There’s nothing worse than pouring hours (and budget) into a landing page—only to watch it flop with sky-high bounce rates and minimal conversions.

I’ve been there. It stings.

Your landing page is more than just a placeholder on the internet. It’s your handshake, your pitch, and your first impression all rolled into one.

If it’s confusing, cluttered, or unclear, you’re not just losing clicks. You’re losing trust.

After testing and tweaking countless pages, I’ve learned what works (and what sends people running).

This article breaks down the landing page best practices that have helped me turn dead pages into conversion engines.

Let’s get into it.

Why Trust Me?

With five years of experience working with SaaS brands like Buffer, Mailmodo, Videowise, and Supademo, I have developed skills to optimize pages for higher conversion. I distill my learnings in this post.

When I’m running a campaign, I always ask myself one thing: What’s the one specific job of this page?

Not two, not three. One.

If your landing page tries to do everything, it ends up doing nothing (except confuse the reader).

Most people will give your landing page about 8 seconds, maybe less. That’s all the time you have to tell them what you do, why they should care, and what action to take. So, if your page fails to do so, visitors will bounce.

What I’ve found over time is that the best-performing landing pages act like a helpful guide. They immediately answer questions in visitors’ minds like:

Your landing page is a conversion element. So, it must persuade the visitor and make them say: "Yup, this is exactly what I was looking for."

The landing page headline is the first element visitors see. Often, the only one if it doesn’t resonate with them.

That’s why I spend a significant amount of my time drafting a persuasive, clear, and benefit-first statement. The headline should clearly explain the outcome that the visitor can expect. Not what the product is, but what it does for them.

For example, I once swapped out a headline from

“The Fastest Email Builder for Creators”

to

“Start Your Newsletter in 5 Minutes.”

The second version drove a 30% increase in conversion. It was more specific and showed value upfront through a clear time frame.

A good example of a clear headline is from The Milk Road’s newsletter signup page. It directly addresses the audience of crypto enthusiasts who want to learn more about smart crypto investing.

I’ve seen long-winded copies dilute the message. The more effort it takes readers to understand your offer, the less they are going to stick around.

What’s worked for me is writing at a middle school level—clear, purposeful, and easy to skim. In fact, landing pages written at a 5th to 7th-grade reading level convert at an 11.1% - 56% higher rate than at a higher grade level.

Here’s an example of how I rewrote the copy for one of my consultation clients.

Before: Schedule a personalized discovery session to explore potential growth opportunities for your brand and determine if our consulting services align with your strategic needs.

After: Book a free 30-minute discovery call to see how we can help you grow your brand.

The rewrite was more human and less corporate. And it resulted in a 10% jump in the booking rate.

This practice may seem counterintuitive, but it works.

When I land on a page with a navigation bar, it’s easy to get distracted from the page I am on.

Remember, your landing page has only one job—to persuade visitors to take action.

That’s why I always strip away the navigation bars or external links to keep readers focused and prevent them from wandering off.

Some landing pages benefit from multiple CTAs, like linking to a product tour, FAQ, or a demo for visitors who aren’t ready to commit. But even then, I always define one primary action that drives the page’s main goal.

That primary CTA is the focal point. I give it visual weight: high-contrast color, direct copy, and above-the-fold placement. It’s the button I want people to notice first and click most.

The rest of the CTAs act as secondary, driving visitors to take the primary action. They’re there for curious visitors, not to compete for attention.

This CTA hierarchy avoids confusion. It gives people options without splitting their focus and keeps the path to conversion clean and intuitive.

I ensure there’s a compelling CTA above the fold to persuade readers to take action without scrolling. High-intent visitors often don’t need more than that to take action. 

And data backs it up. CTAs above the fold convert over 3x better than those placed at the bottom.

That said, many visitors want more information before committing. For them, I place follow-up CTAs at natural intervals, like after the benefits section or right below a testimonial block. These placements serve as soft nudges towards conversions for less decisive visitors.

One of the best examples of this is Jay Acunzo’s newsletter landing page. He uses two buttons—one above the fold (Subscribe Free) and another at the bottom of the page (Sign Up). But both drive the same action: subscribe to the newsletter.

That’s the key. While there is more than one CTA, both lead to the primary action.

Every landing page I build includes visuals such as images, videos, GIFs, and interactive tutorials. These visuals do more than add to the page's aesthetics. They reinforce the message, reduce uncertainty, and guide the visitor toward the desired action.

The type of visuals I use depends on the page’s purpose.

For a SaaS product, I lean on annotated screenshots, GIFs, or videos that show the interface in action. For a course or ebook launch, I use hero images with testimonials layered in to build credibility.

One thing I avoid is generic stock images. They often create a disconnect between the visual and the actual offer. Erica Schneider, a full-stack solopreneur, does this beautifully. Instead of adding generic images, she shows the preview of her MP3 Content Engine system on the landing page.

I make sure the landing page feels like an extension of the traffic source to offer a consistent user experience.

For example, when I run a campaign on LinkedIn, I use a clear, professional tone with copy that highlights credibility, ROI, and business outcomes. That audience is usually mid-funnel and decision-focused, so the messaging needs to reflect that intent.

With paid ads, I lean into clarity and speed. Visitors from paid channels tend to skim and bounce quickly if the message isn’t direct. So, I use shorter sentences, bold benefits up front, and a strong visual that mirrors the ad creative.

The better the landing page aligns with the language, tone, and promise of the source, the lower the bounce rate and the higher the conversion rate.

Long opt-in forms that ask for too much information can kill conversions.

I’ve seen countless forms lose potential sign-ups simply by adding unnecessary questions, such as company size, phone number, or budget.

Whenever I build a lead capture form, I tie the form's length to the page's intent. If it's a newsletter signup, I ask for just an email. If it's an early access waitlist, I might include one optional field, such as "What’s your biggest challenge right now?"

To decide if a question belongs in the form, think about if the information will be of any use to you. Remember, every field you add is another decision for the user to make, aka friction.

You can get everything else right, and your landing page might still fall flat. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Your words can convey a great deal, but the impact that fellow readers or customers can have on a visitor’s mind is unmatched.

That’s why I have made it a non-negotiable rule to add authentic social proof. Testimonials, subscriber counts, media mentions, or brand logos are some of the proof I add, particularly above the fold.

I love how Devin Reed showcases words from industry leaders (along with their profiles and pictures) on his newsletter landing page to build credibility among its subscribers.

A slow landing page is a surefire way to lead your efforts down the drain.

Even the best headline will fail if visitors aren’t there before it loads, right? 

So, I follow a simple (but tested) rule: my landing pages should load in under three seconds, regardless of the device.

I’ve been on both sides of the fence.

As a visitor, if a page takes more than a second or two to load, I’m outta there. That instinct helped shape my approach as a marketer. I’ve also read enough UX and SEO research to know this isn’t just a personal bias; it’s a known conversion killer.

When I first started, I used to overload pages with autoplay videos, heavy images, and third-party scripts. Now, I default to compressed images, minimal animations, and lightweight fonts.

I treat every landing page like a live experiment. Headlines, button copy, images, and CTA placement aren’t set in stone. They are all testable variables.

Instead of guessing, I build page variants and let data guide the decision. Just by changing the CTA from a generic phrase to an action verb, the signup rate increased by 14%.

I use Unbounce to run these tests, but the ideas often start with Hotjar or Google Analytics. Heatmaps and scroll data show me where users get stuck, which helps me come up with practical hypotheses. Then it's a test, learn, repeat.

Early on, I designed landing pages for desktops. They looked great on my screen. But analytics tools told a different story. Despite high impressions, clicks were low.

When I dug into Google Analytics and Hotjar, the gap became obvious: 60% of my visitors came from mobile devices, and the heatmap revealed that the pages weren’t optimized for them. CTA buttons were hard to tap, the text looked cramped, and the images didn’t render properly.

Since then, I’ve flipped my workflow.

Every landing page design starts with the mobile version. I check that buttons are thumb-friendly, layouts are responsive, and no one has to pinch-zoom or scroll sideways to engage.

Mobile-first design is critical because 83% of visits come via mobile devices.

Here’s how Techpresso’s responsive landing page looks as accessible on mobile as it does on desktop.

I regularly use tools like Hotjar and Google Analytics to see where users drop off, what they’re clicking, and how far they scroll. The insights help me come up with A/B testing hypotheses, make design improvements, and rewrite copy.

Without the right tools, building and testing landing pages feels like dragging a boulder uphill.

Here’s how I use the following tools to make the process easier and faster.

beehiiv is my go-to for building fast, responsive landing pages, especially when I’m working with creators or small businesses. What sets beehiiv apart is how flawlessly it combines landing pages with email list growth and earning.

In one workflow, I can create a page to promote a digital product, start collecting emails, and trigger an automated email sequence to engage or convert subscribers. It’s built with modern creators in mind.

Here’s what I rely on most:

It’s more than just a page builder. It’s a growth engine for audience-based businesses.

I use Unbounce when I need full control over landing page elements, especially when I’m adding things like sticky bars, pop-ups, countdown timers, or multi-step forms.

What really keeps me coming back is its built-in A/B and multivariate testing. I can clone a page, tweak headlines, button copy, layout, or imagery, and let Unbounce automatically serve both versions to determine which one works best.

Carrd is my go-to when I need a clean, mobile-friendly landing page in under an hour. I’ve used it to build landing pages for ebook promos, coaching session bookings, and simple “link in bio” pages.

The templates are modern and flexible, but what I love most is how lightweight the builder is. No learning curve, just a fast way to get a page live with custom forms and embed options with responsive design baked in.

Hotjar is the tool I rely on to understand visitors' interactions. The heatmaps show exactly where people are clicking, scrolling, or dropping off. That insight helps me troubleshoot weak spots, such as when users miss the CTA, get stuck at a section, or overlook key testimonials.

I also use Hotjar’s comparison feature to analyze interaction across devices. It’s especially helpful to see how mobile and desktop visitors interact with the same page, which helps me tweak spacing, font size, and CTA placement.

Google Analytics is the golden chip in my toolkit, showing me engagement over time, traffic sources, and leads generated. It keeps me informed at every step and provides me with valuable insights into what’s working and what needs improvement.

After working on dozens of landing pages, I’ve learned that small missteps can lead to major drop-offs.

Here are the most common landing page mistakes I see:

High-converting landing pages aren’t about being clever. They’re about being clear. Define one objective, build everything around it, and remove anything that gets in the way.

If you’re not sure where to start, use a landing page template. It removes the guesswork and gives you a fast and structured way to launch.

Your landing page doesn’t need to be perfect on day one. What matters is publishing, learning, and improving. That’s why I use beehiiv.

beehiiv’s no-code landing page builder is extremely user-friendly, highly customizable, and built for creators. I can launch pages quickly, run small A/B tests, and keep refining based on what actually works. Check it out today!