Planning a landing page for one offer

A dog groomer adding a new service may want a single page that does one thing. An accountant with one fixed package might want the same, and so might a local course with places to fill. Planning it comes down to what goes on the page, and in what order.

Name the offer in the heading

GOV.UK's guidance on page titles, from the Government Digital Service (GDS), asks writers to use the same language as your audience so they can find your content, starting with the title.

GDS also suggests looking at common search terms to learn what the public calls something, because the official or internal name may differ. A groomer's page headed "Dog nail clipping in Leeds" says more than one headed "Paw care package".

Say what it is and who it is for

GDS's guidance on structure notes that most people skim a web page and read only part of the text. Its answer is to put the most important information first and taper down to the detail.

The GOV.UK Design System sets a similar goal for the page where a service starts. It should give the user just enough information to help them understand what the service does and whether it will meet their need.

Open with what the offer is and who it suits. Detail such as dates, what to bring and how long it takes can follow.

Say who you are and how to reach you

Give the business name, the address the business works from, an email address and a phone number. What a business website has to show by law is set out at minisitemaker.co.uk.

The same start-page guidance asks for details of other ways to use the service, such as by phone. On a small business's page, that line is the phone number for people who would rather talk first.

One main button, worded as the action

The Design System's guidance on buttons is to write button text in sentence case, describing the action it performs. "Book a trim" or "Reserve a place" tells the reader what happens next.

GDS also says a start button belongs under a heading that relates to the button's task.

Leave out what pulls people away

For a second action, the start-page guidance suggests an ordinary link rather than another button. On a landing page, that might be a link to your other services or your main site.

Extra menus, a second offer and a newsletter box all compete with the one button. Comparing two versions of the page is the subject of abtesting.uk.

Before it goes live: a phone and the Tab key

Load the finished page on a phone, then move through it using only the Tab key. In its Easy Checks, W3C points to a few things to look at, such as visible keyboard focus and text that stays readable when zoomed.

If the page makes claims

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) applies the CAP Code to what a business says about its goods and services on its own website. Rule 3.1 says marketing must not materially mislead, or be likely to do so.

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