E-Commerce landing pages should be like front doors… friendly, easily accessible and an inviting for the customer to enter. That’s exactly how you want your store visitors to perceive your landing pages. You are selling products and/or services on your e-Commerce site, and you need to have a landing pages that invite shoppers in to take a look. We have some tips that you can consider as you build your own front door to make it as friendly and inviting as possible…. and of course successful.

Once the visitor clicks on your well-placed ad or search result, he enters your landing page, your front door. His eyes go immediately to the area above the fold and to the upper left hand side of their screen. Put information there that you want your visitors to see first and be convinced to investigate further. Write headlines and titles that pop. Don’t add fluff and garbage words; make sure the visitor knows exactly what you are about. Your message should be clear to the shopper, and it should define the value of your products or services. Remember that pictures always speak louder (and frequently more effectively) than words, but that studies have shown visitors overall will start with text above the fold. Neglect nothing, your store is your 24/7 sales associate.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Content on your pages needs to be organized so it’s easily followed and navigated. Columns help visitors browse your pages, and they help search engines identify who you are. However, research suggests a single column produces more conversions than multiple columns on a page. Take a look at the composition of your page and minimize columns if at all possible. Keep your copy very easy to read and understand. If your visitor has to wade through a forest of language that is difficult to follow, you will lose him. White space is also your friend. Pages that are overly busy provide very poor navigation and site flow, along with overwhelming your visitor as well.

You will also lose your visitor if you require a sequence of clicks on too many pages to make a purchase. If I’m shopping at an online store trying to purchase an item and find the checkout process lengthy or otherwise frustrating, I’m likely to leave and go somewhere else… Face it, click and gone is very easy. There are too many options in the world of commerce to have to put up with being challenged when trying to make a purchase as well. Try to make buying your product or service as fast and simple as possible; preferably, one click from the landing page should get the customer to the page to complete a purchase. No eCommerce site is likely to reach 100% CTR (Click Thru Rate). But your CTR will increase if you make the process simple…. Increasing the number of click thrus clearly increases the conversion percentage as well, by reducing checkout abandonment and bounce rate.

Finally, it’s very important to remember you are promoting your brand. Some of the tips and ideas you gather will need to be individualized for your particular store. You won’t want a page full of energy if you determine a less forceful approach is desirable. Likewise, don’t create a calm and pastoral page if you want an edgy feel. Your brand needs to be compatible with the tone and aesthetics of your pages; each needs to complement the other for maximum appeal for shoppers.

If you always keep the “front door” concept in mind as you create your landing pages and continually improve your store, your chances for shoppers to become customers will improve.