The most common reason landing page projects go sideways is not a design problem. It is a brief problem. When a client cannot clearly articulate who the page is for, what the offer is, and why someone should choose them over the alternatives, no amount of design skill will produce a page that converts.
A great brief does not just help the designer. It forces you to get clear on things that are often left vague in internal conversations, and that vagueness is almost always costing you conversions.
Here is exactly what goes into a brief that produces a high-converting page, first time.
1. The offer, stated precisely
Not “we offer landing page design services.” Something like: “We design and build custom landing pages for B2B SaaS companies running Google Ads, with a $0 down model where the client reviews the completed design in Figma before paying.”
The offer brief should answer:
- What exactly are you selling or offering?
- What is the specific action you want the visitor to take on this page?
- What happens after they take that action?
Every word of this brief will end up shaping the headline, the CTA, and the offer framing throughout the page. Precision here saves weeks of revision later.
2. The specific audience this page is for
Not “B2B companies.” Not “SaaS founders.” Something like: “Founders and heads of marketing at B2B SaaS companies with 10 to 200 employees, spending between $10K and $100K per month on Google Ads. They have tried hiring freelance designers before and been disappointed that the pages looked good but did not convert.”
The more specifically you can describe the person reading this page, the better the designer can make decisions about what to include, what to emphasize, and what objections to address.
Good audience brief elements:
- Job title or role
- Company stage or size
- Current situation and pain point
- What they have already tried
- What outcome they are hoping for
- What they are most afraid of
3. The traffic source
This is underrated, but it directly affects the page structure. A page receiving cold Facebook traffic needs to do more education than a page receiving warm search traffic from someone who already typed the exact service into Google.
For each traffic source:
- What is the specific ad or creative that is sending visitors to this page?
- What is the exact keyword or audience targeting?
- How warm or cold is this traffic (first time hearing of you vs. retargeting)?
If you can share the actual ad creative, even better.
4. The key differentiators
What makes your offer different from the alternatives? Not “we have great customer service”, every agency says that. What is specifically and verifiably different about what you do?
Think about:
- What do you do that others in your category do not?
- What is your commercial model, and is it unusual?
- What results have you produced that you can back up with numbers?
- What process or methodology makes you different?
This is the material that ends up in the body copy and the proof sections. Without it, the designer is left writing generic benefit statements that could apply to any competitor.
5. Objections you commonly hear
Every purchase decision involves doubt. The visitor will have questions they are not going to ask directly, they will just leave if those questions are not answered.
List the five to ten most common objections you hear from prospects, and the best answer you have for each. Good designers weave these into the page structure so they are addressed before the visitor even thinks to ask.
Common objections for a landing page agency might include:
- “We’ve worked with agencies before and been disappointed”
- “How do I know this will convert and not just look pretty?”
- “Can you match our brand?”
- “What happens if we don’t like it?”
- “Is this affordable for our stage?”
What are yours?
6. The proof you have available
Social proof is not optional, and designers cannot invent it. Give your designer everything you have:
- Testimonials (full quotes, not summaries)
- Client names and companies you can use
- Logos of clients or partners
- Case studies with specific results (ideally with numbers)
- Press mentions or media features
- Certifications or credentials
More proof is always better at the brief stage. The designer will select and arrange the most relevant elements. But you have to give them the raw material.
7. Competitors you want to stand apart from
List your two or three main competitors and briefly explain how you are different from each. This helps the designer write differentiating copy that does not sound like your competitors’ websites, and position your strengths in ways that matter to someone comparing options.
8. Visual brand direction
This does not need to be a full brand guide. But share:
- Existing brand colors (hex codes if you have them)
- Fonts you use (or fonts you like)
- Two or three examples of pages, brands, or designs that feel right for you
- Two or three examples of things you want to avoid
“Premium but not flashy, clear rather than clever, confident but not aggressive” is enough to give a designer strong direction.
9. Hard constraints
Save everyone time by being upfront about:
- Are there any claims we cannot legally make?
- Are there any images or creative elements we cannot use?
- Are there integrations or technical constraints that affect the page (specific form tools, CRM requirements, A/B testing platforms)?
- Is there a deadline we must meet?
What to do with all of this
Put these nine elements into a single document before your first call with the designer. You do not need perfect answers for everything, “I am not sure” is fine to write, but the act of trying to answer each section will surface the gaps in your own thinking before the project starts.
A good designer will use the brief as a foundation and ask follow-up questions. But a brief that covers these nine areas means those questions are targeted and productive rather than foundational.
The payoff is a page that is designed from the start to convert the specific person you are trying to reach, with the specific offer you are making, coming from the specific traffic source you are running. That precision is what separates high-converting pages from mediocre ones.
Landing Page Labs designs conversion-optimized landing pages for companies running paid ads. We walk every client through a structured brief process before any design work begins. Apply to work with us.
