Landing pages are essential for lead generation and conversions for any business. Rather than sending traffic to your main website homepage, landing pages allow you to direct visitors to a targeted page designed for a specific campaign or promotion. This results in higher conversion rates compared to sending traffic to your generic homepage.
Creating custom landing pages for each campaign used to require hiring web developers and designers, which was expensive and time consuming. However, with the rise of user-friendly website builders, anyone can now easily create professional, high-converting landing pages without any coding knowledge.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how you can leverage website builders to quickly build custom landing pages that capture leads and increase sales.
Benefits of Using Website Builders for Landing Pages
Here are some of the key advantages of using website builders for creating landing pages:
- Easy drag-and-drop editing: Website builders provide intuitive drag-and-drop editors that allow you to create and edit pages visually without any technical skills. You can easily add elements like text, images, videos, forms, and more by just dragging them onto the page.
- Professional templates: Builders come with professionally designed templates for different industries and purposes. You can simply select a template, customize it, and quickly publish your landing page.
- Responsive design: The pages you create will be optimized for mobile devices. This improves the experience for visitors coming from smartphones.
- Built-in forms and integrations: Most website builders allow you to integrate email and payment platforms to collect data and payments from visitors without any extra work.
- Analytics: Understand how your landing pages are performing with built-in analytics like page views, conversions, and more.
- Fast loading times: Builders ensure your landing pages load quickly by optimizing images and code. Faster load times improve conversions.
- Affordable pricing: Website builder plans are very affordable compared to hiring web developers. Some have free tiers, while paid plans start at just $5 to $50 per month.
Key Things to Include in Your Landing Pages
When designing landing pages using website builders, there are a few essential elements you need to include:
Headline and Subheadings
Your headline is one of the first things visitors will see, so it needs to grab their attention. Describe what you’re offering clearly and concisely. Break up your content into scannable sections with subheadings.
Relevant Images
Images help reinforce your headline and content. For example, if you’re promoting a product, include high-quality images of the product in action. Stock photos relating to your offer also help capture interest.
Succinct Copy
Keep your paragraphs short, in the range of 3-4 lines. Use bullet points and lists when applicable to make the copy easy to scan. Emphasize benefits and avoid generic filler text.
Call-to-Action Button
Strategically place colorful, high-contrast call-to-action buttons to lead visitors to convert. Tell them exactly what to do – “Sign Up Now”, “Start Free Trial”, etc.
Social Proof
Build trust and credibility by including testimonials, customer reviews, case studies, or logos of recognizable brands you’ve worked with.
Relevant Videos
Explainer and testimonial videos help convince visitors your solution is right for them. Keep videos short, less than 2 minutes.
How to Choose the Right Website Builder
With so many website builders out there, how do you choose the right one for creating landing pages? Here are key factors to consider:
- Drag-and-drop editor – Prioritize builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly that offer easy visual editors. Avoid old-school builders that still require HTML skills.
- Quality templates – Look for a large library of professional, conversion-optimized templates to edit. Great options include Convertri, Leadpages, and Unbounce.
- Lead generation and sales features – Make sure the builder has built-in email marketing, forms, payment integrations, and analytics to capture and track leads. Elementor, MailerLite, and GetResponse have robust lead gen features.
- Mobile responsiveness – Only use mobile-friendly website builders so your landing pages display perfectly across devices. Test the mobile experience before selecting a platform.
- Page speed – Fast load times are critical for good conversions. Try out the builder to see how quickly sample pages load. Opt for builders like Gator that focus on speed.
- Budget – Consider your budget when comparing pricing of top website builders. Some like Wix and Weebly have free tiers to test capabilities before upgrading.
Creating Landing Pages Within Your Website Builder
Now that you’ve selected the ideal website builder for your business, here is the general process for creating landing pages:
Step 1) Choose a template
Browse the template library and select an industry-specific landing page template to start with. Try out a few options to see which one you like best.
Step 2) Customize the template
Personalize the template by changing colors, fonts, images, and wording to match your brand. Ensure the headline, subheadings, copy, and visuals align with your campaign or offer.
Step 3) Set up forms and integrations
Add lead capture and email marketing forms so visitors can subscribe or purchase right from the landing page. Integrate payment platforms like PayPal if you want to sell directly.
Step 4) Drive traffic to the landing page
Now you’re ready to drive traffic to your new landing page using marketing channels like social media, email, and paid ads. Send traffic directly to the new landing page URL rather than your homepage.
Step 5) Analyze performance
Use your website builder’s analytics to see how many people are visiting the landing page, conversion rates, referrals sources, and other data. Tweak poorly performing pages to improve results.
Optimizing Landing Pages for Higher Conversions
Driving traffic to your landing page is only the first step. You also need to optimize them to convert as much of that traffic into leads and sales as possible. Here are proven tips for boosting landing page conversion rates:
- Make it immediately clear what action you want visitors to take.
- Reduce distractions and keep visitors focused on converting.
- Emphasize key information and make it easy to find.
- Use high-contrast colors, large fonts, and whitespace strategically.
- Display trust symbols like testimonials, certifications, and satisfaction guarantees.
- Make forms short with only essential fields for faster completions.
- Minimize the need to scroll with sticky navigation menus.
- Use urgency and scarcity tactics sparingly and ethically.
- Optimizing page speed with compressed images, efficient code, etc.
- Continuously A/B test landing page elements to find what works best.
Using Landing Page Builders vs Website Builders
Some platforms like Leadpages, Unbounce, and Instapage are dedicated solely to building high-converting landing pages. So should you use these landing page builders instead of website builders?
Here’s how the two options compare:
Website builders are more versatile, letting you create full websites along with landing pages. They offer easier content updates and more design freedom. However, they have fewer dedicated conversion optimization features.
Landing page builders specialize in creating conversion-focused pages with more advanced lead gen tools built-in. But they lack the broader functionality to build full websites. Their templates are also more restrictive.
In general, landing page builders may offer higher conversion rates out-of-the-box. But website builders provide greater flexibility and ease-of-use for managing your pages over the long run.
Evaluate your specific needs in terms of versatility vs. conversion optimizations to choose the better platform. You can also use both – website builders for your overall site and landing page builders for targeted campaigns.
Alternatives to Paid Website Builders
One downside of paid website builders is the recurring monthly or annual costs, especially if you need multiple domains. Here are some alternative options to consider if you’re looking for free or lower cost solutions:
Open Source Platforms
Solutions like WordPress.org and Joomla are open source platforms you can self-host for free. While they do require more technical expertise, the capabilities rival premium builders. The open source community also provides thousands of free templates and plugins.
Website Editor Tools
Several browser tools like Google Website Builder, Strikingly, and PageCloud allow you to edit your site within the browser rather than needing hosting. These are easy to use with basic building capabilities.
Web Host Templates
Many web hosts like Bluehost and HostGator provide free website templates with hosting plans. While template selection is more limited, you can still customize them extensively.
Code-Free Site Builders
Tools like Gator Website Builder and Sofa let you build using a visual editor without needing to write any code. You get hosting and a custom domain name for a low monthly fee.
The added flexibility and ownership of these self-hosted alternatives can make them an appealing option compared to locked-in premium website builders – especially for bootstrapped startups and solo entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
Website builders provide an invaluable solution for easily creating custom landing pages that drive conversions and grow your business. Their drag-and-drop editing, mobile responsiveness, analytics, and integrated lead capture make landing page creation simple and effective.
Follow the tips covered in this guide to select the ideal website builder for your needs, strategically design high-converting landing pages, and continuously optimize performance. With a targeted landing page strategy powered by website builders, you’ll be well on your way to cost-effectively generating more traffic, leads, and sales.