The good news is that there is only one function of a landing page. It is there to ensure a customer completes. This makes it the easiest page to design and, more importantly, a doddle to test.

If you have access to free email marketing templates then the only sensible option is to choose from these. After all, they will have been created by those who are experts in their field. However they need input as they will not be specific to your customers.

At the start you should only make minor adjustments to the template. Your job is to ensure that in populating it you do not distract from its sole purpose. Think like a customer, perhaps one a little hesitant at spending money.

The first thing they need is reassurance. Don’t surprise by a radical design. It should be a simplified copy of the page they clicked through from. Many suggest eliminating the menu whilst others suggest to just have a click through to the page they came from. You’ll have to find out what’s best for you, but remember that getting stuck on a page is irritating. 

Make the headline bright and clear. Reinforce your prime message: ‘The revolutionary X-14’ or whatever. Don’t bring in a new feature. The text should be limited, regardless of the size of the text box. Again, it is there merely to encourage. You should have already worked out that the image should not be attention grabbing, merely background.

Call to action boxes should be close to the top of the page and perhaps a couple more later. These should be bright and clear.

The best place for endorsements is in the selling page, but extracts can be convincing. Just a phrase or short sentence is best as single words are not specific. For those still hesitating, more information of the product can be included but avoid click throughs to another page. We want them on this one as long as possible. 

Finally, and I hope you expected this, test and test again. Test every aspect and accept the results. Continue to test as there’s no such thing as eternal.