different from something else.

Visually, contrast helps us see, recognize, and distinguish forms and objects.

Contrast


• Size

• Shape

• Color• Texture

• Orientation

• Position

Types of Contrast


• Creates visual interest

• Distinguishes one element from another, allowing for easy recognition

Effective Use of Contrast

Beginner tip: make your use of contrast obvious


HIERARCHY


The arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another.

The “levels” are the order in which elements are presented to the user and usually related to levelof importance.

Hierarchy


• Creates a sense of order

• Eases viewers into the composition and leads them around

• Communicates with clarity

Effective Hierarchy


SPACE


Elements which are near to each other—in close proximity—are grouped together.

Use of space is key to controlling the proximity of elements.

• Related items should be grouped together.• Vice versa, items that are not related should not be

placed together.

Proximity


You may have heard designers say, give that some breathing room—they’re asking for white space.

White space is the empty space surrounding an element (it is not necessarily white).

Allotting more space to elements creates contrast between the element and the space surrounding it.

Space: White Space


Source: http://oykun.com/journal/white-space/


• Creates a sense of order

• Helps with scanning

• Reduces cognitive load

Effective Use of Space


Typography


Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible.

It is arguably the most important aspect in web design…

Typography


Serif vs. Sans-Serif

• Viewed as modern

• Commonly used for headings

• Most popular system font: Helvetica & Arial

• Viewed as traditional• Serifs increase legibility• Most popular system

font: Times New Roman & Georgia


IMPACT

COOPER

ROSEWOOD

Avenir

Rockwell

Baskerville

Type Personality

Typefaces (or fonts) can convey a sense of personality.


• Use them for headings, where they will create the greatest impact.

• Consider the personality of your site or app and choose accordingly.

• Using more than one or two font families can produce a ransom-note effect and should be avoided.

• When in doubt, go for legibility.

Quick Tips for “Unique” Fonts


Visual Design | @denykhoung


• Utilize headingsHelps “skimmers” get some info.

• Watch your line-lengthsBetween 10-12 words per line is best. Long line lengths make it difficult to find the start of the next line.

• Set your line-height (distance between lines)For body text, 150% of the font size is good.

• Never use black textSet it to gray, ie. #333333. Black is too jarring.

Quick Tips for Body Text



Color


Color is subjective• Differs by personal taste

• Differs by personal experiences

• Differs by culture

Color is powerful• Evokes emotions & reactions

• Allows for instant visual recognition

Color


Meanings: Cool vs. Warm

Warm ColorsEnergizing

Passionate

Positive

Cool ColorsCalming

Relaxing

Serene


Meanings & Associations

BlueSky

Sea

Depth

Stability

Trust

Masculine

Tranquil

GreenNature

Growth

Fertility

Freshness

Healing

Safety

Money

VioletRoyalty

Power

Nobility

Wealth

Ambition

Dignified

Mysterious

RedIntense

Fire

Energy

War

Danger

Love

Passion

OrangeWarm

Stimulating

Enthusiasm

Happiness

Autumn

Creative

Success

YellowSunshine

Joy

Intellect

Energy

Attention

Bright

Friendly

Black: Mysterious, Elegant, Evil

White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue

Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality


Color Branding


Color Selection• Match your color choice to the associations you want for

your product

• Consider your audience and your competition

• Flexibility (yellow is hard to work with)

Color Use• Think contrast (especially in regards to the CTA)

• Indicate functionality• Use sparingly with neutrals

Quick Tips on Color


Showcase


Questions?

http://trydesignlab.com?register/invite_code=landing




http://trydesignlab.com/register?invite_code=landing

http://trydesignlab.com/register?invite_code=landing