How to build a crisis response landing page
The importance of updating your website for COVID-19
Whether you’re hosting a webinar, giving away a special report, selling a show, or hosting a video series, a landing page inspires your visitors to get involved in some way.
Creating a crisis response landing page is a little different because you’re not trying to convert leads into sales, you’re trying to communicate serious messages to your customers.
Why should I put up a separate page related to the crisis? Your visitors are looking for reassurance and resources, whether it’s around the health precautions you’re taking to prevent the spread of coronavirus or changes to your business hours. It’s important for your small business to have a crisis response plan, and a big part of that is messaging.
Like the coffee chain JJ Bean talking about its phased reopening.
What is a landing page?
It’s just a website page, but it often looks different from your typical website. It has one main focus: a single “call to action” or focused goal that you want your visitors to pay attention to.
It’s about keeping the visitor focused on that main goal: your response to COVID-19.
Do’s and Don’ts of Creating a COVID-19 Landing Page
Landing web pages are designed to convince the visitor to click on another page.
This is often done on an e-commerce site, where a marketing campaign will send people to clickable pages on a website and provide enticing details about a specific program, product, or service. There will be a button that will take people to buy what you sell.
If you have a call to action on your COVID-19 response landing page, make sure it’s responsive and relevant. For example, if you provide counseling services or sell wellness-related items that consumers are looking for during this time, it’s okay to show people how to access your offerings.
For example, The Broken Whisk Restaurant has a COVID-19 landing page that informs people about its Heat and Serve meal program that is being offered while it is closed.
However, if your small business sells unrelated items, don’t clutter your informational website pages with them. The rest of your website can do that; Save your COVID-19 home page for informational purposes. This communication is part of your pandemic response plan, not a sales pitch.
The same goes for lead generation. Lead generation website pages are used by marketers to capture name, email address, and perhaps other information (such as a phone number or occupation) to enter into a database listing, which is stored on a newsletter platform service.
That database list can then be used to track people who have signed up, whether it’s through an autoresponder series, a promotional campaign, or another newsletter mailing.
You’ll want to avoid having a registration form on your COVID-19 response landing page. Even if you have coronavirus-specific resources to share, now is not the time to try to get leads from a page like this.
The BC Chamber of Commerce has a resource page for businesses affected by COVID-19.
6 ways to create an optimal coronavirus landing page
It’s not as simple as putting up a page on your website and waiting for the traffic to flow (just like the rest of your website)!
Here are five ways to design an experience that will resonate with your visitors:
Start with a clean design. This page of your website should be simple and focused. Website pages with balanced “white space” make it easy for visitors to focus on your coronavirus messages.
- Add a descriptive title. Simply putting “Resources” is not convincing. Something like “How we’re responding to the pandemic” or “COVID-19 resources for our customers” will grab people’s attention.
- Add images. Maybe not a closeup of the virus itself, which we tend to see on many news sites! Photos of your store or restaurant staff, a picture of the outside if it’s relevant to your small business… use your imagination.
- Be empathetic. Be clear about why your visitor is on this page to begin with, and make sure you’re addressing their current needs, challenges, and even fears. Show that you empathize with those needs and show that they are in the right place.
- Keep it simple. In this case, less is more. Don’t add extra links, words or visuals that will distract your visitors. The purpose of this separate page is to keep viewers focused on the message.
- Format your text. This is especially true if you have many copies. Bold headings, make certain text stand out in italics, and add color to make your page more dynamic.
This is a challenging time for both small businesses and customers. The more information and peace of mind you can provide to your website visitors, the better. By creating a separate coronavirus landing page and pandemic response plan, you show that you are thinking about and care about your customers.
If you need to create a landing page specific to what your site visitors need from you right now, please contact us, we’re here to help.