Should landing pages be simple? It’s a curious question for those looking to make the most of their landing page design, keeping customers while conveying all the information they want.

It’s said that too many choices can freeze a customer into doing nothing, but does that hold true on the web? Marketing Experiments Journal tried to determine the answer with the article, Landing Page Confusion: How Does Having More Than One Objective to a Page Affect its Performance?

The journal found, through an analysis of actual companies’ landing pages – an online electronics retailer, a national newspaper and a paid subscription site – that simplicity worked best and that all of the pages could be improved by follow that philosophy. Choices and distractions to web page visitors had to be cut own in order to ensure effectiveness. The journal article had these five recommendations.

* Each page should have only one objective. Decide the purpose of each page – what message is it conveying? – and eliminate anything that distracts from that.

* Use vertical flow through the center of the page on sales pages. The study found single-column body copy in the middle of the page performed best compared to other page layouts. While the pages can contain left and right columns, those areas should support the rest of the material. On a sales page, that would include testimonials and information to drive to the sale. Sites sometime use these areas for navigation, but the study found it best to move navigation to the bottom of the page, the far right of the page or eliminate it all together.

* Dump any visual elements that interrupt the purpose of the page. Each graphic or photo should guide your user to take the action or gain the information you want them to. Purge all of the elements that don’t do this.

* Test the way you use visuals on your site to see if they are focusing the attention on what you want them to. This includes the size of type, color, shapes of graphics, flash graphics with motion. It’s anything you use to direct visitors to your site.

* Don’t encourage visitors to leave your page. This will be done if you use off-page links. Instead, use new windows or passive pop-ups if you must. If you allow your users to leave your page, you stifle their momentum and may discourage any further action. The fewer clicks a user has to take to do what you want them to, they will stay there longer and absorb your message.

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