10 Reasons Your Award, Scholarship, or Grant Program Needs a Landing Page

A great application experience starts before someone clicks Apply.

A dedicated landing page gives potential applicants or nominees one place to learn about your award, scholarship, grant, fellowship, or other application-based program. It can explain who the program is for, eligibility requirements, important dates, application requirements, benefits, and how to apply.

For program administrators, a well-designed landing page can also help attract qualified applicants, reduce repetitive questions, and create a smoother path from discovering your program to submitting an application.

Here are 10 reasons your program should have a dedicated landing page.

1. Keep Program Information in One Place

Applicants shouldn't have to search across multiple webpages, PDFs, emails, and documents to understand your program.

Use your landing page to bring together essential information such as:

• Program purpose and overview.

• Eligibility requirements.

• Important dates and deadlines.

• Application or nomination requirements.

• Selection criteria.

• Frequently asked questions.

• Contact information.

• A clear link to apply or nominate.

Making this information easy to find helps potential applicants quickly determine whether your program is right for them.

2. Help More People Discover Your Program

A well-optimized landing page can improve your program's visibility in search engines.

Someone searching for scholarships in their field, professional awards, research grants, fellowship opportunities, or other programs may discover your organization through search.

Use clear page titles, headings, descriptions, and content that reflect the terms your target audience is likely to use when looking for opportunities like yours.

Better visibility can help you reach more of the people your program was designed to serve.

3. Build Trust and Credibility

Before investing time in an application, potential applicants want to know that your program is legitimate and worthwhile.

A professional landing page can establish credibility by clearly communicating who your organization is, why the program exists, who it serves, and how recipients are selected.

Consider including previous recipients, testimonials, program statistics, partner or sponsor logos, photos, videos, or links to additional resources.

These elements help applicants understand the people, organization, and purpose behind the opportunity.

4. Attract More Qualified Applicants

More applications aren't necessarily better applications.

Your landing page should give visitors enough information to determine whether they meet your eligibility requirements and whether the opportunity is relevant to them.

Clear eligibility criteria, program requirements, and selection information can help applicants self-qualify before starting an application.

When they're ready to proceed, make the next step obvious with a prominent Apply Now, Start Your Application, or Submit a Nomination button.

5. Showcase Your Program's Impact

Don't limit your landing page to application instructions. Show potential applicants why the opportunity matters.

Share success stories, testimonials, previous recipients, program outcomes, or statistics that demonstrate your impact.

A scholarship program might feature previous scholars and their accomplishments. An awards program could showcase past winners. A grant program could highlight projects made possible through previous funding.

Showing real outcomes can help potential applicants picture what the opportunity could mean for them.

6. Create a More Engaging Experience

Large blocks of text can make important information difficult to find.

Use visual and interactive elements where they add value, including:

• Photos and videos.

• Testimonials.

• Frequently asked questions.

• Program timelines.

• Recipient stories.

• Key statistics.

• Downloadable resources.

Every element should help visitors answer three important questions:

Is this program right for me? What do I need to know? How do I apply?

7. Create an Experience That Reflects Your Program

Your landing page is an opportunity to create an experience that reflects both your organization and the audience you want to reach.

The language, imagery, examples, and calls to action can all be tailored to your program.

A scholarship program targeting university students, for example, may look and sound very different from an industry awards program or a research grant opportunity.

The experience should feel relevant to the people you want to apply.

8. Measure What's Working

A dedicated landing page can also provide valuable insight into how people discover and interact with your program.

Website analytics can help you understand:

• How many people visit the page.

• Where visitors come from.

• Which campaigns or channels generate traffic.

• How visitors interact with the page.

• How many people click through to apply.

• Where visitors leave the page.

When combined with application data, these insights can help you understand the journey from program discovery to completed application.

You can then use that information to improve both your landing page and your program promotion.

9. Make It Easy to Get Answers

Even a well-designed landing page won't answer every question.

Include FAQs, contact information, helpful resources, or other support options so potential applicants know where to go when they need help.

Providing answers to common questions can also reduce repetitive inquiries for your program administration team.

10. Make Important Dates Easy to Find

Don't make applicants search for deadlines.

Clearly display important program dates, including:

• Applications or nominations open.

• Application deadline.

• Reference or supporting-document deadlines.

• Review period.

• Recipient or winner announcements.

• Program start dates, when applicable.

As deadlines approach, consider making them even more prominent with a banner, countdown, or reminder near your primary application button.

Turn Program Interest Into Applications

A successful landing page does more than describe your award, scholarship, grant, or fellowship. It creates a clear path from discovering your program to submitting an application.

Make eligibility requirements easy to understand. Keep deadlines visible. Show the impact of your program. Answer common questions. And give qualified applicants an obvious next step.

Your landing page attracts and informs potential applicants. Your application management platform should make everything that happens next just as easy.