Common Landing Page Design Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Practice4 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
Most landing pages lose visitors to the same mistakes: an unclear hero, competing buttons, walls of text, a broken mobile layout and generic stock images. Each one can be fixed with a concrete change, without a full redesign.
The main mistakes at a glance
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Weak hero | Unclear what is offered | Outcome headline + one button |
| Too many CTAs | Visitors choose nothing | One primary call to action per page |
| Walls of text | Nobody reads the page | Short paragraphs, lists, subheadings |
| Poor mobile layout | Mobile visitors drop off | Design for the narrow screen first |
| Stock clichés | No trust, no difference | Real photos of the product and team |
| Slow loading | People leave before the hero appears | Compress media, cut scripts |
| No proof | Promises don't persuade | Testimonials, case studies, product demos |
Each is covered in more detail below.
Weak hero
What it looks like: a headline like "We are a team of professionals" or the company name in big letters, an abstract background and a "Learn more" button.
Why it's bad: visitors decide in a few seconds whether to stay. If the first screen doesn't make clear what you do and for whom, they leave.
How to fix it:
- The headline states a concrete result for the customer: what they get.
- The subheadline says for whom and how.
- The button uses a verb that describes the next step: "Get a quote" instead of "Learn more."
- Test it: show the first screen to someone outside the project for five seconds and ask them to retell what is offered.
Too many calls to action
What it looks like: "Buy," "Subscribe," "Download catalog," "Call us," "Chat" — all the same size and colour on one screen.
Why it's bad: when everything is highlighted, nothing is. A choice between equal options gets postponed.
How to fix it:
- Pick one target action and make it the primary button.
- Turn other actions into secondary buttons or text links.
- Repeat the primary button after key blocks, with the same label.
Walls of text
What it looks like: ten-line paragraphs, small type, text stretched across the full screen width.
Why it's bad: people scan landing pages rather than read them. A solid block gets skipped entirely, along with your key arguments.
How to fix it:
- Two to four lines per paragraph, one idea each.
- Subheadings that carry the meaning of a block on their own.
- Lists instead of comma-separated runs, bold for key words.
- A comfortable line length is roughly 60–80 characters, so cap the text column width.
Poor mobile layout
What it looks like: tiny text, buttons that are hard to tap, tables that scroll sideways, a pop-up that can't be closed.
Why it's bad: a large share of landing page traffic comes from phones, especially from social and messenger ads.
How to fix it:
- Design mobile first, then expand to desktop.
- Make tap targets at least 44–48 px.
- Turn tables into cards and dense blocks into accordions.
- Test on real phones, not only in a browser emulator.
Stock clichés
What it looks like: handshakes, smiling people in headsets, light bulbs and puzzle pieces.
Why it's bad: these images appear on thousands of sites. They don't explain the product and they lower trust.
How to fix it:
- Show the real product: the interface, the item, the work process.
- Team and office photos, even carefully shot on a phone, are more honest than stock.
- No photos? Use diagrams, on-brand illustrations or screenshots.
Slow loading and missing proof
Two mistakes that often go unnoticed.
- Speed. Background video and uncompressed images slow down the first screen. Use modern image formats (WebP, AVIF), lazy-load everything below the fold and check the page in PageSpeed Insights.
- Proof. Promises without testimonials, case studies or a demo don't persuade. Add what you genuinely have, and never invent reviews or numbers.
How to find your own mistakes
- Look at scroll and click analytics: where people leave and what they ignore.
- Run a short usability test with three to five people from your target audience.
- Fix one problem at a time and compare the results.