Converting everybody, anybody, and all those in-between

There is an old fable that says you can't please everybody, and if you try you'll end up pleasing nobody. This works fine as a fable, but when it comes to your website you've got to please everybody because everybody is looking at your website. This can be a tricky task because there are a lot of different types of visitors. Some visitors like to read, some skim, others maniacally click everything they can and navigate as fast as possible. The question is, how do you design a web page/landing page such that it caters to all of these types of people? How do you handle versatility in your visitors? The key is to create your pages with a spectrum of detail and features so you have something for each type of visitor. The Mac Mini page on the Apple.com website serves as a perfect example of this concept.

Mac mini

Pictures are universal. Most people navigating through websites will notice and understand a picture. The purpose of this is to draw everybody in and let them all know what the page is about.
Right under the picture, "Small is beautiful". Taglines are also relatively universal. If you've got the attention span to see a picture than you're probably willing to read a tagline. Maybe not more than that, but your certainly going to notice this and it will encourage you to look/read further.
For those of us itching to get right to the money, the buy option is at the top right and above the fold. There is no need to scroll down, look around, or anything else. The button is there for those who want it.
If you are uncertain about the Mac mini or for those who just like to read more, Apple launches into more detail along with pictures. Again, they are appealing to everybody because they still separate the text with pictures and headlines. They are covering all the bases with their product description and you can read as little or as much detail as you like. The separation of text with pictures and headlines makes it much easier to skim for those who are in-between the avid readers and impatient clickers.
Here is a nice bulleted section that highlights the features. If a visitor doesn't want to get into paragraphs of text and just wants a brief overview, this is the part of the page for them. These visitors want to get to the real-deal and filter through the fluff.
A lot of people on this page might have a PC. Apple understands that this is going to be a "touchy" subject and they clearly state that it is effortless to switch from a PC to a Mac. They have a certain person in mind here, and they have given this issue the airtime it needs. The key here is that Mac is addressing a specific concern that covers a different audience. If you are a Mac loyalist then this section isn't for you, but if you have a PC and like what you see then this will work to convince you that it's easy to switch. Again, they are thinking about everybody here without alienating anybody.
If you gotten this far down the page then Apple has a perfect place for you to make a decision. They give a couple of options here in order to cover each type of next-step. They have a buy button, a link to find an Apple store, and a place to find another authorized dealer. Again, something for everybody here without having to scroll to the top of the page.

There will always be different types of visitors to your website, and it's important to make sure that your pages work for each type of behavior. I've seen some websites that are so simple it can be difficult to get an idea what the company is really doing, and I've seen some websites that look like that never-ending novel we had to read in school. Some people actually liked that novel, and others were busy reading comic books. Make sure that your website will work for both types and everything in between. That way you can convert everybody instead of just one type of visitor. Be creative and keep everybody in mind when designing your web pages.

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Cameron, April 7, 2006: Great post, one of my favorites so far on your blog. Keep it up!
Neil Patel, April 7, 2006: Glad you liked the article, thanks for the motivation.
Joe, April 17, 2006: Good analysis but useless advice. Conversion is most important for e-commerce site owners who pay out of their nose for each click. They neither have the content nor the required resources for targeting every possible customer angle. The best solution for them is to focus on the purchase impulse and analyse in detail all the actions customers are taking before leaving the site without a purchase.
Neil Patel, April 18, 2006: Conversion is actually important for everybody, but the focus for different types of websites is different. A conversion can basically be any call to action that the website owners want. It can be a whitepaper or other PDF download, it can be a request for more information, it can be the purchase of a product, etc...