The whole game · one sentence
"A landing page has 8 seconds to answer one question: 'is this for me?'"
5 deadly traps · never ship these
What kills conversion.
Trap 01
Hero says WHAT, not WHY
"AI for X" beats "AI-powered platform for X."
Trap 02
8 things above the fold
One headline, one CTA, one image. Nothing else.
Trap 03
No (or fake) social proof
A real screenshot beats a fake testimonial.
Trap 04
Vague / buried CTA
One CTA. Repeated 3×. Action verb. Not "Learn more."
Trap 05
Mobile-broken
60% of traffic. Test on a phone before you ship.
5 conversion principles · ship every page with these
What wins.
Win 01
8-sec value prop
A child should grok it. Read aloud — does it pass?
Win 02
One CTA · 3 times
Hero · middle · footer. Same verb. Same color.
Win 03
Proof at every fold
Logos · screenshots · numbers · quotes. Real.
Win 04
Mobile-first design
Design narrow. Stack everything. Big tap targets.
Win 05
Remove friction
No signup before value. Free trial > "Contact sales."
The hero formula · steal verbatim
Headline writer in one line.
Example: "We help solo founders ship landing pages in a day without learning to code."
The 7-section architecture · the page skeleton
Build in this order.
02
Problem
"You're tired of..."
05
Features
3 max · benefit-led
How you'll be judged · 40 pts
The scorecard · self-check before demo.
Crit 01
Hero clarity
Who + What + Why in 8 sec? Read aloud test.
5 pts
Crit 02
Single value prop
One promise, not five. Focused.
5 pts
Crit 03
Social proof
Real, present, at every fold.
5 pts
Crit 04
CTA & friction
One CTA × 3. Easy signup. No "Contact sales."
5 pts
Crit 05
Mobile-first
Looks intentional on a phone — not broken.
5 pts
Bonus 06
Want-to-share?
Would you actually post this URL? Vibes count.
5 pts
Bonus 07
Team narrative
Can you explain your decisions in 30 sec?
5 pts
Bonus 08
Polish
Intentional vs template. Custom touches.
5 pts
Total possible: 40 pts · Winner threshold: 32+
The data · what the research says
Real benchmarks. Memorize 3.
Conversion
6.6% median across 41k pages
Top 10%: 12%+. SaaS: 3.8% (Unbounce Q4 2024)
Mobile
83% traffic · 8% lower conversion
Desktop 4.8% vs mobile 2.9%. Close the gap (SEJ)
Speed
53% bounce if >3 sec
0.1s improvement = 8.4% lift (Akamai/Google)
Testimonials
+34% conv · +80% if video
5+ reviews: up to +270% (Senja 2025)
Single CTA
+371% clicks vs multi-CTA
Choice paralysis is real (Unbounce)
Real-world references · 6 pages that convert in 2026
Steal from the best.
Ex 01
Linear · linear.app
Tribe-membership hero. Unapologetic specificity.
Ex 02
Stripe · stripe.com
Animated payment flows. Code + visual. Industry benchmark.
Ex 03
Notion · notion.so
Product's own visual language as design system.
Ex 04
Vercel · vercel.com
Animated gradients + interactive code previews.
Ex 05
Cal.com · cal.com
Open-source badge + GitHub stars as trust signal.
2026 pattern across all 5: real product visuals over stock illustrations. Show the product itself in the hero. Always.
Controversial takes · what the experts argue about
The 3 debates · settled.
Debate 01 · CTA count
Single CTA wins. Period.
Data: single-CTA pages can lift clicks +371% and sales +1617% (Unbounce). The "but my page has multiple use cases" objection is your positioning problem, not a CTA problem. Fix positioning.
Debate 02 · Long-form vs short
Depends on complexity, not preference.
Simple product? Short page wins (one case: +65% demo bookings after going short). Complex B2B? Long page wins. Test: can a stranger explain the product in 1 sentence? Yes → short. No → long.
Debate 03 · Button color
Contrast wins. Color is myth.
HubSpot's "red beat green by 21%" was contrast, not color. ConversionXL/Statista 2026: orange + blue + red + green = 81% of high-converting buttons. Real rule: pick ONE accent that contrasts strongly with bg (WCAG ≥ 4.5:1 ratio). Repeat 3×.
Color & design · what the data says
Pick one accent. Make it contrast.
Color · win 01
ONE accent color, not 5
Indigo · electric blue · emerald · black. Statista 2026: these dominate high-converting buttons.
Color · win 02
WCAG AA contrast ≥ 4.5:1
Accessibility AND conversion. Low-contrast CTAs lose >50% of clicks. Use contrast checker.
Type · win 01
Body text ≥ 16px
14px is too small (accessibility + readability). 16-18px is the modern standard.
Type · win 02
One sans-serif font
Inter · Space Grotesk · Geist · Outfit. Resist Pinterest urges.
Pocket prompt · ship your hero in 60 sec
Paste into Claude · fill brackets · or use Prompt 00 to auto-fill
# ROLE
You are a YC-trained conversion copywriter. You've audited 500+ failed landing pages.
# GOAL
Write a landing-page hero that passes the 8-second test.
# CONTEXT
- My product: [ONE-LINE PRODUCT]
- Target user: [SPECIFIC USER]
- Outcome they want: [OUTCOME]
- Pain they avoid: [PAIN]
# OUTPUT
1. 3 headline options (formula: "We help [user] [outcome] without [pain]")
2. 1 subheadline · 12 words max
3. Primary CTA · action verb · 2-3 words
4. 1 social proof line · with placeholder for real data
# SELF-CHECK
Read each headline aloud. Pass: a child grasps it. Fail: rewrite.