11/12/2025 • Andrew Lowdon
When to Use Interactive or Static Elements on Landing Pages
CRO & UX Article
Introduction
Landing pages with improved UX design tend to perform up to four times better. This shows how much the right balance of interactive and static elements can influence conversions.
That impact depends on how users process information. The best approach aligns with your audience, your goal, and the complexity of your product. A page built for quick sign-ups requires a different structure than one designed to explain layered features or guide visitors through multiple steps. In other words, the design should match both the page’s purpose and the mindset of the user arriving there.
In this post, we explain when to use interactive or static elements, how to match design to your audience and product, and provide examples from top SaaS landing pages.
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Interactive vs Static Design Elements
Interactive elements are parts of a landing page that respond when users take action, such as clicking, hovering, or entering information. Common examples include sliders, product demos, chatbots, quizzes, and animated graphics.
A special note on calculators: they can work well for pricing pages, but they often don’t deliver strong conversion results. According to our CRO Specialist, Dave Walker, this is a classic example of instant gratification bias.
People prefer immediate reward, but calculators ask users to invest effort before seeing a benefit.
The psychological contract is violated because the work precedes the reward, and using a site shouldn't feel like work. Interactive elements should engage visitors quickly, without wasting their time.
Static elements, on the other hand, are fixed visuals or text that do not change through user action. They include headlines, images, icons, and call-to-action buttons that remain constant.
These elements can be used on their own or combined, depending on the type of SaaS product you offer.
When Interactive Design Works Best
Interactive design is ideal for complex or feature-rich SaaS products because it transforms abstract information into actionable, understandable steps. Many visitors arrive on a page without understanding how all the features work together, and static text or images alone aren’t enough to explain them.
During onboarding, for example, interactivity serves a dual purpose: it teaches and motivates. An interactive walkthrough shows users how the product works in a controlled environment, giving them the confidence to complete actions such as signing up or setting up their account.
Trello offers a short interactive demo. Visitors can drag and move columns to see how it works and quickly understand how simple the platform is to use.
Using an interactive design doesn’t just show how a product works; it also makes the user enjoy the experience.
Signs a Landing Page Needs More Interactivity
A landing page needs more interactivity when users keep hesitating, which is often evident in site analytics or external data. For example, heatmaps showing long scrolling with few clicks suggest that visitors are reading content but not grasping key features.
Session recordings that reveal pauses on complicated sections without any action are another clear signal.
A noticeable drop between high-intent traffic, such as visitors from paid campaigns or targeted emails, and low trial sign-ups often indicates that the page is not clearly explaining the workflows.
If your support team is repeatedly answering the same questions about core features, it confirms that users are struggling to understand the product. Adding interactive previews, feature toggles, or a brief guided demo can help users see workflows in action and reduce confusion.
Pricing sections are another common pain point. If analytics show that visitors exit the page on pricing or frequently return to earlier sections, it also signals uncertainty.
But be careful when using interactive elements. Interactivity should reduce uncertainty, not create it. If users have to hunt for functionality, you’ve failed the UX design test.
This usually occurs when these elements aren’t clearly signalled, are hidden behind confusing labels, or require multiple steps before showing any benefit.
When Static Design Performs Better
Static designs work best for pages with a single focus, such as promoting a trial or highlighting a key feature. When the message is clear and the product is straightforward, adding motion or input fields can only slow the decision.
Slack’s homepage keeps its content static in key areas, such as pricing and feature summaries. Instead of interactive widgets, it focuses on strong typography, clear icons, and direct CTAs.
Another reason to favour static designs is performance. Large animations or complex scripts can slow down a page, hurting user experience and engagement. Fast-loading pages not only reduce bounce rates but also improve SEO. As our SEO expert notes:
Static pages perform better in terms of page speed, crawlability, and security. Because the HTML is prebuilt, there is no need for server-side processing.
This means the content is easier for search engine crawlers to read and index, which can improve page rankings.
Static layouts are especially effective for early-stage awareness campaigns, where visitors are not yet ready to interact. At this stage, users need to quickly understand what the product does and why it matters.
Signs Your Page Should Stay Static
A static layout is the safer choice when the page’s data indicates that users prefer quick decisions with minimal steps. If analytics reveal that most visitors act within the first few seconds, adding extra motion will only slow them down. High conversions on simple hero sections or forms also confirm that people already understand the offer without extra interaction.
If users rarely engage with existing tabs, accordions, or animated blocks, they are not gaining value from extra movement.
User intent is another clue. If the audience includes executives, SMB owners, or teams researching options in a hurry, they want a clear message, a short value statement, and a visible call to action. Extra motion will compete with the main action they need to take.
How to Decide Between Interactive and Static Elements
1. Start with the user journey
Think about what visitors need to know first and what step you want them to take next. Map their path from curiosity to conversion, and design each stage to match their mindset.
If they are still learning about your product, use interactive elements like tabs, hover states, or guided demos to help them explore.
If the goal is quick action, such as sign-ups or downloads, a static layout often works better. It keeps attention fixed on the call to action and removes distractions that might slow decisions. Avoid animations or expandable content that hides key details behind clicks.
To refine the flow, track whether users who drop off before reaching your CTA are experiencing friction from excessive interactivity or unclear next steps. A static layout with clear direction can often recover those lost conversions.
2. Consider who your audience is
Design choices should match how comfortable your audience is with technology and how they prefer to make decisions. Tech-savvy users who already understand SaaS platforms tend to respond well to interactive elements. These let them explore at their own pace and form a quick impression of how the tool fits their workflow.
For example, if you’re targeting developers, marketers, or product managers, interactive content often feels natural and engaging because they’re used to trying software hands-on before committing.
However, if your audience is the general users with less technical experience, too much motion or clickable content can feel unnecessary or confusing. They want the value explained upfront, not hidden behind actions or animations.
It also helps to think about how much time your audience typically spends on the page. Busy decision-makers prefer direct messaging and visible CTAs that they can act on quickly. In such cases, a static design with concise text, strong visuals, and minimal steps works better.
You can still use subtle interactive touches, such as hover effects or quick-scroll anchors, to keep engagement without overwhelming them.
3. Understand the complexity of your product
The more complex your SaaS product is, the more guidance your landing page should provide. Products with several features, integrations, or pricing tiers can be hard to explain through text alone. Interactive tools such as demos or configurators help simplify that information and make the experience easier to follow.
Monday.com offers an interactive product overview that lets visitors choose between use cases such as project management, marketing, or software development. Each option shows a live preview of how the platform adapts to that workflow.
For simpler products like note-taking, time tracking, or password management tools, a static layout can also communicate value more effectively. A clear headline, short description, and visible call to action are enough to explain the benefit.
You can identify the right approach by looking at how much explanation your product usually requires before a user converts. If your sales team often needs to clarify how pricing or setup works, interactivity could support those conversations. If users can grasp the value within seconds, a clean static layout will likely deliver better results.
The choice between static and interactive elements comes down to giving users what they need, exactly when they need it. Your landing page should provide focus and clarity so visitors can move forward. When these foundations are in place, sign-up performance improves naturally.
The table below can help you determine which elements are perfect for certain situations:
The Conversion Impact of the Right Design Elements
One of our clients, Stone Refurb, saw measurable improvements in their landing pages when we applied our CRO and UX strategies. These are the results:
- 48% increase in conversion rate after emphasising the price through a cleaner, more structured static layout that made cost information instantly understandable.
- 81% increase in conversion rate by adding an interactive savings toggle that helped users compare options without effort.
- 15% increase in conversion rate from moving the primary CTA above the fold, giving visitors a clear next step the moment they land.
These results demonstrate how even small, strategic design changes can have a significant impact on user behaviour and conversions. By understanding how visitors interact with a page, brands can make more effective decisions and drive measurable growth.
Work With Us
At 43 Clicks North, we help SaaS brands build landing pages that perform as well as they look. If you are ready to refine your design system and turn first impressions into measurable growth, get in touch with our team.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What if my product is simple, but I still want some motion?
You can add light effects such as hover cues or small transitions. Keep them subtle so they support clarity instead of competing with the main message.
2. Should mobile pages use fewer interactive parts?
Most mobile users want fast pages with minimal effort. Heavy scripts or large animations slow things down, so a simpler layout performs better.
3. Do static layouts limit creativity?
No, strong design choices still shine in static sections. Good typography, clean spacing, and focused visuals tell a clear story without extra movement.
4. How much motion is suitable for top-of-funnel pages?
Keep it light. Visitors at this stage only need to understand the core value. Too much movement feels distracting and slows their first impression.
5. Should pricing pages always include interactive parts?
Not always. If the plans are simple, static tables work faster. Interactive toggles help only when users need to compare sets of options with clarity.
