Landing page copy
A page persuades when one argument runs from the first screen to the ask, in the order the reader's doubts arise, with the facts a buyer needs to decide. The default failure is the template page: a slogan hero, three same-shaped feature cards, a logo bar, a testimonial row, "Ready to get started?", with no argument and no price, effort or catch anywhere on it.
Do not produce
- An opener that is a welcome, a mission statement or a slogan any rival could sign.
- Three feature cards by reflex, or one benefit restated in three sections.
- A logo bar or "trusted by" line as the only proof.
- Proof, urgency or terms the user did not give: counts, quotes, ratings, a countdown, "limited spots", "no contract", "cancel anytime".
- A page that asks only at the bottom, or hides price and conditions until after the ask.
When to use
- Writing, rewriting or planning the copy of a persuasive page: hero, sections, proof, objections, offer and terms, calls to action, FAQ, close.
- Turning notes, a brief or a draft into a page; matching a page to the ad or email that sends traffic to it.
When not to use
- How the page looks, spacing or styling: use layout-structure or visual-hierarchy if installed. If the user wants HTML, write the copy first and leave visual decisions to them.
- One headline, subject line or ad: use headlines-and-leads if installed. Settings and error strings: ux-microcopy. Email: email-and-sequences. A whole-site review: website-copy-audit.
- A claim-by-claim check: honest-claims if installed. Without it, the claims floor below applies.
- The user's voice sample, brand words and stated length win over every default here, except where a line would state something false.
Procedure
Small tasks (one section, a hero rewrite) can skip to step 3.
- Gather what the page turns on: who arrives and from where, what they already know, the one action, the offer and terms, the proof the user really has, their real objections, a voice sample, any length cap. Use what the brief gives. If the brief lacks the offer or the audience and the session is interactive, ask once in one short list with a default per item. Otherwise deliver anyway: write what the facts support, put a visible placeholder where a needed fact is missing, never invent it.
- Plan in three to six lines (reader, the one idea, section order, the ask), then draft in the same reply.
- Order sections by the reader's questions: what is this and is it for me; why care now; how does it work; will it work for someone like me; what does it cost, what is the catch, what must I do; what if it goes wrong; what do I do now. Reorder by reader: someone ready to buy needs offer and terms early, someone who has not noticed the problem needs it made visible first and briefly, a cheap familiar purchase needs only benefit, proof and action.
- Hero: headline and subhead say who it is for, what changes, and what kind of thing it is, in a familiar category word. One primary action whose button says what happens. At most one lower-commitment path.
- One job per section. The heading states the section's point, so the headings read alone tell the argument. Group features under the outcome they serve; use as many items as the content has.
- Proof sits beside the claim it supports, matched to the doubt: a demonstration or specific result for "does it work", someone like the reader for "can I do it", a named outside source for "who says so". If none was supplied, use a placeholder such as [add a real customer quote] or a softer true sentence. For a business with a long history, the founding story can be the proof.
- Objections and terms. Answer each real worry with a fact, acknowledging it as reasonable. Price or starting price with its period, what is included, trial and renewal facts, and the guarantee with its condition appear before the final ask. An honest "not for you if" line helps the right readers self-select.
- The ask repeats at natural decision points (after the hero, after proof, after pricing, at the end) in the same words, and the decline, if shown, is neutral.
Judgment calls
- Length. Default to the decision's weight: short for cheap, familiar purchases, longer for costly, new or risky ones, scannable either way. Cut sections before words. With a stated cap, count and keep within it, dropping the lowest-value sections first and naming them.
- Opening. Default by the reader: problem first when they feel it, outcome first when comparing, offer first when ready. Change when the user's page opens on something that already works.
- Rewrites. Default to keeping every line that already does its job and saying which you kept. If the page already works, say so and change at most a word. Replace a line only to fix clarity, specificity, truth or the action.
- Voice. Default to the supplied sample or the user's best existing lines. With neither, write plain and specific; no adjective triplets, no "unlock", "seamless" or "all-in-one", no exclamation marks.
- A result the user measured is not a result the product caused. State the measurement, or say "we think".
- Message match. When an ad or email sends the traffic, the hero repeats its promise in its words.
The claims floor
Add no fact the user did not give: numbers, customer names, quotes, reviews, ratings, logos, awards, press mentions, study results, deadlines, stock limits, or terms such as "no contract". Where proof is missing, write the claim you can stand behind or leave a visible placeholder such as [add a real customer quote], and still deliver the whole page. Quote customers only from supplied words, trimmed but never reworded. Put prices, renewals, fees and conditions next to the decision they affect. For the full procedure, use honest-claims if it is installed.
Output
Deliver the copy deck first: labelled sections with heading, body and button text, in page order. Nothing before it but the short plan. After it, at most two one-line notes (placeholders to fill, a cap-driven cut), only when they matter. When a count or set is asked for, deliver exactly that. Count words when a cap exists and report the count only if it is true.
Common failures
- Feature cards that name nothing → one outcome per group, with the concrete thing behind it.
- Proof banner at the top, nothing after → proof next to each claim.
- Price absent or on a different page → price or starting price and its main condition before the final ask.
- Generic closer → the ask in the button's words, repeating the hero's action.
- Working copy replaced → keep it and say so.
- A placeholder in every sentence → only where proof is worth getting.
Quick checks
- From the hero alone a stranger can say what it is, who it is for and what to do.
- The headings read alone tell the argument.
- No number, quote, logo or result appears that the brief did not give; every gap is a visible placeholder.
- Price and main condition appear before the final action; one primary action throughout.
- Within any stated length, counted.
- A rival could not sign the hero unchanged.
References
- page-types.md: load when the page is pricing, about, case study, long-form sales or product, or when the user asks for a section plan.