17 landing page mistakes that kill conversions (and how to fix each one)

Most landing pages don't fail because of the button color. They fail because a visitor can't tell what's on offer, doesn't believe it, or can't see what to do next. These are the mistakes that come up again and again on startup and SaaS pages, ordered roughly by how much they cost.

Message mistakes

1. The headline names a category, not an outcome

"The all-in-one platform for modern teams" could describe a thousand products. Visitors give you about five seconds. Fix: say what the customer gets: "Close your books in 2 days, not 2 weeks". See headline examples.

2. Writing for yourself instead of the visitor

Pages full of "we", "our mission" and the founding story make the visitor do the work of translating. Fix: rewrite each section so it talks to "you" and answers "what's in it for me?"

3. Jargon and empty adjectives

"Seamless", "robust", "cutting-edge", "AI-powered" on its own: these words carry no information. Fix: replace each adjective with a number, a concrete noun or an example.

4. No clear audience

A page for "everyone" persuades no one. Fix: name who it's for in the subheadline ("for Shopify stores doing $10k–$100k a month").

5. Message mismatch with the traffic source

The ad promises "free invoice templates" and the page pitches an enterprise suite. Visitors bounce because they think they're in the wrong place. Fix: repeat the promise from the ad, post or search result in the headline.

Call-to-action mistakes

6. No CTA above the fold

If the first screen has no button, many visitors never find one. Fix: put one primary CTA in the hero on both desktop and mobile.

7. Vague button text

"Submit", "Learn more" and "Get started" don't say what happens next. Fix: use the outcome: "Get my free report", "Start my 14-day trial". See 60 CTA button text examples.

8. Too many competing CTAs

Book a demo, start a trial, watch a video, join the newsletter, follow on X, all on one screen. Fix: one primary action and at most one secondary action, styled more quietly.

9. Hidden friction

The button says "Try free" and the next screen asks for a credit card and eight form fields. Fix: ask for the minimum, and say up front what you'll need ("No credit card required", only if true).

Trust mistakes

10. No proof, or proof that looks fake

Anonymous "This is amazing! — J.D." quotes hurt more than they help. Fix: use real, specific, attributed testimonials, customer logos or usage numbers. If you're brand new and have none, say so honestly and lean on a guarantee or a free tier. Never invent proof.

11. Pricing you have to hunt for

Visitors who can't find a price often assume it's expensive. Fix: link to pricing from the hero or the nav, or explain why it's custom.

12. Unanswered objections

"Is my data safe?", "Can I cancel?", "Does it work with X?" Fix: add a short FAQ near the final CTA covering the questions you hear on sales calls and in support.

13. No sign of a real business

No contact email, no company name, no terms or privacy page. Fix: add them to the footer. They're cheap and they remove doubt.

Design and technical mistakes

14. A hero image that shows nothing

Abstract gradients and stock photos of people in meetings tell the visitor nothing about the product. Fix: show a real screenshot, a short GIF or the result the product produces.

15. A wall of text

Long paragraphs with no subheadings get skipped. Fix: use descriptive subheadings, short paragraphs, bullets and a "how it works in 3 steps" section.

16. A broken mobile experience

Often more than half of the traffic is on phones, yet pages ship with tiny text, horizontal scrolling and a cookie banner covering the CTA. Fix: test on a real phone. The headline and CTA should fit the first screen and tap targets should be at least 44px tall.

17. A slow page

Heavy hero videos and unoptimized images push the first paint past 3 seconds, and visitors leave before they read a word. Fix: compress the images, lazy-load anything below the fold and aim for a Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5s.

What to fix first

Start with mistakes 1, 6 and 7: the headline and the CTA. They're the cheapest to change and usually move conversions the most. Then work on proof (10) and mobile (16). For a full pass, use the 30-point landing page checklist.