What should a landing page include: in order

A landing page is read as a sequence: what is this, is it for me, can I trust it, what does it cost, what do I do now, and what if I am not sure. Many pages answer the last two first, with a big button and a footer full of links, and skip the first. A stranger who cannot answer the first question never reaches the button. The missing part sits just before the question the visitor is asking.

• The first screen says what the product is in one line a stranger could repeat, and who it is for.
• A proof point sits near the headline, not at the bottom after the feature list.
• The price, or a starting point, appears before the main button, or the page says why it is hidden.
• A short note above the button answers the doubt a new visitor has about effort or cancelling.

The first question is what this is, and it has to be answered in the headline and the line under it, before any picture is read. Name the product and the kind of buyer in plain words: a booking tool for bakeries that take pickup orders, not an all-in-one platform for growing businesses. A stranger who cannot repeat the sentence to a friend has not understood it. Put the buyer's own phrase for the problem in the headline, such as pickup orders, since that is the phrase they type and the one they recognize. A picture of the real booking screen beside that line answers the second question, is it for me, by showing what is on it.

The third question is whether they can trust you. Proof works when it is specific to a buyer like this one: a bakery that stopped taking phone orders, a result stated plainly enough to check, or a named feature that solves the problem in the headline. A logo strip of unnamed companies answers nothing. Place the proof near the headline rather than under a long feature list, because a visitor who is still asking what the thing is will not scroll to the bottom to find it.

The fourth question is the cost. Show a price or a starting point before the main button, with the size of team or order it covers. If you cannot show a price, say why in one line and say what the visitor gets next, such as a call that covers their menu. A visitor who has to fill in a form to learn the cost may decide, without telling you, that the effort is not worth it.

The fifth question is what to do now, and the button answers it only when its label names the step. Start a free trial tells a stranger what happens next. Get started does not. Right above that button, answer the doubt most likely to stop them, which depends on the product: how long setup takes, whether they can cancel, or whether a card is needed to begin. For a bakery, that is one line saying setup is a menu and a pickup window, and that nothing is charged during the trial.

Use one main action on the page. A second button with a different promise, such as book a demo, pulls the visitor between two actions before they know what the product does. Put the second route in a line further down, for buyers who want a person first, so the visitor can choose without guessing. Two buttons at the top ask for the choice before the visitor understands either one.

Landing page testing

Some elements answer no question at all. A menu of pages the visitor did not come for sends them away before they reach the button. A video that starts playing with no caption makes them wait for a picture they cannot read. A pop-up that asks for an email before the first scroll interrupts the first question while it is still open. Remove what does not answer one of the questions above, or move it below the button, where the visitor who wants it will look.

Campaign pages change every few weeks, and each new headline or hero image can move the price, the proof or the button out of the first screen. Rerun the same visitors after each change, on a preview address, and check that the order of questions still holds. The step where a visitor stops tells you which question went missing.