How to Create an eCommerce Landing Page That Sells

Imagine your target customer sitting on a couch and scrolling through their social media. Between a couple of friends’ posts and pages they follow, she sees the ad about a sale on your eCommerce site. The user clicks on the ad and is directed to an internal page on your site where they can see all the information about the discounted item.

This is called a landing page and it has to be created by you on your eCommerce site especially for that sale and for that ad.

By definition, landing pages have one simple goal – to convert. Businesses create landing pages because they want their website visitors to do something specific. You can create a landing page about almost anything, you just need to have a clear goal in mind.

In the eCommerce context, a landing page is usually created for a special campaign. It can be a promotion, a sale, a special deal, the launch of a new product, a new collection, a free trial, etc.

There is one important detail you should keep in mind. No matter what your landing page’s purpose is, it should be dedicated to only one offer and it should target one specific audience.

Do you know the rules to creating landing pages? No? Keep reading and hopefully, by the end of the article, you will have a better understanding of what a landing page is and how to create one that sells.

Landing Page vs. Homepage: Do You Know the Difference?

It is a common mistake that your site’s homepage can be used as a landing page for every campaign. However, before we continue with the best practices on how to design a landing page that sells, let’s clarify why this idea is wrong.

First of all, both pages have completely different communication functions.

The homepage is the default page of your site where you place general information about your company and its products. It also contains your brand’s main message.

Secondly, the purpose of the homepage is to present the content of the site as a whole and to invite guests to browse through it and get to know your brand. On your homepage, you can place multiple offers, call to action buttons and links.

However, the landing page is created for a certain campaign, for a limited time. Users “land” on it after clicking on an ad. The landing page complements or mirrors the ad and its message.

The main feature of the landing page is that it has a simple design, no navigation and one call to action button. The purpose of the landing page is to sell a specific product to a specific target audience.

What’s Your eCommerce Landing Page Purpose?

Before you design a landing page you should decide on what its purpose will be. Keep in mind that a landing page always has one call to action or one goal.

To illustrate how the purpose works, let’s use the example of the sneakers sale. When users click on an ad about a promotion, they get directed to the landing page dedicated to this campaign, where they should see only information and the call to action button devoted to this promotion.

Here are more actions that your eCommerce landing page might offer to its visitors:

• Inform about a sale or discount on particular products.
• Ask your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter where they will be informed about future promotions or sales.
• Download an eBook, product catalog or product guide.
• Offer a coupon or discount on first purchase.
• Give a free trial or show a product demo.
• A personalized offer based on previous searches or behavior on the website.

How to Create an eCommerce Landing Page That Converts? Best Practices

There is no magic formula on how to create the best ever landing page that will convert each person who visits your website into a customer. However, there are a few essential elements that have been tried and tested.

Include One Offer Only

You shouldn’t distract users with several different offers and action options. You can’t have several call to action buttons like “Subscribe to a newsletter”, “Download this free eBook”, “Buy now”, “Read more”, etc. Having so many different options on a landing page after promising something in the ad is confusing and will distract your customers.

As a matter of fact, having multiple offers on your landing page can decrease conversions by up to 266%. That’s why your eCommerce landing page should be dedicated to one single offer.

Source: WooCommerce

Check the example by WooCommerce. It’s impossible to get lost on their landing page because it’s clear they offer an eCommerce platform where you can build an online store.

Notice they’ve included statistical data about millions of downloads and the percentage of all online stores, which confirms that it’s the most popular eCommerce platform. And there are only two call to action buttons encouraging you to get started with WooCommerce.

Spread Your Call to Action Buttons Through the Page

The call to action button is the most important component of your landing page. This is where you need to drive your customer’s attention. It should be clear and it should contain persuasive words.

Focus on one action only but do not limit it to one button. Don’t be afraid to spread your call to action buttons though the page. Just make sure they are visible, clickable and positioned where your customers will click.

Source: FabFitFun

• Related article: The Best Call to Action Button Examples

Make a First Good Impression With Your Eye-Catching Headline

The headline is the first impression a user has when they land on your page. This is where you place your offer and inform your customers of how you can provide a solution to their problem.

The headline should be clear and engaging. It should grab your customers’ attention and be straight to the point.

Source: Mailchimp

Your Subheads Should Impress Website Visitors and Make Them Act

Let’s examine Mailchimp’s example. “Bring your vision to life” is the headline. It’s attractive, but if you read it without the subheading and without any context, you wouldn’t know what the product is, right?

Here comes the subheading’s mission which is to back the headline. It provides information in a persuasive way so your visitors stay on your website.

From the above example, you are informed that the offer is dedicated to women-owned small businesses. They can try out Mailchimp’s software to grow their business through email marketing.

Use High-Quality Photos Aligning With Your Headlines Copy

This may seem quite obvious, but still worth mentioning. You need to use nice and high-quality images for your landing page that fit the whole campaign and back the headlines copy.

You can also experiment with videos as they can improve your landing page conversions by 86%.

Source: Adobe

Include How You Are Going to Resolve Customer’s Pains

Remember your buyer persona’s pains and include the solution to it in your copy. Especially when you write up your call to action buttons. Buttons like “Buy now”, without explaining the benefits your customers are going to get, won’t convert. Your missing is to explain clearly why your customers need to choose your products.

• Related article: How to Write eCommerce Product Description: Best Practices

Simple Design Without Any Distractions Is a Must

Remember your landing page’s mission is to make your customers follow specific actions through the buyer’s journey. You won’t make them convert if you have distractions on your page, because they won’t understand what they should do.

To avoid a possible high bounce rate you need to remove all the unnecessary information such as social media buttons, different offers, unrelated pictures or videos, links, etc. Maintain a clear offer with its headline, subheads, call to action button and attractive image.

The design of your landing page should be as simple as possible. You should even get rid of any extra navigation. Check the below example.

Source: Spotify
Spotify’s landing page about the plans they offer is pretty simple. It has a nice photo that corresponds with the band and the offer. The call to action button is visible and the headlines explain what’s in for the users if they purchase the plan.

Source: Spotify
Notice that both plans have simple descriptions. Their features are listed with bullet points which makes them easier to read.

Build Trust Displaying Your Testimonials and Adding Social Proof

Adding testimonials from happy customers is another element that will help you to increase your conversion rate. According to Searchengineland, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Source: CAUSEBOX

Also if your product has been featured in famous brands, don’t think twice and brag about it by displaying their logos.

Source: Watch Gang

Create Urgency by Adding a Specific Time Left for Your Offer

Users see a tempting offer, but they often need time to think about it. Unfortunately while this happens the offer may be gone. To minimize this, add a period of time showing how long the offer is valid.

There are many ways to do this. You can display the days left or add a countdown timer. Also, you can use time-sensitive words like “Now”, “Tomorrow”, “Limited offer”, or say that you have a discount on selected products. The rule is if something is time-sensitive or limited in quantity you should highlight it because this can push your customers to act quickly.

Source: Asos

Offer Discount, Promotion or Coupon

Let’s face it, people love when something is free or at a discounted price.
A discount on the first order will help customers who are still unsure to try out your online store.

Source: Winc

Give Your Customers a Personalized Experience

If it’s possible to provide your customers with a personalized experience, do it. People are impressed by offers specially made for them and for their needs.

In the example below, makeup brand Ipsy creates a unique experience for its customers. When you click on their call to action button you’ll need to answer a couple of questions about your skin type and your product preferences. Then Ipsy will offer you a personalized beauty box subscription. How wonderful is that?

This landing page is a great example, because it combines all the tips we’ve listed in the article. It’s beautiful, simple, without navigation and contains all the information you need. Plus it contains one of the most magical words in the world of the online sales “Free shipping”.

Source: Ipsy

A/B Test Your Landing Page

According to Neil Patel, A/B split testing is the best method for improving conversions. Create at least two versions of your landing page and test which one performs better. You will be surprised how even the smallest details can affect traffic. This way you will know what you need to improve on for your next campaign.

If you don’t know how to A/B test your website check out this definitive guide where you will learn how to perform A/B testing with WordPress.

Wrapping up

Creating a high converting landing page is the key to generating more sales. It’s not an easy job, because you need to consider a number of things. However in this article we’ve outlined the most important aspects of landing pages.

According to HubSpot companies get 55% more leads when they increase their number of landing pages from 10 to 15. Do you want to be one of those companies? Start creating landing pages for your campaigns.

And don’t forget the rule of one offer per landing page.