The Anatomy of a High-Converting Shopify Landing Page for Black Friday 2024

1. Craft an Attention-Grabbing Headline

The first thing shoppers see on your Black Friday landing page is the headline, and it needs to instantly communicate value. A strong headline sets the tone for your entire promotion. Use it to highlight the key benefit or offer, such as:

• 50% Off Storewide – Today Only!
• Exclusive Black Friday Deals for Members
• Buy One, Get One Free – Black Friday Flash Sale
• FREE Shipping – TODAY Only!

Use Dynamic Liquid Variables to Personalize Your Headline

You can use Shopify Liquid to dynamically personalize your headline based on customer data like location or returning visitors. All of these snippets will be real code from stores I work on! As you read these code examples, know that you don’t have to be a developer to paste these snippets! All of them are made specifically for the product page template which you can access by going to Online Store → Themes → Edit Code. The product template name can be found on the right panel of any product. Reach out to me at [email protected] if you get stuck!

{% if customer %}
  <p>Welcome Back, {{ customer.first_name }}! Enjoy {{ sale_percentage }}% off this Black Friday!</p>
{% else %}
  <p>Welcome to Our Biggest Black Friday Sale – {{ sale_percentage }}% Off Everything!</p>
{% endif %}

This snippet personalizes the headline for returning customers while still capturing the excitement of Black Friday deals for first-time visitors. You’d be surprised how much a personalized message helps! We have split tested this to increase conversion rate on a product page by at least 20%! The best result was closer to 50%.

2. Use High-Quality Visuals that Showcase the Product

Visual storytelling plays a huge role in sales, especially during sales events like Black Friday. Shoppers make decisions quickly (goldfish attention lol), and high-quality images or videos help showcase your products in the best light. Make sure the images are:

• High-resolution but optimized for speed. Check my previous article for speed tips!
• Showcasing the product from multiple angles or in a lifestyle setting (people convert best).
• Paired with zoom-in capabilities or dynamic video that enhances the shopper's experience.

Optimize Image Delivery for Fast Load Times

You can use Shopify’s built-in {{ img_url }} Liquid filter to serve optimized image formats like WebP automatically. This helps your landing page load faster without compromising on image quality. Someone actually let me know this since my previous speed post! I don’t pretend to know everything, so it’s great that some of you are sending me some cool information that I can pass on to the community!

<img src="{{ product.featured_image | img_url: 'large', format: 'webp' }}" alt="{{ product.title }}">

This code ensures that the images served are in the WebP format, improving load times while keeping your page looking sharp. Shopify creates this when you upload images, so if you don’t have image editing capabilities you are still covered! The uplift from doing this is dependent on how slow your website is, and how much you end up speeding it up.

3. Craft Urgent and Actionable Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Black Friday landing pages thrive on urgency. Your CTA buttons should push users to act immediately, whether it’s “Buy Now,” “Limited Stock Available,” or “Claim Your Discount Before It’s Gone!”

Inject Urgency with a Countdown Timer

Adding a countdown timer is a tried-and-true method to drive conversions during limited-time sales like Black Friday. You can use Liquid and JavaScript to implement a dynamic countdown timer that displays how much time is left in your sale.

<div id="countdown"></div>

<script>
  const countdownElement = document.getElementById('countdown');
  const endDate = new Date("Nov 24, 2024 23:59:59").getTime();

  const interval = setInterval(function() {
    const now = new Date().getTime();
    const distance = endDate - now;

    const days = Math.floor(distance / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24));
    const hours = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24)) / (1000 * 60 * 60));
    const minutes = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60 * 60)) / (1000 * 60));
    const seconds = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60)) / 1000);

    countdownElement.innerHTML = days + "d " + hours + "h " + minutes + "m " + seconds + "s ";

    if (distance < 0) {
      clearInterval(interval);
      countdownElement.innerHTML = "EXPIRED";
    }
  }, 1000);
</script>

This script generates a dynamic countdown timer that updates in real-time, creating a sense of urgency and encouraging visitors to make quick decisions. Obviously, you can adjust the expiration of the timer depending on your needs. Just change the date where it says (“Nov 24, 2024 23:59:59”). Be sure to keep the quotes and parentheses. This change almost always increases the conversion rate of a product page by more than 50% during the Black Friday rush!

4. Showcase Social Proof and User-Generated Content

Shoppers trust what other customers have to say, especially during high-stakes sales events like Black Friday. Including reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content (UGC) directly on your landing page can increase trust and boost conversions.

Dynamically Display Customer Reviews

Use Shopify's built-in review apps like Yotpo or Loox to pull in product reviews. You can also use Liquid to showcase reviews for a specific product on the landing page dynamically.

{% for review in product.reviews %}
  <div class="review">
    <strong>{{ review.author_name }}</strong>
    <p>{{ review.body }}</p>
    <p>Rating: {{ review.rating }} / 5</p>
  </div>
{% endfor %}

This dynamically renders customer reviews related to a specific product, adding credibility to your landing page. You probably already have reviews built into the theme, but this simple snippet of code adds it for free if it isn’t available already. If you don’t have any reviews, take the time to embed some sort of social proof. This can be from a video, general reviews from Google/FB, or even just quotes you have gotten from friends. Remember, people are social creatures and they value the opinions of others.

5. Simplify the Navigation and Minimize Distractions

During Black Friday, shoppers are laser-focused on finding deals. Your landing page should be simple and distraction-free, guiding users to take action (add to cart, sign up, etc.). Remove unnecessary elements, such as:

• Complex menus and excessive navigation options.
• Sidebars that take attention away from the main offer.
• Unnecessary pop-ups that disrupt the shopping experience.

Instead, focus on providing a clear path to checkout by using a simplified layout with large, prominent CTA buttons. When in doubt, remove a click from the buying process.

Use Sticky Add-to-Cart Buttons

Keep your CTA button always visible, especially on mobile. With Shopify, you can create a sticky add-to-cart button that follows users as they scroll, making it easier to complete their purchase.

.sticky-add-to-cart {
  position: fixed;
  bottom: 0;
  width: 100%;
  background-color: #000;
  color: #fff;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 10px;
  z-index: 1000;
}

<button class="sticky-add-to-cart">Add to Cart</button>

This keeps your "Add to Cart" button visible at all times, ensuring that customers don’t have to scroll back up to take action. If you are copying and pasting this code into your product page template, please make sure the .sticky-add-to-cart part is inside a <style> tag and you just add the class to the ATC button. Again, if you are struggling please send me an email. We have tested sticky add to cart to increase conversion rate by an average of 30% on a product page.

6. Leverage FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) With Scarcity Tactics

Scarcity marketing plays on the shopper's fear of missing out (FOMO). Highlight limited quantities, low stock notices, or exclusive offers that expire soon to drive urgency. Customers don’t like these tactics, but they are extremely effective. Try not to present them positively rather than making customers upset. There are ways you can introduce FOMO by just conveying information to the customer.

Display Real-Time Stock Levels

You can use Shopify’s Liquid code to display real-time stock availability on the product page, creating a sense of urgency.

{% if product.inventory_quantity > 0 %}
  <p>Hurry, only {{ product.inventory_quantity }} left in stock!</p>
{% else %}
  <p>Out of Stock</p>
{% endif %}

This code dynamically updates the stock quantity, making it clear when stock is running low, motivating shoppers to buy quickly before they miss out. You can manipulate your stock levels throughout the sale to continuously make people feel like you are about to run out of stock, and your customers will assume you are just conveying how much inventory you have left. This is definitely a gray hat tactic, but it’s extremely effective. The uplift of this tactic depends on how often you update it, but it could easily be the most effective tactic in this entire post if done right.

7. Optimize Page Speed for Peak Performance

During Black Friday, your landing page will see a significant surge in traffic. Ensuring that your page loads quickly is critical to keeping visitors engaged. According to Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a page that takes longer than three seconds to load. With the majority of paid traffic nowadays being from mobile, you are absolutely leaving money on the table if your website isn’t as fast as it possibly can be (email me for a FREE website speed audit).

Lazy Load Images and Videos

Use lazy loading to defer the loading of images and videos that are not immediately visible, improving your page speed and overall performance.

<img data-src="{{ product.featured_image | img_url: 'large' }}" class="lazyload" alt="{{ product.title }}">

This simple snippet delays loading the image until the user scrolls to that part of the page, which can significantly improve the initial load time of your landing page. Refer to my previous article for much more detailed speed tips.

8. Implement Exit-Intent Popups for Retargeting

Many shoppers will browse your Black Friday deals without making an immediate purchase. An exit-intent popup can help you capture those leads or give one last offer to retain potential customers.

Use Liquid for Personalizing Exit Popups

You can use Shopify Liquid to create a personalized exit popup that offers a special discount or product recommendation when the user is about to leave the page.

<script>
  document.addEventListener('mouseleave', function(e) {
    if (!localStorage.getItem('exit-popup-shown')) {
      alert('Wait! Don’t miss out on our {{ sale_percentage }}% off offer!');
      localStorage.setItem('exit-popup-shown', 'true');
    }
  });
</script>

This snippet triggers a popup when the user is about to leave the page, offering one last incentive to make a purchase. This is probably best done using an app, because what I have coded here is a very basic message, but if you prefer to make everything yourself, without incurring app cost, this should give you a head start!