What makes a good page
The difference between a page people engage with and a page people skim past is rarely effort. It is usually a handful of specific decisions, made early.
Lead with something worth looking at
Your main image does most of the work before a single word is read. It does not need to be professionally shot, but it does need to be sharp, well lit, and actually about the thing on the page.
What tends to work
- Natural light, wherever possible.
- One clear subject rather than a busy frame.
- Landscape rather than portrait, since that is how most pages display it.
What tends not to
- Stock imagery that could belong to anyone.
- Screenshots with text too small to read.
- Anything with a watermark from somewhere else.
Write for someone who has never heard of you
The most common mistake is assuming context the reader does not have. Say plainly what this is, who it is for, and what happens next. Put the important sentence first — many people read no further than the opening lines.
A structure that works
- One sentence on what this is.
- Two or three on what makes it different.
- A short list of specifics.
- One clear next step.
Be specific about the details
Vague pages generate questions; specific pages generate responses. If there is a number, a date, a size or a condition involved, put it on the page. You will spend far less time answering the same question over and over.
Every detail you leave off the page is a question somebody has to ask before they can decide. Most people will not bother asking.
Then keep it current
A page that has not been touched in a long time reads as neglected, whatever it says. Revisiting it every so often — updating a photo, correcting something that has changed, adding what you have learned — does more good than any single thing you do on the first day.