As the festive season approaches, your website’s landing page becomes a pivotal tool in attracting and retaining customers. Christmas sales in the UK are forecasted to do better than in 2022, growing 3.3% to £84.9 billion, so what makes a landing page not just good, but great, during this bustling time of year when sales can be enhanced?
Here, we’ll explore the must-have features for a landing page that will make it stand out so that your ecommerce website can thrive over the upcoming period and throughout the year. Whether you’re new to digital commerce or are looking for ways to improve your current approach, these insights will hopefully help you craft a landing page that resonates with your holiday audience.
First impressions count as we all know, so an appealing, holiday-themed design can be one of the best landing page features you can use. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it and create a winter wonderland, but you may want to think beyond just red and green colours.
Tailor your design to reflect your brand while embracing the festive spirit. This doesn’t mean an overhaul of your brand identity completely, but rather a festive twist to your existing design elements. Remember, the goal is to capture the holiday excitement while ensuring your brand is still recognisable to your audience.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to your landing page, it can be worth even more in conversions. Having visual content is 40x more likely to be shared on social media, so if you’re using high-quality images, videos, and graphics that reflect the holiday season, this can create an emotional connection with your visitors. However, balance is key – ensure these visuals are optimised for fast loading times and are mobile-friendly.
Remember, many shoppers are using their smartphones, so they don’t want to become overwhelmed by an overly Christmas setting and not find what they need. They still want an optimal user experience, so if you can provide this with some holiday-themed flair, this can help them know they are in the right place for their seasonal shopping.
Your landing page’s text should be as festive as its design, so you’ll want to craft headlines and copy that encapsulate the holiday spirit while clearly conveying your message. Keep it concise, persuasive, and aligned with the features of a good landing page – just ensure your message and purpose doesn’t get lost in seasonal greetings. This could be highlighting special offers you have currently running, showcasing unique products, or simply spreading holiday cheer in a simple yet effective way. Your words should entice visitors to explore further and take action, so that they can identify your brand as the best place to shop and get their gifts this year.
Navigating your landing page should be as smooth as ice-skating on a frozen lake – just much less treacherous. A user-friendly layout, straightforward navigation, and quick load times are vital in general, but during the festive period, they can mean the difference between shoppers staying on your site or visiting your competitors instead.
This is especially important for mobile users, who should find it just as easy to browse and buy on their devices as on a desktop. Consider features like sticky headers, simplified menus, and a clear customer journey path to purchase to enhance UX.
As we’ve talked about in a previous blog, your CTA buttons are the gateways to conversions. They should stand out and align with the holiday theme you’re looking to incorporate, inviting visitors to ‘Grab the Holiday Deal’, ‘Unwrap the Offer’, or ‘Join the Festive Fun’.
You’ll then want to position these CTAs strategically on your page to guide visitors naturally towards making a purchase or taking another desired action.
One of the best things about website design is that you can tailor experiences to individual users, personalising interactions and targeting customers precisely. Your landing page should lean on this to the fullest for the holidays as utilising data to personalise content can significantly enhance visitor engagement. For instance, if you’re a brand with a global reach, displaying different content to visitors from different regions can make your offers more relevant and appealing alongside your local and international SEO efforts.
This level of personalisation using geo-targeting makes users feel understood and valued, which can be a strong motivator for making a purchase. In fact, 71% of consumers expect personalised interactions, with 76% frustrated when they don’t receive this. Personalised dynamic content such as personalised greetings (Welcome Back…) and behaviour-based offers based on their browser history or previous purchases can really make a difference to user interactions and brand loyalty.
During the holiday season, shoppers are often in a hurry and will look for quick validation of their choices. This is where social proof comes in, whereby including customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials on your landing page can greatly influence a user’s purchasing decisions. Trust signals like security badges and product and delivery guarantees also help in building confidence among your audience. 75% of consumers are likely to search for reviews and testimonials before making a purchase.
Remember, the more trusted your site feels, the more likely visitors are to make a purchase and tell others about it. If users can see many other customers have had the ideal experience using your site and purchasing, they are more likely to do the same when compared to sites without these signals.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the many special offers and promotions consumers look for. The period from Black Friday all the way through Christmas and into the new year is a prime time to highlight your best deals and it can be a game-changer if highlighted well. Ensure these offers are prominently displayed and easy to understand on your landing page. Using phrases like ‘Limited Time Only, ‘Exclusive Holiday Discount’, or ‘Seasonal Sale’ can create a sense of urgency and encourage quicker decision-making. But be careful not to overdo it – your promotions should feel like a festive gift, not a sales push.
So, are you ready to create a landing page that stands out during the holiday season? It requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and technical know-how which the above landing page best practices can help you with. If you can incorporate these features of a landing page, you can ensure it not only attracts visitors but also converts them into customers.
The most important thing to remember is that whilst you can implement all of the above, if your landing page looks too generic and not unique to your brand personality, there may be a disconnect between you and your audience. You want to ensure your brand shines through and keeps the customer experience to a high standard – ideally different to the competition. 80% of customers say the experience is just as important as a brand’s products and services, so it’s important to keep a focus on this.
The holiday season is a time of joy and celebration, so let your landing page reflect that spirit and watch your engagement soar. For more guidance or professional assistance, feel free to reach out to our team. We’re an award-winning digital marketing agency that can help you make the holiday season a successful one.
For more insights, please visit our blog, where you can discover whether your CTA buttons are boosting conversions or hampering them, as well as how microinteractions can enrich CX.
