The Developer Experience

Landing pages are critical to the success of your marketing campaigns, so let’s break their role in the developer experience down into stages to illustrate just how important they are. In Stage One, a developer’s attention is brought to your landing page link via an ad, or content with an embedded link. In Stage Two, the developer clicks the link and arrives at the landing page. Once they’ve safely landed, they view the content and decide whether to take the next major step, by committing with another click or giving up some personal information. In Stage Three, the developer decides to commit with that last click and views what the original ad/content promised — high value for your audience.

When viewed as a process to bring the audience through each stage of a journey, it makes sense to design those stages to support and facilitate the transitions. Let’s look at the stages in detail, as well as some best practices from DeveloperMedia.

Stage One (Take-off)

Begin with an ad to grab attention, explain your case, and motivate your audience to click on the call to action (whew!). Remember to make the design of the ad visually appealing, accurate, and succinct. Ensure that the content flow is logical so that viewers understand what you want them to do. Finally, make sure your argument is compelling and addresses the audience’s need to solve a problem. It’s the reason they clicked in the first place!

Stage Two (Landing)

The landing page has to make the case for the value-exchange. It will typically offer content or a trial in exchange for contact information (usually just name and email). Pick up where you left off in Stage One and expand your case. Design the landing page to engage, using eye-catching imagery, and technical prose that appeals to the developer’s emotions. (Remember, they want to get things done. They want to be the hero. They want to be the smartest person in the room.) You also need to include a clear call to action.

Accurately describe the value exchange. Set your aim for more than just bolstering your click-through rate. Every interaction with your developer audience is a chance to convert them to an advocate who can build your brand.

Keep your message simple. It bears repeating here to make sure your page design is pleasing to the eye, and ensure that the content flow is logical so that viewers understand what you want them to do. Developers aren’t very different from other people searching the internet when it comes to their needs.

Within their developer communities, they’re looking to solve a problem. They’re searching to learn how to do something, or to learn what’s new. (Another angle: Make me money, save me money, or help me gain a professional advantage.) The D2D Marketing Guide from DeveloperMedia devotes a whole section to landing page construction and is an excellent reference.

Stage Three (Taking Action)

According to the 2020 Developer Marketing Survey by Evans Data Corporation, developers understand that there is a cost to good content, and that it usually comes in the form of surrendering their contact information. While some developers tolerate providing additional info for exceptional content (like a trial), be careful what you ask for, and be mindful of what you gate. Once the exchange is made, be sure to deliver on exactly what was promised.

After delivery, you can offer to take the relationship to the next stage. This would be a commitment in the form of an opt-in to a newsletter, a recommendation, or purchase. It takes far less effort to retain a customer than to attract a new one, so offer more ways for them to get more information, to try out your platform, or get more information on your products.

Like a Good Neighbor, Your Landing Page is There

When you are advertising, you need a landing page to help your audience find their way to your products. Take the time to invest in developing a good landing page. It is a critical part of the developer experience. For the best results, strive to address the needs of the developer community through simple messaging and trustworthy marketing tactics.

Resources

Evans Data Corporation – Evans Data Corporation | Homepage

EDC 2020 Developer Marketing Survey – Evans Data Corporation | Developer Marketing Survey 2020

Developer Media Best Practices – Make Your Landing Page Developer-Worthy – Developer Marketing Best Practices: Make Your Landing Page Developer-Worthy · DeveloperMedia

DeveloperMedia – Home – DeveloperMedia – Reach Millions of Developers

D2D Marketing Guide from DeveloperMedia – D2D Marketing: An Advertising Guide · DeveloperMedia