If you were browsing the web circa 1998, splash pages were everywhere. Flash-powered intros with dramatic music, spinning logos, and “Welcome to our website!” animations were a standard part of the design process. Those days are long gone, but they haven't vanished entirely. Brands still use splash pages for age verification, country and language selection, or simply to create a bold first impression.
Instead of starting with what actually motivates people to take action, many teams start with templates and hope for the best. They focus on making pages look professional rather than making them psychologically compelling, creating gorgeous pages that nobody actually converts on.
This guide explains how conversion-focused landing pages differ from other web pages and why it matters. You'll learn the psychology behind landing page design, see examples from high-converting brands, and discover how to build effective pages quickly without needing a design or development team.
How to create an effective landing page in 8 steps
Most teams approach landing page creation haphazardly, adding elements they think look good without understanding what actually drives conversions.
Instead, here's a systematic approach that works:
1. Pick one specific action you want visitors to take
Start with one question: What's the single most important thing I want someone to do on this page? Not “engage with my brand” or “explore our offerings.” Something concrete you can actually measure, like Book a demo, Start a free trial, or Download the guide.
Once you know what that is, make it the only focus of your landing page. Too much choice hurts conversions: pages with one call-to-action convert 12% better than pages with multiple CTAs.
Crayo, an AI video editing tool, shows what this looks like in practice. They're not trying to educate you about video editing or build brand awareness. Everything on their page pushes you toward one thing: creating your first video right now.
2. Understand what motivates each segment of your audience to act
Different audiences have different psychological triggers. Startup founders worry about ROI and implementation time, enterprise buyers focus on security and vendor reliability, and consumers want a product that makes their day-to-day life easier.
When your landing page tries to speak to all of these groups at once, it ends up with bland messaging that appeals to nobody. That's why the smartest companies build separate landing pages for separate audiences, each one speaking directly to that group's specific concerns. Dig into customer interviews, support emails, and sales calls to understand how people actually describe their problems, then use that exact language on your landing page.
Benny, an app that helps people access government benefits, has a separate landing page for each of its target audiences. Consumers get a benefits-focused pitch (“Get cash back on SNAP”) and an invitation to download the app. Brands see an attractive $100B+ market opportunity plus an offer to talk to the sales team. Merchants get an entirely different message showing them how easily the API integrates with their system.
3. Focus your headings and copy on benefits, not features
People make decisions based on what's in it for them. That sounds obvious, but many landing pages ignore this reality and end up with a headline like “Cross-platform cloud-based storage” instead of “Access your files from any device, anywhere.”
Apply this thinking to everything on your page. Instead of listing features, connect them to real outcomes. “Real-time notifications” becomes “Know the second something breaks.” “Automated backups” becomes “Never lose your work again.” Since landing pages are all about conversions, use language that’s likely to sway visitors rather than keywords designed for SEO impact.
Airbnb's host landing page gets this right. No mention of peer-to-peer marketplace technology, dynamic pricing algorithms, or other features. Just a calculator that shows you exactly how much money you could make by putting your home on Airbnb.
4. Choose tools and templates built for getting results
Did you notice we made it halfway through this list before talking about design? That's intentional. By the time you’re picking a template, you should already understand your audience’s motivations and have a solid grasp on the messaging that will connect with them. Most teams get this backwards: they pick a pretty template first, then try to force their message into it.
When you're ready to build, start with templates designed for your specific goal. Instead of a generic business landing page, look for a template that’s specific to your goal like SaaS free trial signups or conference registration so you can spend time on content instead of figuring out button placement and visual hierarchy. Swap out visuals and copy for brand consistency, but resist the urge to “improve” the structure of the template before you know if it works.
Framer makes this approach even more effective. Since it's a no-code builder created for designers, you can iterate fast and empower your marketing team to create their own landing pages. By using prebuilt Framer templates, you can skip the development process entirely and jump straight into crafting copy that works.
Essentia, a Framer template
5. Make it easy for visitors to convert
You can have the most compelling offer on the planet, but if people can't figure out how to say yes, they won't. This sounds obvious until you look at most landing pages, which seem designed to confuse people. Buttons like “Submit” or “Learn More” tell visitors nothing about what happens next. “Get My Free Quote” or “Start Your 30-Day Trial” removes the guesswork.
Forms make things more challenging by requiring actual work from visitors. More fields mean more form abandonment, particularly on mobile devices where typing is a pain. Stick to the essentials and ask for details like job title after they've already converted.
Musicfy keeps things simple with their “Get Started - It's Free” button. It's specific, removes the biggest objection right in the CTA, and even includes a music note emoji that feels warm rather than pushy. You know exactly what you're getting and why it's safe to click.
6. Use visuals that show your product in action
Most landing pages waste their visuals on generic stock photos of smiling people pointing at laptops or brainstorming around whiteboards. None of this helps visitors understand what you're actually selling. Instead, use images that counter objections or show results, like screenshots of your platform, demo videos, or before-and-after comparisons.
Every image needs to justify its place on the page. If it doesn't help someone decide whether to convert, it's just taking up space. Visuals that clarify your offer, demonstrate results, or build trust earn their spot, but generic images can actually hurt your efforts by wasting valuable attention without any return.
Lynq, an AI support agent for auto dealerships, avoids peppering their landing page with stock photos of happy car buyers. Instead, visitors see Lynq’s platform interface with a real conversation transcript, plus a play button so you can follow along with the AI interaction in real-time. You can see exactly what the product does, not an abstract representation of customer satisfaction.
7. Add social proof where visitors need reassurance most
Social proof isn't just about showing that other people like your product. It's about addressing the specific doubts that keep people from converting. If visitors worry about cost, show testimonials about ROI. If they question whether it actually works, show case studies with real numbers. Generic “five stars, great service!” reviews sound fake and don't tackle the real objections lurking in someone's mind when they're deciding whether to trust you with their money or time.
Timing matters as much as content. Client logos work well near the top of your page because they establish credibility before people invest time reading. Detailed testimonials belong near your call-to-action where people are actually deciding whether to take the plunge. If you have case studies, put them in the middle of your landing page to corroborate your product’s benefits.
Penny, a pension solution designed for women, gets the timing right by saving their detailed customer stories for the bottom of the page, right before the final CTA, so the social proof feels natural rather than forced. Earlier on, they show partner logos to build initial trust.
8. Simplify your mobile layouts to prioritize conversions
You already know mobile-friendly design matters. But mobile optimization for landing pages is even more important because of the impact it has on conversions. Rather than simply resizing a few elements and scaling down images, the mobile version of your landing page should eliminate anything that doesn't directly contribute to conversion.
Navigation menus should shrink into hamburger menus or disappear entirely to avoid distraction. Bulky media files and slow-loading animations can also hurt conversions on mobile. Remove nonessential visuals and text, keeping focus on the core elements that actually drive action: your headline, primary CTA, key benefits, and social proof.
Cartesia, an AI platform, includes a full menu on the desktop version of its website but shrinks it down to a hamburger menu and a single CTA for mobile. Since the “Start for Free” CTA is pinned to a sticky header, it’s always visible, always accessible, and impossible to ignore.
Build high-converting landing pages with Framer
Now that you know how to dig into audience psychology, write copy that actually motivates action, and avoid the design mistakes that hurt conversions, you’ve got the strategy portion of your landing page journey covered. Unfortunately, this is where many teams lose momentum. Even if you know exactly what you want your landing pages to do, actually designing them can turn into a months-long project involving developers and endless revisions.
Framer lets you skip the usual bottlenecks of waiting for developers or wrestling with limited page builders. You can start with templates built around the psychology you just learned, customize the copy and visuals for your audience, and publish in hours instead of months.
Ready to start building pages that actually convert? Explore Framer's landing page templates to see what's possible, then sign up for Framer to build your first one today.
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