Good landing page design gets one kind of visitor to take one action. It does that by repeating the promise that brought them there, making the offer clear on the first screen, asking for as little as possible, showing real proof and loading fast. Anything else on the page either supports that action or competes with it.
A landing page is a single web page built around one goal for one audience, usually reached from an ad, an email or a search result.
How is a landing page different from a homepage?
A homepage introduces a whole business to everyone, while a landing page answers one visitor’s one question. That changes almost every landing page design decision: fewer routes, tighter copy, one main button.
Google Ads describes landing page experience as an estimate of “how relevant and useful your website’s landing page will be to people who click your ad.” It adds that pages with higher ratings “are usually well organized and have text that relates to a person’s search terms” [Google Ads Help, 2026]. That rating belongs to paid ads, but the test suits any page reached with a specific question in mind.
The guide to how to write website copy covers a whole site; a landing page applies that discipline to one offer. Its look still counts: see website design and credibility.
What makes a good landing page design?
A good one does a single job, and every element serves it. Run any draft through a six-point check:
- One goal: can you name the single action in one sentence?
- Message match: does the headline repeat the promise in the link or ad?
- First screen: can a stranger tell what this is and what to do without scrolling?
- Form: would removing any field stop you from doing the work?
- Proof: is every claim backed by something real that a visitor can check?
- Speed: does it load quickly on a phone on mobile data?
The first check is the one most often skipped, and the research supports caution rather than a hard rule. A 2015 meta-analysis of 99 observations found that choice overload depends on conditions: harder decisions, more complex options, less certain preferences and a wish to minimize effort all make it stronger [Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2015]. Those conditions resemble a stranger seeing your page for the first time, though the studies did not test landing pages.
What is message match on a landing page?
Message match means the headline repeats the promise of the link or ad that brought the visitor there. It tells them they arrived in the right place.
Raluca Budiu of the Nielsen Norman Group explains why this matters. People deciding what to click choose the links with the highest “information scent,” a mix of cues from the label, its context and their prior experience [Nielsen Norman Group, 2020]. The link sets an expectation, and the page has to pay it off. If an ad promises “wedding flowers for small venues,” a page opening with “Welcome to our studio” breaks that promise.
The same logic applies to the button. NN/g advises teams to “avoid a generic call-to-action” and state what users should expect [Nielsen Norman Group, 2017]. Campaigns with different promises need different versions, one reason branding shapes digital marketing performance.
What should go above the fold on a landing page?
Put the offer, who it is for and the main button on the first screen. In NN/g’s 2018 eye-tracking study of page-viewing time [Nielsen Norman Group, 2018], the split looked like this:
- First screenful: 57% of viewing time
- Second screenful: 17% of viewing time
- Everything below that: the remaining 26%
The article’s advice is direct: “Keep major CTAs above the fold.” It also says “people will scroll if they have a reason to do it,” so a long page works when the first screen earns the scroll. These figures cover web pages in general.
A working first screen holds a headline stating the offer, one sentence on who it is for, a specific button and one image of the real product, place or result. Design it on a phone first, since a phone screen holds far less than a laptop.
How many form fields should a landing page have?
Ask for only what the next step needs. For many enquiries, that means a name, an email address and one question. NN/g’s form guidance is blunt: “Every time you cut a field or question from a form, you increase its conversion rate” [Nielsen Norman Group, 2016]. Its three tests for any field: can the information be derived another way, collected later or simply omitted?
The largest public data on field counts comes from checkout research, not enquiry forms. Baymard’s 2024 benchmark put the average checkout at 11.3 form fields and found most sites need only 8 [Baymard Institute, 2024]. Its researcher Edward Scott puts it this way:
“What really matters to the overall UX of checkout is the number of form fields users must consider.”
Edward Scott, Baymard Institute, in Checkout Optimization: 5 Ways to Minimize Form Fields in Checkout (June 2024).
Treat that as a direction, not a benchmark: an enquiry form is a smaller task than a checkout.
What proof should a landing page show?
Show proof a visitor can check: named testimonials, specific case studies, real photos and figures you can back up. Place the strongest item close to the button or form.
NN/g warns that the main risk of social proof is seeming unpopular: one test participant was unimpressed by an article with about 1,000 shares [Nielsen Norman Group, 2014]. So a small follower count is better left off the page. The article suggests A/B testing reviews and testimonials rather than assuming they help.
Proof also has to be genuine. The US Federal Trade Commission’s 2024 rule prohibits the sale or purchase of fake reviews and testimonials, covers AI-generated fakes and lets the agency seek civil penalties against knowing violators [US Federal Trade Commission, 2024]. Ask real customers for permission and use their words.
How fast should a landing page load?
Aim for Google’s “good” Core Web Vitals: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less. Measure them at the 75th percentile of page loads, on mobile and desktop separately [web.dev, 2024].
Speed is a landing page design decision as much as a developer’s task, since images and widgets are chosen at the design stage. In one A/B test, Vodafone’s optimized landing page had a 31% better LCP with no functional or visual differences, and it produced 8% more sales, a 15% better lead-to-visit rate and an 11% better cart-to-visit rate [web.dev, 2021]. That is one company’s result, not a forecast. If an old site is the real obstacle, see these signs a website looks outdated.
How Sabrina helps with landing pages
I handle both the design and the build on my web design projects. I define your goals, your audience and the journey that turns visitors into clients, then design on-brand layouts focused on clarity, hierarchy and conversion across every screen size.
Sites are mobile-first, accessible and fast by default. I design every state of a page, including forms, errors and empty states, and build it to be edited without the design drifting. On Two Dudes Seafood, for example, a fixed Call Us / Order Online bar on mobile keeps the next step one tap away.
Ongoing search work is a separate SEO service. If the brand needs attention first, I can refresh the brand identity before the site. Landing pages are not listed as their own package, so tell me what you are planning and we can talk it through. See my case studies or read more about me.
Frequently asked questions
Should a landing page have a navigation menu?
It depends on where the traffic comes from. A visitor who clicked a paid ad has already shown what they want, so extra routes mostly compete with the main button. A stripped-back header with a logo and one link is a sensible starting point. A page that also serves organic search or returning customers may need more, because those visitors often want context first. Keep legal and contact links reachable either way. If unsure, test both versions and compare enquiries.
How many landing pages does a small business need?
One for each distinct offer and audience you actively promote, and no more. A business with one service and one kind of customer may need a single page. A business running separate campaigns for two services needs two, because each ad promises something different. Avoid cloning a page for every town with only the place name swapped, since those copies add little for visitors. Write something specific for each version, or keep one stronger page. Start with your highest-value offer.
Can a landing page rank on Google?
Yes, if it can be indexed and is useful to someone searching. A page built only for ad clicks is usually short, with little to rank for, and it may be excluded from search on purpose. A page meant to earn organic traffic needs more depth: the questions buyers ask, plain explanations and links from related pages on the site. Decide which job the page has before designing it. Either way the content has to stand up on its own, which is why SEO fails without good content and branding.
Start with the one action
Good landing page design starts before any layout exists. Write down the one action the page is for and the exact promise that brings people to it, then run the draft through the six-point check and remove whatever fails. To talk through a landing page or a wider site, get in touch.
Sources
- Google Ads Help (2026). Landing page experience: Definition.
- US Federal Trade Commission (2024). Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials.
- web.dev (2024). Web Vitals.
- web.dev (2021). Vodafone: A 31% improvement in LCP increased sales by 8%.
- Chernev, Böckenholt and Goodman, Journal of Consumer Psychology (2015). When Product Assortment Leads to Choice Overload: A Conceptual Review and Meta-Analysis.
- Baymard Institute (2024). Checkout Optimization: 5 Ways to Minimize Form Fields in Checkout.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2020). Information Scent: How Users Decide Where to Go Next.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2018). Scrolling and Attention.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2017). “Get Started” Stops Users.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2016). Website Forms Usability: Top 10 Recommendations.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2014). Social Proof in the User Experience.