Home Page as Landing Page – 4 case studies in web design

Creating focused Landing Pages is a standard approach for digital campaigns, particularly for engaging the first prospect visit from Google AdWords.

But more and more savvy brands are applying the principles of landing page design to their home pages. Less is more! We’re not saying this is true in all cases (see the Amazon home page), but it was in these when testing was used to assess design.

2010 update – 2 new examples of home page as landing page

Both of the companies featured in this case have now simplified their home pages further in recent redesigns – see links below. Another sign of this trend is from two presentations I listened to in May 2010 at Emetrics. Craig Sullivan of Autoglass and Michael Gulmann of Expedia (compare US home page to UK home page) explain how they have boosted conversion through simplifying their home designs as a results of AB and multivariate testing.

Key value proposition messages

Both of these examples have clear messaging on the home page answering the “Why Us” question?

Autoglass:

• Job Done: We guarantee our work for as long as you own your vehicle

Expedia:

Why it pays to book at Expedia:

• More hotels (and more deals!) in more places
• Serious savings on Flight + Hotel packages
• No Expedia change or cancel fees on hotels & more

Original home page examples

Here I have two examples, one B2C, one B2B, which share in common a high involvement, relatively complex product. They are also effectively mono-product companies, so the home page as landing page model is particularly appropriate for these types of business and it is probably easier for them to develop such a home page than for companies with a diverse range of products.

Disclosure: I am not consultant to either of these brands – I don’t use companies I work for as case studies, but I do use these example of good practice when discussing improvements with my clients or delegates on training courses.

Ultralase home landing page

Ultralase is one of the UK’s largest laser eye treatments companies.  Let’s show their best practice through screengrabs:

Incentivised response-form

Multiple incentives and prominent position consistent with eyetracking studies

Clear calls-to-action

Again, prominent on the LHS, these are likely setup as conversion goals in Google Analytics. Containers blend image and text to avoid banner blindness. These containers all highlight their Online Value Proposition.

Common questions answered

These “points of resolution” are often hidden in an FAQ, interesting that Ultralase highlights them on the home page. What are your 10 key prospect questions?

Social proof

The right sidebar is used for the map to show scale through number of clinics and engaging containers for customer testimonials.

Prominent phone response

Vital for high value, complex products since conversion tends to be higher via the phone channel. Unique web number can be used for tracking online influence.

Of course, I have accentuated the positive and this site perhaps suffers from an over-emphasis on Direct response. Some common features are missing such as an “About” page to reassure about the history and stability of the company and a navigation to appeal to different segments – main reasons for seeking treatment.

Salesforce.com Home Page as Landing Page

Salesforce.com are one of the best known Software As Service (SaaS) CRM providers in Europe and the US. I also use their site as an example of well-balanced design with perhaps a better balance than Ultralase on brand-building, education and response.

Many of the good practice points are similar to Ultralase, so a single image should explain the approach.

Of course Salesforce.com also use more focused landing pages with nav removed for lead generation from Google AdWords:

Additional example – home page merchandising

This was an example from an Omniture Webinar where containers are used to serve different content to visitors depending on their profile.