When and how to implement progressive disclosure in a landing page?
Before we start, let me first explain what is visual hierarchy. The term refers to design principle that involves presenting information or functionality to users in a gradual or step-by-step manner. It is often used in landing pages to improve user engagement, reduce cognitive overload, and guide visitors toward taking desired actions.
What are the three categories of progressive disclosure?
There are three categories for progressive disclosure:
- Step-by-step: breaking complex tasks into manageable steps
- Conditional: hiding certain elements and features until the user requests them
- Contextual: offering additional information and options to provide context based on the user’s current situation
Here are some guidelines on when and how to implement progressive disclosure in a landing page:
1. Identify the need for progressive disclosure:
a) Complex information: If your landing page contains a lot of information that might overwhelm users at first glance, consider progressive disclosure to present it gradually.
b) Multiple call-to-actions (CTAs): If you have multiple actions you want users to take (e.g., sign up, download, watch a video), you can use progressive disclosure to guide users toward the most important one.
2. Prioritize content:
You need to determine which information or actions are most important for your landing page’s goals. Accordingly, you should place the most critical content or actions prominently on the page, and consider hiding less important elements initially.
Now we will explore how to implement progressive disclosure techniques.
Here are some techniques you can use for progressive disclosure:
a. Tabs or Accordions:
Use tabs or accordions to hide secondary content or details. Users can click to expand and view more information when they are interested.
b. Step-by-step forms:
If your landing page involves a form, break it down into manageable steps, displaying one step at a time.
c. Hover or click interactions:
Utilize hover or click actions to reveal additional information when users interact with specific elements.
d. “Read more” links:
For lengthy content, provide summaries with “read more” links that expand the content when clicked.
e. Progress bars:
If you have a multi-step process, display a progress bar to show users where they are and how much is left.
f. Maintain a clear hierarchy:
You need to ensure that the most important content or actions are still visible and easily accessible without the need for interaction. Here you can use visual cues like arrows, icons, or labels to indicate clickable or expandable elements.
g. Mobile responsiveness:
Then your job is to test and optimize your progressive disclosure techniques for mobile devices, as user interactions may differ on smaller screens.
h. A/B testing:
A/B testing can help you determine how different progressive disclosure methods resonates best with your audience.
i. User feedback:
You can gather user feedback through internal surveys, analytics, or usability testing to understand how users are interacting with your landing page and whether progressive disclosure is improving the user experience.
j. Iterate and optimize:
You need to continuously monitor the performance of your landing page and make improvements based on user behaviour and feedback.
Remember that the key is to strike a balance between revealing information gradually and ensuring that users can easily access essential content or actions. The goal is to enhance the user experience, not frustrate users with hidden or hard-to-find information.
