In your career, you've probably seen some ready-made sales page templates. And it's true that they are not bad... For 'ready-made'. But then, what's the point of hiring a webdesigner to design a sales page? Rest assured, there are many reasons why you should entrust this task to a professional.

This is what we will see in this article.

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What do you think might be holding companies back from hiring a web designer for their sales page?

It is too expensive

The result is (almost) the same as for the free ready-made templates

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Contents

Define your client's objective

Identify your client's target

Learn about sales page standards

1. Hero
2. Services
3. Section : How it works
4. Social Evidence
5. Form
6. Team
7. Service / product price
8. FAQ
9. Resources
10. Footer

Other useful tips

Conclusion

Video

He defines his client's objective

If you already have some experience in web design, you will know that all clients are different. And if you haven't seen this yet, I assure you that it will come! They have different visions, ways of thinking... and most of all, their objectives are not the same. While some want to enhance their image, others are focused on increasing their sales. Still others want to grow their community...

In any case, I have seen that in general, the objectives revolve around :

• Take care of an image
• Fostering a commitment
• Conversion of prospects into customers

Depending on your client's objective, you will design the sales page differently.

He defines his client's target

If your client wants to make a sales page, it's not for him. It's mostly for his customers. But who are they? Do you know them well enough? Have you taken the time to learn about them? If not, now is the time to do it.

For each type of audience, you will also need to use different methods. To help you do this, I suggest that you go beyond general information about the target audience. Get into the details: what are their customer's "pain points", their needs and the situation they are in?

For more information, here's a lead you can follow:

• Demographic data (country of origin, age, marital status, occupation, etc.).
• Keywords (in terms of natural referencing of the site, data on the keywords often used by the target audience helps a lot: what queries do they use the most, what will they never use...).
• The interest of the target (which brand already attracts them? which one do they dislike? etc.). This way, you can take inspiration from brands that have attracted their attention, without copying them stupidly)

The more you know about them, the better you will understand them. Then you'll know what kind of design would work best for them (performance, practicality and appeal).

He knows the standards of the sales page

I'm talking about the elements that absolutely must appear on a sales page. Only a professional webdesigner can know them. In this paragraph, I'm going to tell you about 10 elements. If you think you know others, don't hesitate to comment on them!

The fact that I list these 10 elements does not mean that on any sales page, it is mandatory to put them at the same time or in this order. Depending on where you are going to put it (home page, among others), you choose the elements.

1. Hero

I think I've said it more than once in my blog posts: visitors only spend a short time on your website for their first visit (between 10 and 20 seconds, at most). The first thing they see should therefore be attractive enough to hold their attention. This first thing, on a sales page, is none other than the hero.

That's why this hero must transmit a clear message (what does your customer do, what makes him different, what advantages to get by using his services or buying his products, how to subscribe to his offer...). But what good is this message if it is not warm? Indeed, a good communication with the target audience is necessary! It will help you to establish a relationship of trust, and thus, incite to scroll down the page to know more.

Airbnb's Hero is a great example! It is simple. So a simple glance is enough to make visitors understand the site's activity, the services it offers, etc.

2. Services

Unfortunately, the Hero is not enough to make everything clear. It only gives a general idea. The section reserved for the explanation of the service or product offered will do the rest of the work. After all, if you provide detailed information in the Hero, visitors will have no reason to continue browsing.

So, in this section, you will explain precisely: how your services / products are the SOLUTION?

Let me introduce you to 2 other very successful examples:

The service section of Zendesk Sell

It is a sales automation software to track leads. It also helps in sales management. For their sales page, in the service section, they used a combination of images and illustrations to easily, clearly and quickly explain their products. Accompanied by a short description, these illustrations are simply: attractive and pushes to action.

The service section of LeadPages

In predefined sales page templates or even in predefined features, we often come across the 3-column service presentation. This is what LeadPages has used, and frankly, it is also a pure success! The target audience immediately understands, without bothering to make an effort, what products LeadPages offers and exactly what solutions they provide.

3. Section : How it works

Always with the aim of encouraging people to scroll down, you must continue to arouse the curiosity of Internet users. So don't reveal everything in the service section. Another section: process / how it works can still be done. This is where you put demonstrations or a small tutorial about how to use your products.

For Buffer, they showed the steps to follow to use their products.

4. Social Evidence

For prospects, there is nothing more reassuring than having proof! And social proof counts for a lot. I'm talking about testimonials, and real ones at that (especially not fictitious ones, because they are useless; on the contrary, fictitious testimonials only lower the image of the site).

What is needed are real people talking about their experiences with the products or services offered by the site. When asking for testimonials, be clear about the question customers should answer: what problems have they experienced before, and what solutions did the product/service provide?

Not only are the testimonials reassuring, but they also inspire other visitors. Lattice did a great job of that too. In addition to the testimonials in question, they have posted on the site the number of people who have used their product. This can only inspire other Internet users and make them decide to use the product in turn.

I also want to point out that Lattice knew how to gain people's trust. They put forward a very well known person in the field where they intervene. Indeed, the authors of the testimonials can influence a lot in the decision of the prospects.

Then, Google Adsense acted strategically. They only put pictures of their customers on this section. When you click on it, you are redirected to testimonial videos on YouTube or other social networks. The goal here is to promote these other networks. This will only motivate customers to agree to give their opinions on the products / services.

5. Form

Without leads (and more importantly, contact information), there will be no business. That's the way it is, and there's nothing we can do about it! But how do you get leads? All you have to do is insert a registration form on your sales page (for a newsletter, a service, etc. depending on your customer's objective, as I explained at the very beginning of this guide).

I'm not just talking about the form in the fifth place, because that's the best place to put it. At this point, you've already been able to establish a relationship of trust with your prospects. If they get this far, it's because they're convinced (or almost convinced) that the proposed service is worth it. The next logical step is for them to register on your site (obviously, according to the RGPD rules).

Again, you have to be careful what you say. This step is not just about inviting people to join your site or your mailing list. They need to understand that they are getting something out of it and that they need that something. Here's a tip that works every time, as long as you know exactly what your customers need:

Use a lead magnet, i.e. offer something free in return (free trial, ebook, etc.). Don't forget your clear and precise CTA.

Take a look at Webflow for example. In exchange for an email from its prospects, it offers a free trial of its service. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to do so. You will see that you will have nothing to lose by trying it. Here is the link

6. Team

Even if your products are very efficient and you have explained it very well to the visitors of your site, the risks that they leave without doing anything are still high. To build a real relationship of trust and thus, easily convince your prospects, the owner of the site needs to introduce himself and his team.

If the future customers don't even know who is behind the site, do you think they will blindly trust it? Especially since he will invest money in the product / service.

Furthermore, presenting your team is a way to stand out from the competition. Each team member is different, with their own personality, values, etc. In the same way, each team, each company is different. You might as well put this difference forward, so as to stand out even more.

We've already seen Buffer 's example for the "how it works" section, but I'll tell you about their example again for the team section. They didn't just say who they are (name, surname and function); they explained their culture, their company's culture, where they come from... Since the members work remotely, knowing where they come from already inspires confidence. It also gives the impression that we are closer to them and that subscribing to their service is not scary.

7. Service/product price

Putting the price of a service or product out in the open demonstrates transparency. And this only increases the confidence of the prospects. On the other hand, posting prices helps save a lot of time. Why?

Simply because those who are interested in the products offered don't need to open their email to send a message to support, or write a long email on any contact form. Some people even hate the idea of doing that, and they don't do it. That's a shame, because your customer would have lost a potential customer!

Displaying the price at this stage is also wise. This can be considered the final step in the conversion process. Simply viewing this price can help prospects finally take the plunge.

There are different ways to show these prizes: For Drift and Typeform, they give visitors a choice of payment terms (monthly, yearly, etc.), with features to be won for each.

8. FAQ

There will always be questions. If a prospect has no questions about the given service, he either understands everything or he doesn't (the latter is less likely to happen if you have followed all my recommendations so far).

Let's say your client has a dozen prospects and they all send him an email about how the services work. Being overwhelmed, he will spend a lot of time answering all these emails. At some point, he may have to call on other people to take care of the site's support.

However, he has the choice between :

• Create a customer service team that responds to all these emails and calls
• Put a section: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions, also called: frequently asked questions)

Without thinking, I will choose the second option. A real time and money saver.

The FAQ section also allows you to clear up doubts about certain things, and thus encourage prospects to make a decision quickly.

Lyft' s example is inspiring. They put a series of questions on this section. When you click on them, the answer is immediately displayed. Note that all the questions make sense. Maybe they put there the repetitive questions they received in their emails.

As for PayPal, they have categorized their questions so that their customers don't get lost!

9. Resources

Sometimes simple statistics are enough to convince. Seeing something concrete can indeed change everything. Usually, they are used to support arguments. I take the example of Lattice, who put in the social proof section, the number of people who have already used their service. This shows that their solution works! It also reassures visitors, and above all, it shows that the company has a certain expertise.

10. Footer

Finally, we come to the last element: the footer. Avoid the mistake of designing this part in a hurry. On the contrary, this step deserves all our attention. As it is the last section seen by the visitor, it must inspire their confidence and encourage them to take action (to buy the products or use the services).

Not only should you focus on its design, but also make sure that all the necessary information is there: terms and conditions, useful links and general conditions. Just knowing that these pages exist on a site helps Internet users to trust it. Some of them even take the trouble to check the information on them.

Don't forget: if you have a site that targets different people of different languages, the language selector is essential. I already showed you how to design a multilingual site on Webflow, using Weglot.

Other useful tips

Let's suppose that you have followed all the advice I explained before, but that until now, you feel that nothing is going right. Maybe you have neglected other things, like the content, the speed of the site...

Copywriting

Now that the design is coming to an end, all that's left is the text content. In the training I also talk about the fact that Design and Copywriting must go hand in hand. Some people hire professionals, others do it themselves. Whichever you choose, it is essential that you know the basics of good copywriting:

• A simple message: you don't need to use technical jargon that only a few people know. Short sentences with simple vocabulary can do the trick.
• The focus should be on the target, not on the products or services. What benefits do they offer, for example? How will they help readers? etc.

Remember: the goal is to communicate with readers , not to provide them with a long piece of text or fill a web page.

Site speed

Studies show that after 3 seconds, if the page of a website is not yet displayed, 53% of users (on mobile in particular) go looking for another site. These sites therefore have a very high bounce rate (which is very bad in terms of SEO).

How to remedy this? The first solution is to opt for a fast hosting for the site. Fortunately for those who use Webflow, this is the case! Next, you need to make sure that all the images on the site (and not only on the sales page) are compressed. You can do this via free online tools or Photoshop.

When you have finished all this, it is finally time to check the speed of the site on an online simulator. The most severe, but the reference in the field, is of course the PageSpeed insights test proposed by Google

Conclusion

A sales page can therefore achieve a specific goal, whether it is to convert a customer, enhance the image of its brand or create a community. To this end, ready-made sales page templates are not necessarily suitable for all websites. It would be a waste of time and money. To avoid this (for you and your customers), I advise you to opt for custom-made sales pages! Besides, after reading this guide, you are certainly more than competent in creating effective sales pages.

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