Stunning Design in a Landing Page Builder
The claim that any landing page increases sales isn't always true in reality. Many landing pages present information poorly and have complicated layouts, which repels visitors and potential customers. In this article, we'll explore how to boost your landing page conversion rate, create an attractive site using a landing page builder, and provide necessary information without overwhelming the average user. We will also examine whether ugly, off-putting landing pages actually sell more than resources with high-quality design.
How to Retain Users and Present Relevant Information
Every website contains specific information that may only interest a targeted segment of visitors while being irrelevant to the majority of users.
On multi-page websites, these sections are organized into separate tabs. However, a single-page landing requires a different solution:
1. Dropdown Menus (Accordions)
This format allows you to place summary information or a Q&A section. The user simply clicks on a specific line, and a detailed information block expands below it. This optimizes space while making the page as informative as possible.
2. Lightboxes
Information can be placed in a block that opens in a lightbox overlay when the user clicks a corresponding link on the main page.
3. Sidecar Blocks or Similar Add-ons
A tool like Sidecar (originally by Digital Telepathy) is a hidden side panel containing detailed information. By clicking a tab, the user opens the window, which can easily be hidden again.
Unlocking the Potential of a Landing Page Builder with High-Quality Design
Good design is a vital investment in your website's success and an excellent tool for attracting users. It helps visitors adapt easily, navigate the portal quickly, builds trust, triggers positive emotions, and acts as a guide by highlighting key information and setting visual focal points.
An attractive design naturally draws people in, whereas a poorly designed one causes negative emotions. The goal of using a landing page builder is to showcase your product in the best possible light, which absolutely requires a high-quality, well-thought-out design.
However, in the pursuit of perfection, avoid going to extremes. Otherwise, the site will become overloaded with banners, flashy animations, and intrusive elements. Clashing colors, excessive details, countless buttons, and flashing ads create a repulsive impression, prompting the user to close the page as quickly as possible.
Of course, there are websites with niche designs where it's hard to calculate how much they impact conversions or exactly which users like them. But for a standard landing page, the design must drive sales. Anything that hinders this goal should be removed.
Some designers claim that an “ugly” website design significantly increases sales, while a good design fails to deliver such results. Oddly enough, the examples provided for comparison are rarely genuinely “good” designs; rather, they are simply mediocre.
For instance, a designer might argue that a professionally built site with charts, beautiful graphics, and videos attracted far fewer visitors than a page featuring nothing but text and a photo of a book. Yet, when making this comparison, they fail to provide links to these sites, leaving the quality and professionalism of the “good” version highly questionable.
Such claims stem from the fact that many people mistakenly equate a “beautiful” design with one cluttered with various widgets and videos. But more isn't always better.
Let's look at examples of “excellent” and “ugly” page designs to determine which format is best for increasing sales:
- “If a portal looks like a million bucks, visitors will think it's selling a million-dollar product.”
The actual price of the product is what matters to the buyer. If a BMW cost the same as an economy car, drivers would have switched to BMWs long ago. If a landing page looks premium but offers a reasonably priced product, the visitor only benefits from this combination. To prove this, just look at the iPad website and remember that their products are the most sought-after in the world among competitors. - “Visitors don't need advertising.”
Users want to visit a beautifully designed website that encourages further action. An abundance of ads ruins the experience, so advertising should never be equated with good design. - “Design created using modern, advanced technologies will confuse the visitor.”
This statement is absurd. Any design improvement makes the website clearer, more user-friendly, and more accessible. - “Popular resources like Craigslist, eBay, or Google are quite ugly and primitive.”
First of all, these websites are highly functional. Moreover, they are regularly updated and improved. For example, eBay added color to its interface by including promotional banners and product photos. Craigslist is a rare case where popularity happened despite the design, not because of it. Replicating that specific success today would be incredibly difficult. - “Simplicity ruins a website.”
This is far from true. Just look at Blossom, Customer.io, or the clean layout of Google to appreciate the beauty and appeal of minimalism. - “The core of a landing page is content; design is just a secondary addition.”
Indeed, high-quality copy is a crucial sales element, but without good design, it won't be easily digested. Any design should support and highlight the content. On clunky websites, the design only distracts and annoys. - “Testing an old, ugly website against a newly redesigned one shows that the first option wins!”
This claim can only be viewed objectively if there are clear visual examples. Opinions on which site is prettier or more user-friendly usually just reflect the subjective view of one person—who might just have a very peculiar sense of aesthetics. - Incorrect improvements.
Why do some old, ugly resources sell worse after a redesign? This happens because, on a landing page, the call to action must be in a specific place. After a botched “improvement,” users might face minimal text packed with ads, immediately followed by a demand for payment. This causes confusion and naturally fails. In the clunky original versions, the product was sold even before the CTA through engaging descriptions and highlighted benefits. To combine the best of both worlds, you need to enhance the old version's content with modern, high-quality design. The results will be outstanding. - “An ugly website sells well anyway!”
Yes, but if you improve its appearance, it will perform even better. Even if an unappealing website is cited as a benchmark for high sales, it doesn't mean you should emulate it and immediately create a similarly boring and ugly design. Remember that great design will boost your conversion rate even further and attract significantly more visitors—so why not take advantage of it?
Everyone forms subjective impressions based on what they see. For most of us, a single glance at a person, place, or object is enough to form an opinion. All human conclusions are built entirely on visual perception.
When visiting a landing page builder, a fraction of a second is enough for a user to evaluate the resource and form a subjective opinion. These first impressions linger even after the design is tweaked or adjusted.
Keep in mind that these impressions directly impact the website's conversion success.
Final Conclusion
In conclusion, after analyzing various website design approaches, it is clear that the inefficiency and low appeal of many websites stem not from long sales copy, but from poor structure, layout, and formatting. A combination of high-quality, attractive design, compelling sales copy, and a precisely targeted audience will attract new visitors, engage regular users, and significantly increase landing page conversions. As for the myth that an ugly website is popular because of its awkward structure or unappealing look—it simply shouldn't be taken seriously.
