Perhaps one of the biggest factors in developing a successful landing page is the target audience. A storeowner must have the best information possible on their potential shoppers. Things like their age/sex, social status, and income are three of an endless list of descriptions of a target demographic. From a design standpoint, a landing page must intrigue the audience. A site selling luxurious men's watches would likely have a more serious, simpler undertone than a site selling action figures. Colors, layout, and font choices must be given the proper attention in order to gain a comfortable, secure reaction from the audience.
Think about it in terms of a traditional brick & mortar store. If a person walked into a candy store with blank white walls and nothing of visual interest anywhere, how would that affect the person's desire to continue shopping? Or enter the store at all? Wouldn't you expect a candy store to be colorful and inviting?
In relation to a landing page's effect on the customer, the landing page treatment must also make sense in terms of the product offering. To get a little more specific, let's say a customer has clicked on a top-level category for "Men's Watches." The subsequent landing page treatment needs support and should make sense to the product it is promoting. If a customer can't make sense of the site's offering of "Men's Watches" based on the landing page treatment, the probability of a conversion will likely reduce.
Efficiency is another important factor. The landing page treatment must promote products effectively, without overdoing it. For instance, many large graphics on one page will likely only confuse the customer. A page with nothing but small thumbnails that link to an item page probably won't spike their interest either. A landing page can be visually appealing, yet maintain the constancy and usability required to keep the customer clicking-through. We have found that varying the size of the graphics on the landing page will create the most visually appealing experience by promoting a hierarchy of importance.
A successful landing page treatment can also make a store appear bigger. Think about major franchises and their online stores; they all have some sort of landing page treatment. For a smaller store, landing page treatments can increase the overall trust of the customer. If a store looks professional, maintained, and fresh, a customer is going to take that store more seriously. Much more so than a store with minimal graphics, or an amateurish look.
Landing page treatments are a positive step toward increasing conversions. A well-designed, thought-out landing page can go a long way in gaining the customer's trust and adding to the overall aesthetic of the site. Landing pages are a very important part of the store as a whole, and deserve a fair amount of attention if store-owners want their probability of conversion to be high. A great landing page treatment is a significant step in making a store the best it can be!
Want to learn more about how great landing pages can benefit your store? Contact us at 1.888.429.4803 to speak with one of our design consultants. We'd love to lend a hand!
