“Attention!“
You’ve heard the word before. Marketers, copywriters, and salespeople talk about attention all the time. It’s like a nervous tic, always sitting on the tip of the tongue.
It’s curious, though, because another word that marketers don’t often use is “patience.” And patience is just as important.
Sure, our first objective is to gain the attention of our prospects. But with signup pages, it’s also about making that registration process as painless and as easy as possible. In other words, it’s not enough just to get your visitors’ attention—you shouldn’t test their patience either. Not with additional questions. Not with confusing copy. Not with incongruent design. As UX expert Steve Krug once famously put it, “Don’t make me think.”
Today we’re going to cover 12 examples of signup pages that get both patience and attention right, with commentary by yours truly. But before we get our hands dirty, let’s take a closer look at what a signup page is.
What’s a Signup Page?
Simply put, a signup page is a type of landing page with a primary conversion goal to drive registrations. These can occur on the landing page itself, or the page can prime visitors before prompting them to enter an account creation flow.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “But I’m already driving traffic to my website. Do I really need a separate signup page?”
Let’s make a comparison.
When someone lands on your website’s homepage, they could have come from one of many channels (like an organic search or by clicking a backlink in someone else’s content.) They’re checking you out, yes, but they may not be there to buy. They might not even know what you’re offering or what you do. Your visitors are curious, maybe. Intrigued? Possibly. But will they fill out a contact form? Don’t count on it.
When you run ads, though, your main goal is often to get your visitors to convert. For this reason, it makes much more sense to send them to a landing page that is specifically designed to get them to sign up instead of a generic homepage full of links and other distractions.
When should I use a signup page?
If you’re running paid ads, you should be using a signup page. That goes for PPC ads and social media ads like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, or if you’re running email campaigns. In all cases, using dedicated landing pages to drive traffic is an easy way to boost conversions.
With SaaS, especially, remember the importance of patience. It’s crucial here because testing your target audience’s patience will cost you—a lot. No one bounces faster than a first-time SaaS user. That’s why you must ease them in. Sequenced pages can help you achieve this goal by making the experience seamless, focused, and pleasant.
Two other elements are vital to keep in mind. First, grant your users small victories, in the beginning, to give them a sense of empowerment. And, second, be sure to show them tons of value early on. Have them perceive the value of your tool, specifically for them. How do you create these little Aha! moments? By having them apply what they learned easily, and by getting them to experience the results for themselves.
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Create a signup page that’ll knock their socks off.
Like most landing pages, a high-converting signup page must have some essential elements, like:
- A clear benefit-driven headline
- A subheading that drives home the point
- A fantastic (and relevant) hero image
- A compelling call-to-action
“But wait.” Yes, you there with your hand raised. “Where’s the form?” Exactly!
A great signup page is one that might as well be yelling, “Look, ma. No hands!” You want to keep the f-f-f-friction to a minimum, either by keeping your form as short as possible or even hiding it until the right might moment. (Some smart examples of this tactic below.)
You do this by having them click on the call-to-action, no fields. And voilà! A form appears, seemingly out of thin air. From there, you’ve got options. Will you lead them down a multi-page sequence? Or will you collect the email and get them to log onto your platform, where they’ll be prompted to follow dopamine-triggering queues? Or will you email them and start nurturing them that way?
The best way to learn is to see these principles in action, though. Let’s dig deeper into how to create a signup page by going over some Unbounce-certified examples below.
12 Great Signup Pages Created by Unbounce Customers
As the name suggests, an excellent registration page follows all the principles of a great landing page but uses them to get people to fill out your form. Since we have a dozen examples to review, let’s focus on actionable takeaways.
1. Ruby shows incredible focus.
Ruby is a virtual receptionist and chat company that gets the power of branding. Their gorgeous above-the-fold setup for this landing page is a perfect example of signup done right.
First of all, the headline is direct. Make more sales when people reach out to you. They promise to help you create “happy customers” while you’re at it.
The body copy is equally clear. The first sentence (“Missed calls are costing you customers”) is a swift punch to the gut. Hit ‘em where the pain point is. Then, tie that to your offer, with a bow. Well done.
And look at that image. The yellow sticks out like a broken thumb, and the caller’s gripping the phone. There’s a clear gap between the caller and the target audience, symbolizing silence. Her expression. What is she thinking? This isn’t your typical stock image.
The two buttons? I’d probably A/B test this setup against a single button, since you can easily find their phone number on the top right-hand corner. It might yield higher conversion rates.
Also, comparing this signup page with Ruby’s homepage illustrates the different approach you need to take with your landing pages:
Fair headline, right? Unlike the signup page, though, it ain’t about the target audience at all. “Meet Ruby” sounds a lot like something you’d say when introducing someone at a party. The body copy focuses on the company too. And the CTA? “Watch OUR Video.”
But the most significant difference lies in all those menu options. Buttons are popping out at you from almost every corner. That’s five buttons I get exposed to even before I start scrolling. Everything is calling for my attention, and I’m more likely to begin exploring than to convert.
This works for a homepage, of course. It’s beckoning us to browse and get to know Ruby. But Ruby’s signup page had a much tighter focus in its messaging suited to converting traffic from a paid campaign.
2. GraphicsZoo stays true with a gorgeous landing page.
GraphicsZoo offers white-label design services for agencies. Its signup page is sizzling hot in its simplicity. As a white-label graphic design service, they get landing page design. The GIF above gives you a sneak peek of the platform. That’s all you need to know that it’s got a gorgeous, useful, and intuitive UI.
The headline explains what the app is in simple terms. (That’s fine, but it might be worth testing a benefit-oriented headline. Something like, “Scaling white-label design services just got a whole lot easier.”) Finally, there are no menu items on this registration page. Just a single call-to-action, and it only wants your email address. Keeping the ask small makes it more likely that visitors will convert.
3. Flyhomes gets their signup forms to pop up.
Flyhomes makes buying and selling your homes easy, and profitable. (Their website copy is a fun read as well.)
Mm mm mm! If there’s one thing that’ll make me do a double-take, which is a super weird thing to do by yourself, it’s a remarkable form. (No, seriously.) Just look at that CTA: Start Now. There’s not a misleading word in there. (For example, it’s not, “Sign up now,” which wouldn’t be quite true.) And when you click on it, you’re prompted with, “Let’s Get Started.”
Everything fades into the background when you click. All you need to do to get started is to give Flyhomes your email and whisper the sweet words every marketer wants to hear: “Nurture me.”
4. PointsBet delivers an irresistible offer.
PointsBet is an online bookmaker for sports and entertainment, based out of New Jersey. Props to Zeller Media for putting this one together. The agency did a fantastic job creating this signup page.
This example shows that you don’t need a long-form landing page to convince prospects to convert. Think about this for a moment. Not only is this registration page asking you to sign up, but it’s also straight-up telling you that you need to make a $10 commitment.
So how do you do that without scaring off your target audience? Offer them 10 times the amount back. Literally.
Veteran copywriter Roy Furr calls this the irresistible offer. Even a non-gambler can see the appeal. And for a gambler? It’s a no-brainer. Slip me an easy $10, which is peanuts, and you get $100 back. That’s a $90 profit! I’m no math scientist, but that’s a hell of a deal.
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5. Heymarket double-dips with its call-to-action.
Heymarket is a powerful SaaS platform that lets teams collaborate in business text messaging with customers.
I like the headline in gray (“It’s not personal, it’s business”). It takes a saying that a villain in a movie might say to someone they’ve screwed over, and turns it on its head. This is business. Then the page tells you what the product is and ties it directly to the benefit in the headline.
The body copy simply expands upon this line, before presenting the initial pricing. The image is also immediately recognizable as a SaaS design, so there’s no mistaking where you are when you land.
Though sometimes multiple CTAs spell trouble, the double-dip on the calls-to-action here is a nice touch. This landing page puts the primary CTA under the body copy and the secondary CTA on the top right, space traditionally reserved for the menu. What I love about this is that the primary CTA invites the target audience to view a demo first, while the top-right button instead prompts the target to hop right into a free trial.
What I would test though is this type of design against variants with photos of people as well as copy. SaaS is getting competitive. It’s becoming an increasingly saturated market, one where visual branding will play a greater role. Beyond a single landing page, A/B testing can provide useful insights into which direction you should be guiding your brand.
6. Zire gets account creation flow right.
Zire is an advertising platform for musicians, and it’s thoroughly impressive in its ease of use. In terms of visual style, this signup page is my favourite. The branding is spot-on, and the button leads to a magical wonderland of awesome UI:
If you’re already on a platform like Spotify, as soon as you put your name in, your name, song, or album will pop up as a suggestion. When you click on it, the page prompts you to add relevant images and upload a clip of your song. Then, once you finish clicking a few buttons here and there, you end up with a summary of your efforts:
The GIF example above is sped up, by the way. The actual flow is a lot smoother, and it’s a pleasant experience through and through. Zire did a fantastic job with every aspect of this.
Wait! (Cue the record scratch.)
Are we missing something here?
Right. They haven’t asked for my email yet. But I’m engaged with their services, and ready to convert. Now that’s slick.
7. Intouch Insight dishes out a whoppin’ 60-day free trial.
Intouch Insight is a B2B company that provides software solutions for companies aiming to scale.
This registration page is straightforward and appealing. At first glance, there’s a lot of text, and the form is long. But if you’re offering me a 60-day trial, I’m intrigued enough to want to read through the copy and find out what I’m getting into. (Still, it’d be worth testing a variant with trimmed copy or a shorter form.)
My favorite thing about this page, though, is how they’ve managed to squeeze all this essential information into an easily digestible and clean landing page. The fine print under the CTA also does a good job of addressing common objections: when they offer a 60-day free trial with no commitment, the company means business.
Free-trial pages have been around since modems used to screech at you. This signup landing page is a solid example showing that the underlying principles behind high-converting landing pages have changed little since the good ole’ days.
8. reciProfity does pattern interrupters like a boss.
“Food costing software”? Never heard of it, but the target audience (professional chefs) certainly has. reciProfity—their name combines the words recipe, profit, and reciprocity—is an inventory management system for executive chefs who dream of being “home before midnight.”
Notice how the headline and hero immediately signal the appeal of this software to busy executive chefs, like the one pictured above, and the brief supporting copy above the fold outlines the problem.
Even more effectively, the product shot that’s cut off at the bottom encourages visitors to scroll down further, without leaving the page. (And guess what you’ll find when you do? More pattern interrupters that keep you scrolling to the bottom of the page.)
Finally, while the copy on this page works to convince visitors to try reciProfity, this landing page also takes advantage of the top-right menu space to describe their software in exact terms. If the eye drifts up to their menu, they see a succinct description of the software instead. It’s a small thing, but it helps keep visitors focused.
9. Nakisa stays true to its messaging by staying organized.
Nakisa helps companies visualize their organizational structure so that they can make better business decisions. On this signup page, Nakisa makes the wins for its prospects easy to understand, specific, and tangible.
This type of landing page can work well for SaaS B2B, in particular, for a couple of reasons: first, a B2B visitor is ready to buy because they’re actively shopping around for a solution. But the buyer journey isn’t linear because the B2B buyer tends to be research-savvy. They jump back and forth between the interest and consideration stages, and the consideration stage is much longer.
Second, B2B buyers also more interested in technical features than emotional appeals compared to B2C. That’s because they want to know all about the performance and return on their investment.
Nakisa understands this. For this target audience, the copy is direct and appealing to B2B buyers. The landing page includes a visually compelling clip of organizational design that shows how their software works. And the 14-day free trial offer lowers the barrier to test driving the product.
10. Targetable uses a testimonial to lure prospects in.
Targetable is an advertising platform that uses AI to help restaurants make more money with data.
Look at the quote they use as a heading on this signup page. Are there many restaurant owners who believe their restaurant is “amazing”? Sure. But this quote isn’t functioning as a testimonial, per se. Instead, the bottom subheading (in red, which helps it stand out) asks if you share this common sentiment. Then it presents a list of benefits that address this pain point, with a simple visual showcasing a platform feature.
This page is an excellent example of using creativity to vary your copy, while pushing the boundaries. (It’s also a great opportunity to A/B test the different ways you can present a pain point.)
Here, they’ve gone with a quote, but maybe something more direct would be more effective? Or perhaps a touch of humour would work? And some audiences could respond better to one headline, while others respond better to another. (A/B testing or using a tool like Smart Traffic can help you find out what copy works best for winning new signups.)
11. Marley Spoon breaks the rules of signup pages, but smartly.
Marley Spoon is a meal plan delivery service with healthy food options, but that isn’t the only thing that’s tasty around here. Nom, nom, nom. This signup page does a couple of things extremely well.
Like including a menu. (!) I know, I know. Earlier, I noted that excluding the menu is the obvious move. (It’s certainly a landing page best practice.) But this menu here works, and here’s why I think it does: since Marley Spoon is a food subscription service, they provide a chance to look at the menu before taking advantage of the coupon.
The other thing it does well? Those buttons are in different colors.
You know, even without reading the call to action, that these two buttons have two separate appeals. One’s a simple signup button, whereas the main CTA is a clear benefit-driven one: Save $80 in 4 weeks. That’s a strong 1-2 copy punch combo. Achieve X in Y amount of time.
And would you look at that beautiful account creation flow? The steps are numbered and labeled, clearly managing visitor expectations every step of the way. All the visitor is required to do is click away at the options as they reach the last leg of the race (indicated in glowing gold!). Talk about giving the visitor a sense of satisfaction.
They make getting all that food delivered right to your doorstep to look effortless. (And tasty too.) Mwah! A chef’s kiss.
12. Libris/PhotoShelter breaks out the big guns.
Libris by PhotoShelter is the final boss of digital asset management tools. If you need a way to manage your visual assets, then you just can’t say no to Libris, and this landing page shows you why.
Let’s end this list of examples with Libris’ no-brainer offer, which ticks all the boxes:
- 60-day trial? Check.
- Body copy explaining how Libris can make life a little easier for your marketing team? Check.
- Two different-colored buttons hinting at different purposes? Check.
- Awesome aerial shot of a beach with very few people to line this up with the “exclusive” feel and mention in the headline? Check.
- A badge showcasing a super-recent award as a Top 100 software company from G2? Amazing!
If you’ve got it, flaunt it, especially if you’ve received a significant award and recognition from an industry leader in your space. The award from G2 is a major trust booster and signals indirectly to your visitors that they’re missing out if they don’t try Libris out.
One thing I would test is the “limited time offer” message. When something’s limited, you should indicate the period or the deadline. Don’t do it, and your message can feel somewhat generic and fall flat. Do it, and make your target audience perceive and feel the scarcity. Feeling inspired yet? (If you need even more inspiration, check out these examples of evergreen SaaS landing pages.)
Signing Up for Success
All right, time to saddle up on your business horse and show your chops by creating some high-converting signup pages. If you’re looking for a shortcut to launching your next campaign, drop by our template library.
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