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Make Decisions Easy on Mobile Landing Pages – Michael Aagaard

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With mobile data traffic set nearly double in 2015, no landing page strategy is complete without considering the mobile landing page. Fortunately,  ThemeForest’s Pagewiz Landing Page Design contest has set aside a mobile category.

Judging the Top Expert Prize “The Best Mobile Centered Landing Page Template Design,” is Michael Aagaard from ContentVerve. Michael has been a CRO consultant for the last 6 years, and he travels all over the world doing keynotes and workshops on the topic of Conversion Optimization. His conclusion, based on his years of hands-on experience, is that optimizing conversions really means optimizing the decision making process of your potential customers.

This perspective is probably why he gave an unexpected answer to my most predictable question:

Elisa:          What’s different about the mobile experience that impacts the design of a mobile landing page as opposed to what’s going to be effective on the desktop?

(politely waits to hear about the small screen size and limited space)

Michael:          The mobile format has some restrictions compared to desktop of course. But another big difference is the context in which people interact with your mobile landing page. On desktop it’s reasonable to assume that they are sitting down somewhere – perhaps at home or at the office. On Mobile you just don’t know. Are they lying on the couch or riding the

mobile visitors
Understand Your Mobile Visitors

subway? Are they in a hurry and need information fast? Are they distracted because they are trying to use your landing page while driving a car or riding a bike?

You need to understand your target audience and consider where and when they’ll be using the device and under which circumstances. Moreover, you need to understand why people are visiting your mobile landing page. Having user goals in mind is crucial to designing effective landing pages – especially on mobile.

(hmm)

Elisa:               Can a designer creating a mobile landing page template then, that’s intended to be used by a variety of businesses and their different target markets, really create one that can convert effectively?

Michael:          Context affects how people make decisions. For example, people in general still don’t buy as much via mobile as they do on desktop or tablet. So maybe instead of trying to get people to buy, we are better off getting a lead. And maybe it’s easier to have them click-to-call rather than making them fill out a form – which can be a challenge on mobile.

[tweetthis]On mobile, you need to consider under which circumstances they’ll be using the device. @ContentVerve[/tweetthis]

Elisa:               So I’m hearing that to design a valuable multi-industry template, the designer should start with a specific action in mind that makes sense in a mobile environment. To get a phone call, collect an email, whatever that landing page’s call to action may be. Whether the end-user of the template is a real estate agent or a baker, that’s not so important. What’s important is that I want you to make a phone call or give me your email.

Michael:          Yes.

(Whew)

Design that Makes Decisions Easy

Now that I have confirmation that a well-designed mobile landing page template can be an effective solution, Michael links the details of design to the decision-making process.

Michael:          The goal is to make it as easy and attractive as possible for your potential customers to do what you want them to do on the mobile landing page. You need to provide a seamless experience where it’s easy for me to interact with the landing page, take in the information, understand what the next action is, and be able to actually take that action.

Elisa:               Can you translate that into some specific tips?

Michael:          It’s really all about Usability and User Experience. If the mobile user experience sucks, so will your mobile landing page – regardless of how beautiful the design is. So design mobile landing pages for mobile users and situations, not creative awards.

[tweetthis]Design mobile landing pages for mobile users and situations, not creative awards. @ContentVerve[/tweetthis]

mobile UX

Elisa:               That’s back to putting the user in context, how do they use the page?

Michael:          Figuring that out can be as easy as going down to the local cafe, asking five people, if you can buy them a cup of coffee and have them spend one minute just going through your landing page. You’ll be able to troubleshoot a lot of stuff. Even better, get them drunk first and see if they can figure out what to do on your landing page.

[tweetthis]In the local cafe, buy 5 people coffee and have them spend one minute on your landing page @ContentVerve[/tweetthis]

Elisa:               Where does style fit in?

Michael:          I see a lot of designers focusing mostly on aesthetics and not as much on functionality but both have to work and I think it’s important to be able to balance between your creative and analytical sides.

Elisa:               Where do you find the balance?

Michael:          You need to have a reason why you’re adding something to the page. How is it relevant to this context? How does it help people make the right decision? If you don’t know why or there’s no reason why, it makes no sense for the element to be on the page.

Designing for conversion first and aesthetics second:

it’s a point made by all three of our Top Expert Prize judges so far. Mobile landing pages definitely present some unique challenges in using design to ease the friction towards conversion, the ultimate goal of any landing page.

The final installment of this series is with Dr. Karl Blanks, judge of the “$1,000: Top Expert Prize: The Most Effective Landing Page Templates Pack.”

Are you in need of converting landing page templates?

Check out the Pagewiz marketing category at ThemeForest and find heaps of unconventional landing page templates that still provide a user experience that leads to conversions.

Landing Page Template Design

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