How to Design a Landing Page From a Blank Page, One Saturday at a Time

Saturday, 7:12 a.m. Leah sat at her kitchen table with a mug of coffee, a laptop, and a document that was completely, insultingly blank.

She was a personal trainer in Denver. Ten years of coaching, a small group of devoted clients, and a new idea: a six-week "strong start" program for people who had never lifted a weight in their lives. She was going to advertise it. She just needed somewhere to send people.

She typed how to design a landing page into a search bar and found advice that started with colour psychology and ended with heat maps. None of it told her what to do first.

So here is Leah's Saturday, step by step. It's the order we'd recommend to anyone starting from nothing.

7:30 a.m. Decide what "success" means

Before any design, Leah wrote one sentence at the top of the blank page:

When someone finishes reading this page, I want them to book a free 20-minute intro call.

Not "learn about my coaching." Not "follow me on Instagram." One action. Everything else on the page would exist to make that action feel easy and safe.

If you skip this step, you'll end up designing a nice-looking page that asks for five things at once. Pick the one action first.

8:00 a.m. Picture the person who clicks

Next, she wrote down who would land on the page. Adults, probably in their thirties to fifties, a bit intimidated by gyms, worried about looking silly or getting hurt. Busy. Sceptical of "transformations."

Then she listed the questions that person would have, in their own words:

• Is this really for complete beginners?
• Will I get hurt?
• How much time does it take each week?
• What does it cost, roughly?
• Who is this person, and can I trust her?

That list became the skeleton of the page. Each question would get a short, honest answer.

9:00 a.m. Write the words before you touch the design

This is the step most people get backwards. They choose a template, then try to stuff words into it. When you're learning how to design a landing page, write first. Design is how you present the words, so you need the words.

Leah wrote her headline: "Never lifted a weight? Start here." And a line underneath: "A six-week beginner strength program in Denver, small groups, no ego, no judgment."

Then she wrote short answers to each question on her list, a few sentences each. She added a short section about herself, focused on why she loves coaching beginners, not on her certificates. She ended with the button text: "Book my free intro call."

She read it out loud. Anything that sounded like a brochure, she rewrote in the way she'd actually say it to a nervous client.

10:30 a.m. Sketch the layout on paper

With the words done, she grabbed a pen and drew a tall, thin rectangle: a phone screen. She designed for the phone first, because people clicking ads on social media are usually holding one.

Her sketch, top to bottom:

1. Headline, one supporting line, and the booking button, all visible without scrolling.
2. A real photo of her coaching a beginner, smiling, in her actual studio.
3. "Is this for me?" with three short bullet points.
4. How the six weeks work, in four simple steps.
5. Answers to the worries: safety, time, cost range.
6. A few short reviews from real former beginners.
7. About Leah, kept brief.
8. The button again, with a reassuring line: "No pressure. We'll just talk."

She left out a menu. She left out links to her blog and her other services. This page had one door.

12:00 p.m. Apply the design rules that actually matter

Only now did Leah think about visuals, and she kept it simple:

• One button colour used nowhere else, so the action always stands out.
• Plenty of white space so the page doesn't feel like homework.
• Readable text: large enough on a phone, dark on light, short lines.
• Real photos over stock images every time.
• A short form: name, email, phone, preferred time. Nothing more.

She didn't worry about trendy animations. Animation is lovely when it helps. On most small business landing pages, it mostly slows things down.

2:00 p.m. Test it like a stranger

Leah built a draft and sent the link to three friends who had never set foot in a gym. She asked them one question: "What would you do next, and is anything confusing?"

One friend couldn't tell if the program was in person or online. Another thought the button looked like a heading. Small things, easy fixes, and exactly the kind of problems you can't see in your own work.

She also checked how fast it loaded on her phone with Wi-Fi turned off. Slow pages lose visitors before they even see your headline.

The short version of how to design a landing page

If you only remember one thing from Leah's Saturday, make it the order: goal, visitor, words, sketch, design, test. Most landing page problems come from doing those steps backwards.

And if you'd rather spend your Saturday doing your actual job, that's fair too. Our landing page design service follows the same process, with a team that does it every week.

Skip the blank page

Knowing how to design a landing page is useful. Having one that's live, fast and ready for your ads is better. Web Design Studios designs landing pages, business websites and online stores for small businesses, built around the single action you want visitors to take.

👉 Browse our services and choose the landing page package for your launch →

Leah's page went live on Sunday evening. The coffee, she admits, went cold around 9 a.m.