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Leadpages"helps small businesses connect with an audience, collect leads and close deals. This wonderful tagline opens the company's website, but can Leadpages live up to this claim? In this article, we look at the pros and cons of this well-known landing page builder and also present you with some interesting alternatives.
With Leadpages, at least, you can easily build websites, landing pages, pop-ups and alert bars. The team claims that more than 40,000 SMEs use the software. One thing's for sure: Leadpages seems to attract a fair number of entrepreneurs and freelancers. These include coaches, photographers, consultants, fitness trainers and Internet vendors.
With Leadpages you get a tool that immediately provides you with a large number of page templates; now that's handy! Unfortunately, the quality of these templates is not of the same level as that of Unbounce or Instapage... The editor, which you use to create and modify pages, is easy to use and operate, but it is not very customizable. Do not expect any advanced bells and whistles. It also looks a bit slow at times...
A major selling point of Leadpages over the competition is the lack of a limit on forwarding traffic to your landing page, regardless of the package you purchase.
More about Leadpages
Leadpages also wants to conquer the market with the power of artificial intelligence. To that end, the team behind the software has created a new feature: AI Engine. This allows you to get started with AI in an approachable way and, for example, generate different headers and use them in your pages. Eventually, of course, you will have to test these to determine the right conversion rates.
Leadpages, like other landing page software providers, also includes a number of unique features:
- A drag-and-drop page builder: in 2016, Leadpages completely redesigned its editor to make the user experience as easy and, more importantly, error-free as possible. For the most part, as mentioned, it succeeded in doing just that.
- More than 130 free-to-use templates and a huge marketplace of paid templates. You can obviously use these to get started quickly with landing pages, change a few things and publish quickly.
- Hosting for your landing pages. Of course you can get started with hosting yourself, but Leadpages has already taken care of this for you so why bother? Of course, you can also use your own domain name.
- Various (important) integrations. Of course, Leadpages has also provided several integrations with important other software packages. For example, there is a special plugin for WordPress, but of course also for other important packages such as Squarespace, Joomla and more.
- Easy A/B testing. Leadpages lets you quickly create a number of new split tests to measure through which versions of your landing pages produce the best results.
- Detailed analytics. Not only can you use the dashboard analytics that Leadpages itself creates for you, but you can also work with the Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics and more. Keep in mind, by the way, that these latter tools will soon no longer be usable without them....
Still, there are some additional specific concepts created by Leadpages that will help you get started more easily.
- Leadboxes: These are specifically designed pop-up forms that you can use in conjunction with input and actions from your visitor.
- Lead links: These links help existing subscribers take up a specific offer. For example, you can get them to sign up for a webinar through a link by sending just a single link.
- Leaddigits: This feature is a bit more specific, but gets leads to join your email list or sign up for a webinar using their cell phones and automated text messages.
The prices for Leadpages' various packages depend on the payment period you choose. If you want to pay annually, you can obviously count on a discount. If you'd rather not be tied to anything (or at least for a month), you'll obviously pay a bit more. The 'Pro' package costs 99 per month. This allows you to work with three sites, but you can count on unlimited visits and leads, unlimited sales and payments and unlimited A/B split-testing. The 'Standard' package is slightly cheaper at $49 per month but here you only get a single license for a site in return. You do get unlimited search and leads, but you have to do without online sales and payments or A/B split testing. If you still prefer to pay annually, the "Pro" package will cost you $74 per month, and the "Standard" package will cost you $37 per month in that case.
Assessment criteria and alternatives
But how do you know if Leadpages is the right tool for you and fits your needs? You will no doubt be familiar with the other providers in this industry ... and there are quite a few. You may have heard familiar names like Instapage, Unbounce and ClickFunnels or even some lesser-known names. So in our "comparison shopping," these companies often come up.
Still, it's good to do some extra research before you proceed to purchase because each tool is slightly different or focuses on specific things. This does not have to be right or wrong, but ultimately makes the choice personal.
We looked at the main challengers based on the main websites, blogs and comparison sites and, of course, our own experiences. To assess whether a program is an interesting alternative, we looked at the criteria below.
- Opportunities and USPs.
A program's features are often the determining factor. When designing a good, modern (landing) page, ease of use and speed of the page builder should be especially important, but there are more features to pay attention to, such as the design of pop-ups or questionnaires. Important to increase conversion is, for example, the ability to split test (A/B) or personalize. Integrations with other tools can also be important, but that will depend a bit more on your personal situation.
- Usability
Usability follows in an important second place. Modern software to build Web sites and pages should actually be usable out-of-the-box. Fortunately, modern tools are increasingly user-friendly. Under this heading we actually include speed of the software and the landing page, but also the clarity of the various tools you need to make your landing page (or sales funnel) a success.
- Price
Price is relative. If you are able to either attract more sales or save an enormous amount of time, then price need not be as big a stumbling block. Still, price can't go on indefinitely without causing problems (in the long run). In fact, as so often, everything comes down to getting the price right; especially if you plan to scale up with the software.
1. Unbounce
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Besides Leadpages and Instapage, Unbounce is a familiar name within our list. Unbounce is relatively old, the company has been around since 2009. The founders of this company did not want to depend too much on developers for the creation of their landing pages, so they decided to build software to take this work off their hands. That speed with which software and pages could be developed is still a key driver of the company. Thus, Unbounce distinguishes itself from the competition through far-reaching capabilities in terms of A/B split testing.
The main features you get back for your monthly investment are:
- Drag-and-drop editor
- 200+ templates
- AI copywriting help
- Pop-ups
- Alert bars
- Dynamic Text Replacement
- Speed Optimization
- 40+ integrations
- A/B split testing
You can get started with Unbounce for as little as $74 a month, but with a maximum of 500 conversions. Of course, if you're just starting out, this doesn't have to be a problem, but as soon as you grow, this is where you get stuck, of course. For $109 per month - via the "Optimize" subscription - you get twice as many conversions, so the price per conversion becomes a bit more attractive. Whether this is decisive, of course, depends on your specific numbers....
2. Instapage
Instapage has also made quite a name for itself, and for good reason, as the company has been able to attract major customers. Think HelloFresh, Vimeo, Udacity, Ebay and Skyscanner. Additionally, Instapage claims that more than 5 million (!) landing pages have been built using the software... Tyson Quick, founder of Instapage came up with the idea for building the software after seeing how much advertising budget was being lost to poor conversion rates.
The main features of the software are as follows:
- A drag-and-drop page builder
- Pop-ups
- A/B split tests
- Heatmaps
- Advertisement personalization
- Integrations with popular tools such as Marketo, Mailchimp et cetera.
- Comprehensive (landing page) analysis
- Access to 'stock' photography
- Collaboration tools
Instapage has created a wonderful product, but you'll notice it in your wallet... In fact, Instapage only shows the price for the 'Build' package on its website, and that immediately charges (a rather bizarre) $299 per month. If you can spare a bit more money in one go, that does make a serious difference because then Instapage charges 'only' $199 per month. Fair is fair, this does give you immediate access to all major features and no limits on traffic or domains. Note; heatmaps are only accessible from the 'Convert' or 'Ignite' package and for that you need to request a demo first and then receive a personalized quote.
3. ClickFunnels
Whoever says landing page, says ClickFunnels. That is, ClickFunnels is one of the best-known and largest companies in the industry. The company was founded by Russell Brunson in 2014. As Brunson became convinced of the potential of sales funnels, he began writing books on the phenomenon. Examples include "Dotcom Secrets" and "Expert Secrets. However, he found that developing a sales funnel on the Internet was extremely time-consuming and even more frustrating. Thereupon, he and a business partner decided to spend a week brainstorming about the ideal software: software should tackle this problem...Not much later, ClickFunnels was born....
The tool is user-friendly and has a simple drag-and-drop page builder. Payments are also well organized within ClickFunnels. Many integrations are possible, including a WordPress plugin.
Other important features include:
- A/B split tests
- Upsells/downsells
- ClickPops: pop-ups
- ClickOptins: opt-ins
- Follow-ups
- Payment integrations
- Affiliate (sales) dashboard
- An active Facebook group (over 200,000 active members!) with Q&A
ClickFunnels' subscription plans are actually pretty straightforward: you can start at a price of $127 per month, but after that it quickly rises to a few hundred dollars per month. So the question is whether you need all those extra features, and for most of us the answer will be no. This is also immediately the biggest drawback of using ClickFunnels: by focusing on completeness as a total solution for your business, ClickFunnels also tries to replace all alternatives. This can come across as overwhelming, which may cause you to drop out somewhere along the way. However, it is still very clever that ClickFunnels has managed to translate the complete sales process into its software...
4. OptimizePress
OptimizePress is actually the best of both worlds: it is both a WordPress plugin and software for creating landing pages. In fact, you can even build complete sales funnels with it. That also makes OptimizePress a very complete tool. Since version 3, OptimizePress has undergone a huge upgrade. In fact, the software has been completely rebuilt.
The main tools you can work with within OptimizePress are:
- A drag-and-drop editor
- 50+ templates
- Pop-ups
- A/B split testing
- OptimizeFunnels: create your own sales funnels like ClickFunnels, for example, but only available in the most expensive subscription.
- OptimizeUrgency: share notifications that increase urgency to purchase; only available in the most expensive subscription.
Another money plus of OptimizePress is the price. Starting at 129 per year, you can get started with this software. Just goes to show that "open source" also brings concrete cost advantages ... Keep in mind, however, that for that 129 you may only provide a single site with the software. For 199 per year, you get the already mentioned modules such as Optimize Funnels and Optimize Urgency plus a good number of additional modules. For the largest amount 249 per year, you can license 5 websites.
5. AdPage
A perhaps somewhat unfamiliar name to you is AdPage. Don't worry, I'm happy to tell you more about it! AdPage is a very good alternative to Instapage and a software product of Dutch origin.
This makes finding your way around the dashboard just a little easier. AdPage is designed with speed and optimization in mind. The landing pages you designed can then be segmented and personalized to increase conversion rates. The templates offered by AdPage have already been created and tested for the Dutch market. They are also completely up-to-date with the latest AVG regulations.
The main strengths of AdPage are:
- Personalization of your landing pages (which converts up to 40% higher)
- Faster landing pages (which converts up to 13% higher)
- Multistep forms (which converts up to 11% higher)
Would you like to ask your customers something as soon as they are on your page for the first time? With AdPage you can ask your visitors dynamic questions that are personalized based on their answers. AdPage helps you easily get started with these "multisteps" and therefore you no longer need a separate tool, such as Google Forms or Typeform, for example. You will also find various options for creating pop-ups or offering discount codes to your visitors.
You can seamlessly integrate AdPage with existing tools like Mailblue, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Salesforce or any of 500(!) other tools.
You can start with AdPage for free - to quickly get acquainted with the software and the power of the product. In that case, you can receive up to 100 profiles (i.e. visitors) and if you continue to grow, you simply switch to the next package. This way, your package will only grow with you when you reach the next level! The AdPage team is also known for its dedicated support.
Conclusion
Leadpages, as the name suggests, helps clients build landing pages. The software does that very well and in fact we can talk about a pretty complete package. Nowadays you can also use Leadpages to build complete websites. This makes it a direct competitor to parties such as WordPress. Or is it? The fact remains that WordPress is free and will remain free of charge and the price tag of Leadpages is a bit higher. Still, with that pricing it is not as expensive as Instapage for example and that makes it a very suitable choice for a large group of freelancers and entrepreneurs. What does remain unfortunate is the fact that the software occasionally leaves something to be desired in terms of fine-tuning the settings and the speed of the page builder. If you can live with that and are looking for a tool to build beautiful landing pages with which you can also set up various integrations, perform A/B split tests and set up integrations with the most important other parties, then Leadpages is a very good choice.
Are you looking for a little more simplicity, clarity and above all speed? Perhaps you want to be supported in Dutch language and writing? Then AdPage is worth serious consideration and especially test-drive ! If you schedule an appointment below, we will be happy to tell you more about the possibilities and why we are convinced that our software is just that little bit better suited to Dutch entrepreneurs.