How to Create a Converting Website for EdTech; An Analysis of 30 Landing Pages

I live and breathe EdTech, so I got interested in how big companies optimize their landing pages for conversion. A 0.5% change in a landing page conversion could result in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in income, depending on a company’s size. I’ve analyzed landing page examples of the TOP30 fastest growing EdTech companies to understand their methods for increasing conversion rates. As a result, I distinguished 42 techniques you could leverage for your conversion rate optimization, and they aren’t exclusive to EdTech Section 1: Value Proposition, Hero Shot, and Call To Action You can make the first impression only once, right? That’s why the first section is crucial – it should catch a visitor’s attention like a fishing hook. Usually, it consists of three parts: Value proposition – a phrase that tells a user, in a nutshell, how they could benefit from your product. Hero Shot – an eye-catching visual that complements the value proposition. Call to action – a proposal to perform some action on the website: try the product, sign up for a newsletter or book a call. Let’s see how top EdTech companies create stunning first sections to engage their landing page visitors. 1) Use a stunning hero shot image that combines real objects and an illustration has made a fantastic hero shot by creatively combining real and illustrated objects – it just hypnotized me. The image ultimately represents the value proposition “Explore thousands of hands-on creative classes” – it has a hand and creative tools that symbolize exploration. At the same time, the value proposition is also a call to action that proposes to sign up with a one-click registration with Facebook, Google, or Apple. Skillshare Ponder how you can visually represent your value proposition by mixing photos and illustrations. 2) Drive emotion with a human face and good design chose a fabulous model to convey an emotion. The woman looks mysterious and intriguing – you at least want to know more about what she has to say. BetterUp The website design is very classy and laconic. It promises not to overload you with information but to provide an excellent aesthetic experience. There are two calls to action – one central to explore the product yourself and another if you want an onboarding manager to show you a demo. That satisfies both audience segments: those who like to research products solely (me, for example) and those who want someone to show them the product. leverages a similar approach. The design is very slick and laconic. They have a call-to-action, a friendly face, and a short but precise value proposition. Take note that they propose you start immediately – to provide your email and kick off the learning process. If somebody does it – they are already on a hook because they got into mailing and remarketing lists. Cambly 3) Influence with powerful symbols shows us a very vivid and a bit mischievous image that draws the attention of parents and kids. Both drum sticks and a mediator (in the background) symbolize creativity, rebellion, and freedom. All of which echo the business’ model – lessons for unschoolers, and the value proposition – “Set learning free”. The continuation also appeals to both customer segments: parents want their kids to realize their full potential, and kids want to learn what they like, not what they are told to. Outschool 4) Appeal to something familiar positions itself as “Netflix for educational content”. And its design almost entirely repeats its “Big Brother”. As a result, they leverage the well-known brand to their advantage – if a visitor is a user of Netflix, the possibility that said visitor will convert is higher. Simple, a bit tricky, but effective. Curiosity stream 5) State essential features in the first section states their key three feature just after the value proposition. The texts are short; the design is spacious, so it doesn’t overload a user. Also, a social proof section has a 4.5 rating and 3300+ reviews showing visitors that many people trust this platform. Lingoda In addition, the website proposes some small non-binding actions for a start – like checking out tutors for a language you want. That increases engagement, and engagement leads to conversion. the dark side But what is not perfect with the website? I’ve noticed at least two things: the Trustpilot widget blends in with the background, which makes it harder to read. And the Hero Shot is too abstract – you could use this photo for a dating website, CRM, or a Dota 2 championship 🙂 6) Animate some elements of your Hero Shot design looks very polished and surprises you with the moving elements which immediately catch your attention. I believe GIFs have a bit of magic, like live newspapers in “Harry Potter”. It’s a potent tool. In addition, Brightwheel added a link to their explainer video – that’s another worthy feature you can utilize. Brightwheel 7) Let a visitor use key features immediately made quite a bold product decision by letting visitors use their essential features from the start. From one side, it looks a bit overwhelming. From another – I bet it’s engaging too. I believe the product with ~32 million monthly visits did the math and A/B testing, so maybe you should try it too? CourseHero 8) Don’t overwhelm visitors with too much information. A bad example of the first section ’s first screen is too overloaded. It has: Labster Six strings of text in the value proposition. Two calls to action. A video in the background and a call to action to watch it. A chat, which unfolds automatically. The cookie policy banner. Three (!) headers. Okay, one of them is a banner that looks like a header. Two cards with classes that have more information: tags, a title, a subtitle, a description, and a cover. When I open such websites, I start to feel a panic attack and demand an oxygen cylinder. Please don’t do like this. Those elements could be pretty practical separately, but together they create chaos. A bit more examples of good calls to action I’ve highlighted some captivating call-to-action solutions which could also be effective for your website. 9) Use predefined tags for a search Here is a Ukrainian tutor platform, . It has a clear call-to-action + the most popular tags for search, which invite a user to at least take a look. It almost says to you: “Come on, search! It is so quick; you lose nothing😉” Preply 10) Treat a new visitor like an old friend. “Login, not sign up” This is what you see on the first screen of . It breaks the usual pattern of “give us your email and a drop of blood, blah-blah-blah”. A visitor is invited not to sign up but sign in like he is already registered. It also creates a friendly vibe. The Indian flag adds a sense of relevancy (the product targets Indians). Teachoo 11) Put it into the center of your landing characters’ attention There are three characters in this section, and two of them look at the call to action in the middle. Unconsciously people the gaze of other people or even characters. So, you could “ask” your brand heroes to look at the needed direction. Quizizz tend to follow 12) Often, simplicity does “the thing” made the design extremely light: two colors, a couple of elements... Combined with a brilliant and highly customer-centric call to action, it does “the thing”. Photomath Live chat – a proven way to increase customer engagement and conversion shows that adding a live chat to a website increases the conversion rate by 20%. I understand it from a simple human perspective: if you see that cozy little icon of a live chat – you know that a company cares about you. Knowing customer support is just a click away makes me trust the website more. Research Compare it to the most horrible ways – leaving just an email or a “support request form”. Yuck! Below I collected two examples of good live chat integrations. 13) Just add Intercom water Here is Labster’s live chat window, a standard Intercom widget. This is the option if you want to set up the chat quickly. It’s straightforward and adding it is easy. Don’t forget to use predefined answers – they are a sound way to increase engagement. 14) Add a video introduction if you want a pinch of “sci-fi” spice This kind of widget looks very unusual and compelling – think about using something similar on your website. It seems almost like holographic figures from “Star Wars”! And don’t be afraid, it is pretty laconic in the folded state. Explain yourself! Examples of the “How does it work?” section Our brains love algorithms. Providing information that your EdTech product is easy as one-two-three will give a visitor an urge at least to try it. How to make it right? Below are some examples. People 15) Use the KISS principle – Keep It Simply Stupid Quizizz has simplicity as one of the core brand values. They even have embedded it in their name! That’s why I like this three-step section with minimalistic cards – our brain can perceive only four elements per time, so keeping the number to three is perfect. provides another example of a straightforward design that represents the mobile-first experience and conveys emotion with a friendly human face. CoachHub 16)Make it move – add some interactivity Adding just a bit of interactivity or breaking the usual pattern will get a user’s attention. Here unusually demonstrates its screens – the user interacts with the website by scrolling and get’s acquainted with the features in such a way. Looks good! Brainly BetterUp uses the same approach but makes an accent on the mobile experience. Also, they have less text which makes them easier to process. Photomath takes it to the next level – it proposes you click to see the process yourself. That leverages three tactics simultaneously: A user sees the mobile screen, and it takes him just several clicks to get the result. He feels that using the app is easy as clicking. He receives instant gratification – sees the results of his actions immediately. He put some effort into the website. Though it is tiny, people still tend to convert more if they invest something into the product, even if it is a couple of clicks. How the statistics section increases conversion People love numbers – it inspires their trust. Numbers are factual, universal, and easy to perceive. That’s why statistics about your product could significantly boost your landing page conversion. 17) Use big numbers that inspire trust bombards a visitor with five main numbers, each of which can give you an understanding of the platform’s scale. Knowing Preply’s love for A/B testing, I’m sure those five numbers have not been chosen accidentally. Also, take note of the Trustpilot widget – this type of social proof greatly boosts conversion. Preply combines numbers with the logos of leading cloud technologies – that’s how it gets a part of its brand power. A Cloud Guru Lingoda used a very terse- attention-grabbing section with the key three numbers. 18) Mention your geography – that amazes Quizizz makes a bet on geography and coverage, which looks impressive. Show me what you’ve got. Content cards and categories If you have a lot of products – courses, for example, you should find an efficient way to showcase them. Product cards and types could quickly give visitors information about the courses and urge them to learn more. 19) Provide visitors with key information with content cards I like these cards from Outschool because they are small but contain a lot of data and possible actions: Ratings. You can see many reviews that leverage social proof and tell a person: “You can trust this product”. A teacher’s name, duration, price, and the age of students. Title and image that allows hooking a visitor, emotionally or rationally. And, finally – the “Favourite” button. If visitors want to bookmark a lesson they are interested in, they need to sign up, which already creates an opportunity for remarketing. Also, the favorited class could be an “anchor” the user wants to return to. 20) Ask yourself a question: What categories will catch visitors’ attention? Another card from Preply. It creates a sense of abundance (see how many teachers we have for each language), and the icons are pretty good – each relates to a particular culture, making them easy to skim. Course Hero divides study documents by universities. The design isn’t great, but it’ll grab a user's attention looking for files from a particular university. What are your superpowers? Examples of a good “features” section To be honest, I rarely “read” landing pages. After glancing at the value proposition, I jump straight to the “features” section – the first thing I want to learn about the product. I bet that most people do the same – that’s why this section is the heart of the matter. 21) Use the “Feature + Visualisation + Description” framework That’s a perfect screen for features presentation. Though it provides a lot of information, it’s not overwhelming. You can choose a feature, see how it looks, and read its description. More than that – a user interacts with the landing, which is good for SEO and conversion. It is worth mentioning that the design is very spacious and clean – I can’t stop loving it. uses the parallax effect to tell about its features – it also looks catchy and uncomplicated. Brainly combines features and testimonials. That’s a powerful combination because a visitor sees social proof that states how a feature benefited some previous clients. Brightwheel “Sell the hole, not the drill”. Examples of good “benefits” sections First of all, let’s define the difference between features and benefits. Features are some functions your product does, benefits – the use your clients have from using these functions. Benefits are vital for appealing to your customers’ needs and emotions, so this section is critical for your landing page conversion. Let’s take a look at good examples of it: 22) Use original and creative illustrations that metaphorically showcase your benefits Outschool stylized their illustrations as kids' drawings, and they look brilliant! The metaphors are prominent and resonate with the brand message of evoking a kid’s creativity and talent. They highlighted three key benefits: self-organization, socialization, and top-grade knowledge. By the way, the maximum number of elements our brain can process simultaneously is four. So, three-four benefits are the maximum – keep it terse. 23) Keep it clean. One benefit – one screen shows an example of a basic but powerful approach. This benefit screen is clear: illustration, an easy-to-skim subtitle, description, and a call to action. Stating three benefits in such a way with a repeatable call to action can dramatically increase the chances of conversion. Cambly Lingoda takes this approach to the next level: it targets a need, shows the interface, and has a connecting line that creates a sense of story that interweaves all benefits and urges you to finish your reading. 24) Don’t just share – compare! Set your product and the default solution (or competitors) side by side. compares its product with regular classes and provides proof of each benefit it wins. Cuemath Coachhub showcases benefits with the help of numbers – it works especially well with B2B audiences. Define the critical results of your product’s benefits as numbers and display them. 25) Run a study – leverage science to show that your product makes a difference Another remarkable technic from is to run a study about your product curated by a trusted organization. Consequently, it highly boosts the trust of the website visitors and conversion. Cuemath Sometimes one video can change everything. Both for good and for bad The video section is a great way to engage your visitors and evoke emotion. But be careful; if the video has too many details, interferes with other elements on the website, or has a too large file size – it could do more harm than benefit. Try to keep your videos short, explanatory and emotional. Here are some excellent examples: 26) Reinforce your brand message with an emotional video sequence BetterUp shows a completely senseless video, which I relate to a category of “people who eat salad and laugh”. I mean generic stock videos with smiling people, which could be related to any business: dentists, beauticians, or cannabis distribution. But! This video works exceptionally well because it enkindles an emotion, appeals to multicultural audiences, and conveys a powerful brand message. It hypnotized me for quite some time. You could leverage the same technic in your case. Define your brand message in words, find videos that visualize it, and create a short looped video for your website. 27) Introduce people from your team, make the connection with the brand personal Photomath shows a video with a C-level team member who talks about the app and the work behind it. Showing the faces of someone from your team creates a sense of personal connection with your product, so this is another powerful method you can leverage. 28) Bonus: a bad case of implementing a video to a landing page You see a overloaded with elements already. But if you add a video, it becomes total chaos without any chance to focus your attention. landing page Also, look at the video: it has a person, the product’s interface, some pitching scenes, and media mentions. And that’s not all – I put only 10 seconds from the video, which initially was far longer. When I meet websites like this, I just want to close the tab, run into the woods, and cry for a long time about the cruelty and unfairness of this world. Don’t do it this way; keep it simple. Free trial – let your website visitors take a peek into your product Free trials and freemiums are potent tools that increase conversion dramatically. But to execute this function, they should be well-presented. Some examples from the product that did it right: 29) Combine a free trial proposal with other elements proposes a free trial lesson just from the first page, and this is one of the best things to do. They mention their key four features right after the value proposition, plus reinforce it with social proof from Trustpilot and Mumsnet. The section looks slightly overloaded, but I believe the conversion is still quite good. GoStudent Lingoda proposes a group lesson for a free trial – a brilliant move from the business perspective: It doesn’t spend so much money as if it was a proposal for a 1:1 lesson. The group lesson will take place anyway. Communication with others could be an additional hook to persuade a person to continue using the product. Also, Lingoda combined the proposal with a three-step explanation showing the process's ease and transparency. Integrations. Show that your product will never walk alone There is a weird and funny TV Show, “Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency”, where the main character constantly states, "Everything is connected!”. He is entirely right if we are talking about the digital world. In some cases, even if a tool is great but doesn’t integrate with others, the visitors will pass on it. So, it’s essential to show what services your product is integrated with. 30) Structure your integrations and showcase the most popular ones Above is an example from a Ukrainian product Grammarly. They integrate with hundreds of tools but to not overload visitors with information, they chose the key ones and split them into three categories. People see familiar brands and trust the website more; they also understand that they can implement the tool into their personal or business ecosystem. Testimonials and social proof. Let your current clients persuade the future ones Bill Gates once said, "if your business is not on the internet, it doesn’t exist”. I’d rephrase it for the modern world: “If your business doesn’t have reviews, it doesn’t exist”. Providing social proof is crucial for a product. What are good ways to do it? 31) Use the force of video, brand names, and emotions in your testimonials BetterUp uses a “heavy artillery” of social proof: names of big technological companies, sincere emotions, and video testimonials from people. Powerful combination. 32) Leverage the power of review websites: Trustpilot, G2, and Capterra Choose one platform to collect reviews and showcase them on your website with its widget. uses a simple Trustpilot integration, but it’s powerful because many people trust this website. Another bonus from collecting reviews is that review websites generate traffic to your product by themselves. If you win in some categories, like “the best educational product in 2022”, it will give an additional reason for your visitors to trust you. Lingoda 33) Talk less but with confidence takes an unorthodox approach – it doesn’t show many reviews but displays one “power review” that shows the essence of its use and reinforces it with the logotypes of client companies. I like this approach – it persuades more with quality, not quantity, and makes the website look cleaner and more respectable. Finally, we respect people who talk less but authoritatively, right? Grammarly 34) Combine video reviews with power phrases I don’t like videos on websites and rarely watch them – it takes time; reading is faster. Usually, I skip videos and look for text information. But not all people like me, so it’s good to meet the interests of both sides and provide convenient formats for “readers” and “watchers”. did it just like this. ExecOnline 35) People trust testimonials from social media more – make use of it! People can check a person behind a review if it’s posted on social media – that’s why collecting reviews on Twitter or Facebook could be a good idea. Collect testimonials about your product on Social Media and showcase them on your website – many widgets allow that. 36) Showcase logos of big companies that became your clients BetterUp has only a narrow line with logos of companies that use their product, but look at their names! Take note that the company chose clients from different industries to show the multitude of its possible uses. You don’t need to put all your clients into this section; just select the most influential ones. Another example by emphasizes its universality and B2B features. Udemy Media mentions – a sign that visitors can trust your business If a well-known media wrote an article about you, at least that means that your company is worth considering. At maximum – that your product is outstanding. Listing your media publications is important – here are some ways to do it. 37) At least just list the logotypes The simplest way to show your company is on media is just to list the logotypes of media with links to the articles about you. Above you see how Lingoda did it. I like the version more because it’s more informative and engaging – they put headlines of the articles into the section. Mursion 38) Compliances are vital for integration with some educational systems Above Cuemath relies on respected names to reinforce the persuasiveness of the landing. If you comply with some institutions or systems, list them on your landing. People love people. Show them! Good examples of the team members section It takes 33 milliseconds (0.03 of a second) for our reptile part of the brain to make an emotional judgment about a human face we saw. I shared this fact just to show you how quickly we can analyze a human face. Showing your team could play a vital role in increasing your conversion. 39) Show your team photos, and not only from the professional perspective Outschool has a great website – I forgot how many times I’ve mentioned them. Not only do they show friendly faces but also their hobbies and preferences of the teachers. That takes the visitor-product relationship to the next level: visitors could see in a teacher not only a professional but a potential friend, or a person with common interests, at least. That gives a start to an emotional attachment. Stakeholders screen – how to appeal to several audiences? It could be that a product could have several stakeholders, especially if it is a marketplace. How do you engage all of them correctly? Usually, the solution is to hint at each side's benefits and then provide a link to another landing page targeted at a specific audience. 40) Use visual metaphors that appeal to every stakeholder Here is how Outschool managed it. You could leverage the same approach: choose the main benefit for each party, add some numbers, and create engaging illustrations that represent the benefits. Another example is by Cambly. I like it even more because it looks cleaner. FAQ – your opportunity to engage users and get some SEO points One of the top benefits of FAQs is working through a visitor's objections. Ask your sales managers the most common objections they hear from clients, and write answers for them in your FAQ section. Also, it is good to add some keywords – it will increase your website's organic traffic. 41) Respond to FAQ but give a chance to ask more questions Lingoda answered the TOP5 questions they usually receive; however, they also provide a way to read more questions or get in touch with their support team. An excellent way to engage users or even get leads. Footer. Last but not least Footer is usually a place where users want to quickly find additional information about the company or move across the key pages. Make sure you’ve done it right. 42) Make the footer doesn’t look like one Usually, our brain ignores footers because “there is nothing important there”. However, Outschool stylized the footer to the colors of the main landing page, leaving only a narrow bottom line designed as a classic footer. That optical illusion results in that a person at least scans their footer, which could engage them further – for example, explore the Summer Camps or Financial Assistance pages. Also, the footer plays an integral part in SEO – don’t forget to include keywords in it. Wrapping up An excellent landing page is crucial because it’s the critical point where you direct all your potential customers. Even an increase in conversion by a fraction of a percent can result in an asymmetric rise in your profits. I hope that this analysis of the top EdTech landing pages got you some ideas on your conversion rate optimization. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to write to me in the comments or on any of my linked socials, I’m always happy to meet new people from EdTech. Have rapid growth!