Here’s some good news: you don’t need to sound pushy or have a marketing degree to create a landing page that converts. You just need to understand how people think, feel, and make decisions online.
But first, what exactly is a landing page?
Think of it as a single-purpose, hyper-focused web page designed to guide someone to take one action. It’s the page someone “lands” on after clicking an ad, email link, or social post. Unlike a standard website page or homepage, which gives visitors lots of choices, a landing page focuses on one thing: turning visitors into leads or customers—whether that’s downloading a lead magnet, joining an email list or waitlist, or purchasing an offer.
Creating a landing page that converts doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you build the page around a human’s desire for trust, safety, and ease, helping them feel confident and comfortable taking action without ever feeling pushed or manipulated.
If you’re a small business owner creating your own landing page, these tips will help you design one that connects with people and gets them to say “yes” without feeling pushy.
First Impressions Count (A Lot)
A visitor’s first impression about you, should really be about how well you understand them. Once someone lands on your page, you have about 5 seconds to gain their trust by answering the main question that’s on their mind: How can this information help me?
A simple, clean layout and a clear benefit-driven headline above the fold will help your visitors understand what you offer and why it matters. The key is to focus the message on what your visitors want (solutions) and not on what you offer (features).
Here’s an example:
| ❌ Bad (Feature-Focused): “6-Week Business Coaching Program for Busy Leaders” | ✅ Good (Benefit-Driven): “Business Coaching that Fits into Your Schedule (and Actually Works)” |
👉 The difference:
- Bad headlines focus on the what (features, formats, or vague labels).
- Good headlines focus on the why—the transformation or outcome your audience actually cares about.
Pair this with simple, polished visuals and you’ll immediately start building trust and encourage your visitors to keep scrolling.
Lean Copy (Less Is More)
Studies show that too much content can hinder decision-making. Keep your message concise, deeply focus on the problem you solve and relevant to the pain your audience experiences. Give just enough information to answer the visitor’s questions and then guide them to the next step.
A solid approach is to aim for 7 short sections on your landing page:
- Header + Headline: One sentence that outlines the problem, solution, and outcome.
- Benefits Bar: List 3-5 outcome-focused list of benefits of your product or service.
- Pain Points: A short paragraph that calls out your visitors pain points, empathizes with them, and offers a way forward.
- Guide: A short bio that shares why you’re qualified to offer this solution, product, service.
- Plan: A 3-5 step plan that tells your visitors what to do next.
- Social Proof: Testimonials, videos, or case studies of others who have used your service or product.
- Call to Action: Tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do: Sign up, Book Now, Buy Now, etc.
Guide the Eye (Make It Easy to Read)
Here’s the truth: no one reads your page word for word. They skim.
They start top-left, then move down and right, following an “F” or “Z” scanning pattern. To support your visitor’s natural rhythm, break your content into bite-sized sections with bold headings, subheads, bullets, and short paragraphs.
The easier your page is to skim, the easier your message is to digest, and the more likely people will stick around long enough to click your call-to-action (CTA).
Tap Into Emotion (Not Just Logic)
People make decisions emotionally first and justify with logic second. To connect with your visitors emotionally, you first need to relate to their pain and demonstrate your ability to ease it. While you could just tell people how you do this, it’s better to show them. That’s where social proof comes in.
Testimonials, reviews, case studies, or even photos of real people using your product or sharing about your service make your offer feel relatable and safe.
Instead of saying “This program saves time,” show a happy client saying, “I went from spending 5 hours on paperwork to 30 minutes.”
As humans, we want to feel part of something. Showing people like them experiencing transformation, joy, or relief nudges them toward the action you want: conversion.
Emotion + proof = confidence.
Ask for Small Steps (Micro-Commitments)
Think of a landing page like asking someone out on a date: if you ask them for a big commitment—like marriage—up front, you’ll scare them off. So, first you get their phone number, then you ask them out. If it goes well and you’re both aligned, you continue to ask them for bigger and bigger commitments until they’re fully invested.
When you ask someone to fill out a form on your landing page, you’re asking them for a commitment, so keep it simple. A huge form asking for name, email, phone number, and birthday? Too much.
Instead, start with just an email. Or a first name and an email. This lowers resistance and lets people dip their toes in before they fully commit. Later, once they trust you, you can ask for more.
This “yes ladder” effect works because people like consistency. If they’ve said yes once, they’re more likely to do it again.
Limit Distractions (One Goal Per Page)
One of the biggest mistakes on DIY landing pages is too many options. Too many buttons. Too many links. Too many CTAs. It cues distraction and decision fatigue. Instead of taking any of the actions, they simply navigate away.
Your landing page should have one job: get someone to sign up, download, or book. That means no links anywhere else on your landing page other than your CTA. (And yes, that includes removing your website menu and footer from the page.)
Your visitors actually want to be told what to do next. A simple way to do that is to give them a 3-step plan that leads to your CTA.
For example:
- Sign up
- Read the Guide
- Transform Your Business
Keep your visitors focused on that one goal and watch decision paralysis vanish and conversions increase.
Add Urgency (Without Pressure)
Because humans are wired to avoid pain, scarcity and urgency are powerful psychological triggers that can push visitors to act, but they can sometimes feel salesy. The key is to use urgency to help people decide now, not to trick them.
Phrases like “Don’t miss out”, “Limited time”, or “last chance” can often come off gimmicky. But a simple (and truthful) “Enrollment closes Friday” or “Only 3 spots left” works when it’s genuine.
When you combine scarcity with real value and sincerity, you respect your visitor’s intelligence while giving them a gentle nudge. Fear of missing out then becomes motivation, not manipulation.
Bonus: Design for Mobile (So It Works Anywhere)
Over half of web traffic is mobile. If your landing page takes forever to load or looks clunky on a phone, people bounce. Choose a simple design that looks good and works flawlessly on both desktop and mobile.
Bringing It All Together
Clarity and focus go a long way in building a landing page that converts. If you build with these principles in mind, you’ll have something that doesn’t just look good, it actually works.
Because the goal isn’t just to get clicks. It’s connection. It’s building trust. And it’s guiding the right people to say yes in a way that feels natural, not forced.
And when that happens, your landing page isn’t just a page. It becomes a doorway into a lasting relationship with your audience.
If you’d like help building a landing page that converts, let’s chat about how we can design one that feels authentic, gets results, and stays true to your brand.
