A Complete Guide: How to Structure the Ultimate Long-Form Landing Page

Launch Your Online Business in Just 7 Days

Long-form landing pages allow you to paint a clear picture of your offer and provide answers to all possible questions.

Moreso, longer landing pages can increase leads by a whopping 220% compared to shorter ones.

In this post, you’ll learn:

When you should use a long-form landing page
What you should include in a long-form landing page
How to create your own long-form landing pages for free

Let’s get started!

What is a long-form landing page?

In its most basic form, a landing page is a post-click web page where people “land” after clicking on a link from social media posts, ads, or any other traffic sources.

Accordingly, a long-form landing page will then simply be a lengthy version of a regular landing page that has more copy and elements.

But how do you know when to use a long-form landing page?

Generally speaking, if your business tends to present offers that:

1. Cost a lot

2. Are complex or technical

3. Marketed to an audience who doesn’t know or understand it

4. And require a big commitment

You’ll need to use a long-form landing page. This is because you can use the length to your advantage by giving your customers an in-depth description of your offer.

But remember:

Clarity is crucial — make sure you only include the necessary elements on your page
Focus on your goal — a landing page is designed to convert and build a stockpile of leads (not necessarily sell!)

Wait! What do you mean the goal isn’t to sell?

A lot of posts use the terms “long-form landing pages” and “long-form sales landing pages” interchangeably, but that’s not always the case — allow us to explain.

The difference between long-form landing pages and long-form sales pages

Both long-form landing pages and long-form sales pages could ensure:

A constant stream of leads, conversions, and revenue
Reaching a bigger target market
Building a convenient experience for your customers

And one other obvious similarity these pages share is length.

But landing pages and sales pages do differ in the following ways:

NONE

Main objective

Pricing breakdown for the

offer

FAQ section

Number of CTAs

Includes a lead magnet

Landing pages

Varies (typically to generate leads)

Depends on the type of landing page

Normally, only 1

Sales pages

Make sales

Multiple CTAs

So, how do you know which page to use and when?

It all depends on:

Your goal
What you have to offer
The status of your target audience

For instance, let’s say you want to promote your online course business.

Your sales funnel might look like this:

1. Lead generation landing page — a long-form landing page that absorbs incoming traffic and offers a ridiculous amount of free bonuses and educational resources such as lead magnets, with the job of collecting leads and building your email list

2. Sales page — at a later date, you can send promotional emails to your leads/prospects, which will send them to this long-form sales page where they’ll be offered access to your entire online course library for a set price

3. Order form page — if the prospects decide to take advantage of your offer and buy it, they’ll be redirected to an order form to complete the purchase

4. Thank-you page — finally, you confirm receipt of orders and thank customers for their purchase

Here’s what it could look like with systeme.io:

Sales funnel example with systeme.io

Considering that you’ll be using both landing pages and sales pages, we can’t stress the following enough:

Structure each of your pages accordingly!

And now, back to the topic at hand — how do you structure your long-form landing page for maximum conversions?

What should be included in long-form landing pages?

The design, copy, and offer you put on the table are just a few of the variables to creating a successful long-form landing page.

Including these 8 landing page elements will help you with designing and optimizing your landing pages to achieve your goals.

A compelling headline and supportive subheadline

Your main headline is the first thing your visitors see when they land on your page.

Ideally, you want to make a great first impression to entice visitors to stay.

So, what type of headlines make great first impressions?

There are 3 simple characteristics that every efficient headline has:

1. Clarity — Write clear, straightforward, and non-ambiguous headlines

2. Relevance — The ad, social media post, or other digital location should be relevant to the page visitors land on

3. Empathy — Empathize with your visitor’s problems by demonstrating the benefits of the offer in your headline

While the goal of your headline is to catch your visitors’ attention, your subheadline should keep their attention.

Creating a subheadline has the same characteristics as your headline — you want your subheadline to be attention-grabbing, descriptive, and brief.

Here’s how Starbucks approached the headline and subheadline design of one of their landing pages:

Source: starbucks.com

Why does it work?

The headline and subheadline are simple and straightforward — It tells you exactly what you’ll be getting and the benefit of investing.

When creating your headline and subheadline, keep the following in mind:

1. Focus on how your offer will benefit the visitor

2. Keep it short and above the fold

Visuals (images and videos)

A visual, such as a video or image, is capable of engaging viewers in ways words alone can’t.

In fact, viewers are a whopping 80% more likely to read content that features colorful visuals. And if that statistic isn’t enough to persuade you to use visuals, this one might:

So, what kind of visuals can you use?

Here are a few visuals you can include to boost conversions:

Images — Convey a message through an image, for example, a hero image that represents your business’s product or service
GIFs — Use GIFs to engage consumers by drawing attention to essential features, demonstrating how your product works, or simply injecting some personality into your website
Videos — Use relevant video that reflects the brand and conveys the required message, such as product demos, or customer testimonials

Pro tip: Don’t rely on stock photos to make your landing page attractive; rather, use real photos to show your viewers you’re authentic.

Strong copy and design

The copy of your landing page refers to the actual writing that’s specifically written to drive sales.

Here’s why the words you put on your page matter — Good landing page copywriting:

1. Builds relationships with your audience

2. Transforms your offer into a must-have

3. Makes you unique

4. Sells!

If you’re looking to write powerful copy, take a look at our ultimate copywriting guide and learn how to craft effective copy for your landing pages.

The word count on long-form landing pages can be anywhere between 500-5000 words.

However, keep in mind that your word count is not the only thing that makes a landing page long-form.

Pro tip: Ensure your copy covers only the necessary information that provides value to your audience, nothing more, nothing less!

Don’t forget about the design!

The design of your landing page refers to the elements you add (and those you don’t) to ensure an optimal user experience.

Things you should avoid adding to your landing pages include:

Site navigation
Headers and footers
Fake testimonials
Too many form fields

Pro tip: Constantly A/B test your landing pages to see what’s working (and what’s not).

Features and benefits

Your long-form landing page won’t be completely effective without mentioning the features and compelling benefits of the offer.

Remember: A feature is a specific quality of your offer, while a benefit describes a positive impact that the feature has.

The quickest and easiest way to formulate your proposition is by using the FAB method:

Features — name your offer’s main characteristics
Advantages — list the advantages of using your offer
Benefits — write down audience-focused benefits

Once you’ve done all of the above, you can start rewriting your promises into benefits and solutions, ultimately crafting a compelling features-benefits section for your landing page.

For example:

Feature — systeme.io’s drag-and-drop editor
Advantage — without help from a developer
Benefit — no need to waste money and time

Lead form

Lead forms are essential for capturing relevant information from potential customers.

This information can then be used to follow up with prospects and convert them into paying customers.

In short, you can create high-converting, user-friendly lead generation forms by:

Asking only the necessary details
Keeping the copy short
Adding a CTA button

Here’s an example of Quickbase’s sign-up process:

Source: quickbase.com

Why does it work?

It follows the instructions mentioned above: It only asks for what's necessary and shows that they're halfway to getting their offer.

It’s the form your prospects complete in exchange for your offer. So, you need to be sure to make it effective!

Social proof

Social proof is arguably the most powerful tool at your disposal to:

1. Build trust and credibility

2. Validate and guide the customers’ buying decisions

Social proof can take many forms on your landing pages, including:

Direct reviews from customers
Case studies
Audio or video testimonials
Trust badges
Scores from review platforms such as Trustpilot or Capterra

Take a look at how we here at systeme.io include social proof on one of our pages:

Source: systeme.io

Why does it work?

We include customer reviews collected from multiple third-party resources (Facebook and Trustpilot) to assure our visitors of our high-quality platform.

Pro tip: A/B test a variety of different social proof forms on your landing pages to see which converts best.

FAQ section

Frequently asked questions or FAQ sections are important for 2 reasons:

1. Provides answers to generally asked questions that your viewers might have, which can push prospects to convert

2. Helps qualify your page’s content as relevant or irrelevant to search engines

Here’s how Canva made sure to leave no stone unturned:

Source: canva.com

Why does it work?

It answers all commonly asked questions, and to ensure a smooth user experience, it was created as a drop-down list.

Pro tip: Analyze your customer reviews and/or ask your customer support team to get an idea of which questions your customers want answers to.

Call-to-action buttons

Call-to-action or CTA buttons are the buttons you add to your landing pages to guide visitors towards your goal conversion.

When creating your CTA buttons, make sure to keep the following in mind:

Always use action-packed text that is directly related to your offer
Consider using colors that stand out from the rest of your page
Make sure the text is large and legible
Use first-person speech that speaks directly to your audience
Create a sense of urgency
Add your first CTA button above the fold
Surround your button with white space to help it stand out
This one might sound obvious, but make your button look like an actual button

All the elements mentioned contribute to creating a long-form landing page, and when used correctly, you’ll be converting visitors like never before!

Let’s take a look at some long-form pages and how the above elements were implemented on them.

5 long-form landing page examples

We’ve compiled a list of 5 long-form landing page examples to inspire you when creating your own.

Systeme.io long-form landing page

First up, we have a click-through landing page created by systeme.io with systeme.io!

Click here to see the full page: systeme.io

Why does this page work?

Systeme.io includes a benefit-centered and compelling headline, followed by a countdown timer to add a sense of urgency.
Page includes multiple enticing CTA buttons so visitors won’t have to scroll to the top to take action
Shows an overall platform rating sourced from Trustpilot
Shows readers exactly how much they’ll be saving and how they’ll be benefiting from our offer.
Provides a brief introduction to our platform’s key features.
Included a section completely devoted to providing proof of how well our platform performs compared to others on the market
And finally, redisplaying a countdown timer in the footer to instill a sense of urgency and serve as a reminder for the user to take action.

Overall, this entire landing page is highly compelling — each section plays an important role in persuading its readers to take action!

EPIK Summit

Next up, is a landing page created with systeme.io promoting the EPIK summit.

Click here to see the full page: epiksummit.com

Why does this page work?

Includes an engaging, benefit-oriented headline, a supportive subheadline, and a bright CTA button above the fold
Includes an easy one-field lead form to capture the audience’s email addresses
Just below the fold, the page addresses its target audience’s pain points and offers a solution
Images of the speakers of the summit are added to show the faces behind the knowledge + brief introductions to main speakers
A countdown timer has been included to instill a sense of urgency
Multiple CTA buttons placed over the page to make taking action easier
And finally, a quick FAQ section to answer any other questions the audience might have

Canva Pro

Following is Canva with a landing page promoting their design tool.

Click here to see the full page: canva.com

Why does this page work?

Has an attractive and straightforward headline
Immediately lets visitors know about the features and benefits of using their tool in the subheadline
Features an abundance of white space
Utilizes social proof
Has a bunch of visuals showing how Canva users can use different features
Color contrast emphasizes the text and CTAs
Ends with a FAQ section

Funnels and Conversions

On this page, Funnels and Conversions promote their service of helping businesses create high-converting sales funnels.

Click here to see the full page: funnelsandconversions.com

Why does this page work?

Straightforward and benefit-centered headline
Immediately instills a sense of trust and professionalism by stating the number of industries they’ve helped in the subheadline
Includes visuals of previous works they’ve created
Uses a contrasting color for the CTA button
Mentions their clients, testimonials and recent reviews as social proof
Personalized CTA rather than a generic one
Makes use of video testimonials
Briefly introduces their team
Includes a FAQ section to end off their page

The Power Business School

And finally we have a page from The Power Business School promoting their management classes.

Click here to see the full page: global.thepowermba.com

Why does this page work?

Immediately states benefits of their classes
Briefly introduces the expert masterclass presenters
Includes multiple colorful CTA buttons
Provides overall rating as determined by Trustpilot as well as reviews
Includes a section showing other online classes they offer

What could be A/B tested to ensure maximum conversions?

Testing your long-form landing pages ensures that you display the highest converting page to your visitors.

What could be A/B tested:

Headline — test different title lengths, wording, and benefits you choose to focus on
Copy — try using fewer words, more bulleted lists, or breaking your page into sections
Opt-in form — test what information your audience is most willing to provide
CTA buttons — test your CTA buttons’ placement, color, and wording
Countdown timer — test whether the presence of the timer boosts conversions
Price points — try using different pricing methods, such as $227.99 instead of $228
Social proof — test different forms of social proof to see which works best
Visuals — while making sure to only use relevant visuals, test their placement or whether they’re necessary at all
Structure — test the placement of all elements on the page and consider removing some as well, such as navigation bars

Systeme.io allows you to easily set up an A/B test to analyze your pages’ performance. Check it out:

systeme.io A/B testing two landing page variations example

All you need to do is create your variations of landing pages, enter the A/B test tab, add the desired variations, and let us take care of the rest!

Once the test is complete, we provide you with your pages’ performance results.

Building your first landing page is no walk-in-the-park. However, there are a few landing page builders that can simplify the page creation process.

If you’re uncertain about which building software to choose, why not try an intuitive and user-friendly platform — for free — like systeme.io to get you started!

Easily create your long-form landing page with systeme.io!

systeme.io’s logo

Systeme.io is a simple, affordable, and intuitive all-in-one business-building tool for anyone who is looking to grow their online business.

With systeme.io you can:

Easily create the ultimate landing page with our easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder
Speed up the building process with one of our many proven templates
Integrate your email list, payment system, and online courses
A/B test your landing pages to find out which performs best

Running your online business has never been this simple — and affordable!

Create a long-form landing page with systeme.io in 5 steps

Here’s a brief step-by-step tutorial for how you can build a well-structured long-form landing page using systeme.io:

1. Step 1 — Create a funnel

From your dashboard go to your Funnels and click on “+ Create”.

Choose the name, type, and currency of the funnel you are creating.

2. Step 2 — Create a page

Next, click on the “+ Create step” button to create a page.

Thereafter, you can choose the type of page you want to create (Opt-in pages, long-form or short-form sales pages, webinar pages, and others).

3. Step 3 — Choose a template

You can pick one of our pre-designed page templates or begin from scratch with our custom template.

4. Step 4 — Edit

After you’ve chosen the template you want, you can edit it to your needs with our drag-and-drop editor.

Once you start editing your landing page you can add your unique content and visuals — and watch how it all falls into place!

5. Step 5 — Launch your landing page

The last step is to launch your landing page and make some conversions and sales!

Here, you want to choose a name for your page (number 1 below) and set up your URL path to make sure that it sends the clicker to the exact location of your landing page (number 2 below).

And boom — You’ve got yourself a fully functioning long-form landing page!

Systeme.io’s pricing

systeme.io’s pricing

Systeme.io comes with 4 plans to choose from:

Free — $0/month
Startup — $27/month
Webinar — $47/month
Unlimited — $97/month

The Free plan is free forever and requires no credit card details to get started.

Our other plans also scale as your business grows, offering more features like evergreen webinars and access to more of our core features.

FAQs about long-form landing pages

Source: freepik.com

Which is more effective: long-form pages or short-form pages?

There’s no one type of page that is perfect for every situation — it all depends on your product type, target audience, and goals.

But why have one or the other, when you can have plenty of both and A/B test your way to finding the best performing page for you?

(Only time and insights will tell you the answer to this question)

How long should a long-form sales page be?

When it comes to writing long-form sales copy, the average word count is 5000 words.

A longer sales page is necessary to persuade your visitors to take action (especially when you’re trying to sell high-ticket offers).

Pro tip: Don’t be afraid of writing a long page — give your prospects everything they need to make a purchase decision!

Conclusion

So what did we learn today:

Long-form landing pages are an effective method to get more people to convert to leads or customers
Long-form landing pages and long-form sales pages aren’t the same
By following our guidelines, including all necessary elements and using a platform like systeme.io you’ll be launching a successful page in no time!

With systeme.io, you can expect to create high-quality, high-converting landing pages all under one platform — simply join our platform today!