Designing for conversion
Prompt patterns that produce sites that actually convert.
A pretty site that nobody acts on is a failed site. These are prompt patterns that bias PageFork toward output that converts — landing pages that sign people up, portfolios that book calls, local sites that fill slots.
1. Make the hero earn its space
The hero is the first thing visitors see and most of them won’t scroll. Prompt for:
- A clear headline — what, for whom, and why they should care. Under 10 words.
- A one-sentence sub-headline — the concrete benefit.
- One primary CTA. Not two. One.
- A visual that matches the subject, not a stock abstraction.
Example prompt:
“Rewrite the hero. Headline under 8 words, says exactly what we do for whom. Sub-headline one sentence with a concrete benefit. One CTA, label it ‘Start free’. No secondary CTA.”
2. One CTA per section, repeated
Every major section should have one CTA, and they should mostly point to the same destination. Decision fatigue kills conversion.
Prompt: “Every section should have one CTA. Use the same label and destination (‘Start free’ → /signup) everywhere except the pricing section, which uses ‘Pick a plan’.“
3. Social proof where decisions happen
Place testimonials, logos, and case studies just before the conversion moment — near the CTA, not on a separate page:
- Below the hero.
- Next to the pricing table.
- Inside the form section.
Prompt: “Add a single-line row of three customer logos under the hero, and a two-column testimonial next to the pricing grid.”
4. Short forms convert better
Every field is a friction point. Ask PageFork for the minimum:
- For a newsletter: email only.
- For a demo request: email, name, company — three fields.
- For a contact: email, message — two fields.
If you need more data, collect it after conversion, not before.
5. Specific copy beats clever copy
“Book a 15-minute call” converts better than “Let’s chat”. Prompt for specificity:
“Replace the abstract CTA copy with concrete commitments: how long, what happens next, what the user gets.”
6. Typography hierarchy
A page with three font sizes feels amateurish. A page with seven looks like a random walk. Aim for four:
- H1 (hero headline).
- H2 (section headlines).
- Body.
- Small / metadata.
Prompt: “Tighten the typography hierarchy to exactly four sizes. Aggressive contrast between H1 and body; H2 just slightly larger than body.”
7. Remove, don’t add
Every extra section dilutes the one the user actually needs to read. Prompt: “Remove the features section and the ‘how it works’ diagram — the hero and pricing already cover them.”
Anti-patterns
- Three CTAs in the hero (“Sign up”, “Learn more”, “Watch video”).
- A 10-field contact form for a newsletter.
- Stock photos of people pointing at laptops.
- “Innovative, scalable, best-in-class” copy.
- Testimonials with no names or photos.