The landing page checklist: 30 checks before you launch

Most landing pages fail for the same few reasons: visitors can't tell what the product is, why it's better, or what to do next. Work through this list top to bottom. It's ordered by impact, so the first items matter most.

1. Headline and value proposition (above the fold)

1. A stranger understands what you sell in 5 seconds. Show the headline to someone outside your industry. If they can't say what the product does, rewrite it.
2. The headline states an outcome rather than a category. "Ship invoices in 30 seconds" beats "Next-generation invoicing platform".
3. The subheadline says who it's for and how it works, in one or two sentences.
4. No jargon or buzzwords ("leverage", "synergy", "AI-powered" on its own). Concrete nouns and numbers beat adjectives.
5. The hero visual shows the product (a real screenshot or short demo), not abstract shapes or stock photos.
6. The page's promise matches the ad, post or search result that brought the visitor in (message match).

2. Call to action

7. One primary CTA, visible without scrolling on desktop and mobile.
8. The CTA text says what happens next: "Start free trial" or "Get my report", not "Submit" or "Learn more". See CTA button text examples.
9. The button contrasts with everything around it. It should be the most eye-catching element on the screen.
10. Friction reducers sit next to the button: "No credit card", "Free for 14 days", "Cancel anytime", but only if they're true.
11. The CTA repeats after each major section and at the bottom of the page.
12. Forms ask for the minimum. Every extra field costs sign-ups, so ask for email only if you can.

3. Trust and social proof

13. Real proof near the CTA: customer logos, a usage number, ratings or a named testimonial with a photo.
14. Testimonials are specific ("cut our onboarding time from 3 days to 4 hours") and attributed to real people. Never invent them.
15. Pricing is easy to find, or you explain clearly why it isn't public.
16. Objections are answered in an FAQ: security, data, contracts, refunds, "what if it doesn't work for me".
17. There's a human behind it: an about link, a contact email and company details in the footer.
18. No broken links, placeholder text or "Lorem ipsum". They destroy trust instantly.

4. Structure and copy

19. Features are framed as benefits. For each feature, answer "so what?" for the customer.
20. Sections can be skimmed: descriptive subheadings, short paragraphs, bullets and plenty of whitespace.
21. One page, one goal. Remove navigation links that pull visitors away from the main CTA.
22. Show how it works in 3 steps, so the product feels easy.
23. Copy speaks to the reader ("you") more than about the company ("we").

5. Mobile

24. The headline and CTA fit on the first mobile screen (about 390×844).
25. Text is at least 16px and tap targets are at least 44px tall.
26. There's no horizontal scrolling, and nothing covers the content (cookie banners, chat widgets, pop-ups).

6. Speed and technical basics

27. Largest Contentful Paint is under 2.5s. Compress the images and lazy-load anything below the fold.
28. Each page has a unique title tag (under 60 characters) and meta description, written as an ad for the click.
29. There's an Open Graph image and title, so links shared on X, LinkedIn and Slack look good.
30. Analytics and conversion tracking work. Test the whole flow once yourself.

How to use this checklist

Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick the top three failures from sections 1 and 2, fix them, and measure for a week. Headline and CTA changes are usually the cheapest wins with the biggest effect.