You’ve heard you need a website to establish your online presence. And so many startups and small businesses wrestle with the complexity and cost of building and maintaining multi-layered websites. There is an easier (and cheaper) option, especially if you’re testing a business idea or can’t manage a fully functioning website.
Standalone landing pages allow you to conduct online business in a focused and cost-effective way. You can showcase your products or services, generate leads, drive conversions, and collect feedback.
The real question, however, is: can you create a landing page without a website? The short answer is yes. Read on to learn how to do this and harness the converting power of the humble landing page.
What is a standalone landing page?
A standalone landing page is a web page visitors land on after clicking a marketing link on a blog post, social media page, or paid advert.
You might think this sounds like a website homepage, but there are two crucial differences.
First, a standalone landing page is a single entity with minimal to no internal and external links. A homepage connects multiple internal and external web pages through links.
Second, most landing pages have a single marketing objective – capturing and converting target audiences. On the other hand, homepages serve multiple business goals and audiences.
The example below illustrates the basic anatomy of a landing page.
Every landing page should have a headline, sub-headline, hero image, concise, benefit-centered copy, and a call-to-action (CTA).
The headline and subheadline communicate your unique value proposition. The hero image gives landing page visitors a glimpse at your product or service. The copy tells potential customers what the product does or how it addresses their pain points. The call-to-action tells visitors what to do to get the product or service.
Now, let’s look at the anatomy of a website homepage.
You will notice that the homepage and landing page have similar elements – headline, image, copy, and calls to action. The main difference is the search bar and navigation menu.
Landing pages usually don’t have search bars or navigation menus to take you away from the page. The goal is to keep users focused on the primary objective of the landing page.
So, while a landing page can be one page of a website (i.e., a group of web pages under the same domain), it cannot be a website in and of itself. Moreover, the focused intent of landing pages means separate landing pages for each offering.
Significance of standalone landing pages
You’ve run what you think is a brilliant social media or email marketing campaign. Your click-through rates are at their highest, yet the ROI is less than satisfactory. Does this sound familiar?
It might be because you didn’t create a simple landing page for the campaign. Many marketers link brand homepages to their marketing campaigns and expect high returns. However, visitors will leave your website without converting if they don’t find the content promised in the ad.
Landing pages are critical tools in a digital marketer’s toolbox. At their core, they have the singular mission of attracting and converting specific audiences. Every element on the page drives this goal.
Below are four ways you can use landing pages to achieve business success.
Lead generation
Businesses need leads to grow. An email capture landing page collects web users’ contact information, such as their names and email addresses. The aim is to nurture and ultimately convert them into customers.
However, potential customers don’t share personal data easily. You must provide value in exchange. That means enticing potential customers with exclusive content or discounts to collect data.
Product/service promotion
Let’s say you’re promoting a new product. Creating a dedicated product landing page is the best way to generate targeted traffic and conversions without losing the promotion among other content on your website.
Unlike a lead generation landing page, product landing pages aim to generate sales. So, they include a checkout button and links to different product versions.
If you’re promoting a digital product, you would offer a free trial. After that, customers pay a subscription fee.
App downloads
One look at app stores, and you’ll understand why you need an app landing page. There are millions of apps on these distribution channels. While they help increase downloads from passive shoppers, you may not see desirable conversion rates.
That’s where app landing pages come in. They increase downloads by driving traffic to your app on Google Play or the App Store.
Event registration
A dedicated event landing page will bring in more attendees than your website or third-party listing. Why? Potential attendees aren’t distracted by other content or events.
The landing page contains all the necessary information about the event, such as the date, location, agenda, schedule, and registration options. You can also add videos highlighting past events to elevate interest and engage visitors.
Let’s now answer the following primary question:
Is it possible to create a standalone landing page without having a website?
Yes. You can create a landing page without a website because they are designed to stand alone.
Websites are vital to digital marketing. If you wanted to learn about a brand and its products, you’d visit their website. But here’s the thing—you can do the same with a good landing page. Although, we wouldn’t go as far as saying a landing page can replace a website.
The decision to create a simple landing page vs a website depends on your business needs. If you offer one or two products or services, you can get away with a new landing page for each.
On the other hand, a website with multiple landing pages is beneficial if your business offers many products or caters to varied audiences.
There’s no one-size-fits-all in the age of marketing customization. You can create a simple landing page without a website, a website without a landing page, a website and a landing page, or a website with many landing pages.
Pros and cons of crafting a landing page without an established website
There’s good and bad news when creating landing pages without an established website. Let’s start with the good.
Pros
- Quick setup: Building a website takes time and effort. It involves teams of software developers, web designers, SEO specialists, and more. By contrast, you can create a stunning, high-converting landing page (by yourself) in minutes with the help of good landing page builders.
- Focused messaging: Landing pages have one goal – conversions. Every element on the page is crafted to achieve this, from the headline to the image choice, and the CTA. Notably, there are no navigational links to tempt visitors away from the page.
- Cost-effective: Landing pages are less expensive than websites since you don’t have to pay developers, designers, and specialists to create your page. Moreover, you don’t have to pay hosting fees with a free landing page tool.
Cons
- SEO limitations: A website is a great way to generate organic traffic using search engine optimization (SEO). Multiple pages give you more chances to rank for relevant keywords on search engines. In contrast, your SEO strategies are limited when using a standalone landing page. There’s limited content to utilize keywords, and URLs generated from free landing page builders aren’t user-friendly, hurting SEO.
- Limited functionality: The dark side of the landing page’s hyper-focus is limited functionality. The pages must be concise. If your product is complicated and requires in-depth information to convert, visitors will find your landing page lacking. Moreover, the limited navigation means they can’t learn more about your offering.
Again, choosing between a landing page and a website depends on your goals. Landing pages work well with conversion goals. You can overcome the SEO limitations with PPC marketing campaigns and opt for a lead-generation landing page for complex or SaaS products.
How to create a standalone landing page without a website
Let’s now look at how to set up a landing page. It’s simpler than you think. You can have a professional-looking landing in just six steps.
Let’s dive in.
1. Define your objective
Setting goals is the first step in creating landing pages. They direct your efforts in the right direction and enable you to choose the appropriate landing page tool, processes, and measures.
We’ve established that the primary goal of landing pages is conversion. We also shared the types of conversion you can achieve – leads, sales, downloads, and signups.
But there are other things to consider, like which conversion goal to make.
Let’s say you have a SaaS with a solution to improve call center productivity. SaaS products are intangible, and their value is not immediately apparent. You’re not likely to succeed with a sales landing page because standalone landing pages have limited space to demonstrate value. A lead-generating landing page would be more appropriate, allowing you to nurture potential customers slowly.
Whatever your objective is, be sure to use the SMART goal-setting method. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
An example of a SMART landing page goal would be to convert 15% of freemium accounts into paid memberships in the next six months using free trials. The statement is specific (from free to paid memberships), measurable (15%), achievable (free trials), realistic, and time-bound (six months).
Measuring goals this way makes it easy to track success, identify problem sources, and provide support as needed.
2. Choose a landing page creator
After defining a clear and measurable goal, it’s time to choose a platform to build your first landing page.
You can create a landing page without a website-building tool, but why would you when you can start converting in minutes rather than days? You also have to find a web hosting service.
Top landing page builders like the GetResponse Landing Page Creator promise stunning, hassle-free landing pages in a fraction of the time and cost. Moreover, they offer a variety of features, including:
- Customizable predesigned templates
- Free hosting
- Custom domain registration
- Stock photos
- Mobile optimization
- SEO support
- A/B testing
- Performance analytics
- Integration with email marketing software
When choosing the right landing page builder for your business, consider your goals and strategy. For instance, SEO optimization is beneficial but unnecessary when driving landing page traffic with paid ads.
You also want a user-friendly platform that integrates with your existing tech stack. For example, the GetResponse landing page builder has an intuitive drag-and-drop builder that allows anyone to create landing pages that convert in minutes.
3. Design your layout
You can design your page from scratch or use landing page templates. Starting from scratch gives you flexibility. But unless you have design experience, you risk poor performance despite compelling landing page content or offers because the page lacks visual appeal.
On the other hand, landing page templates are designed by UX experts and tailored for specific goals. Many tools used to build landing pages allow you to customize your page to match your brand identity or marketing campaign design.
When choosing your landing page template, keep your conversion goals in mind. For instance, the layout and design elements of a click-through landing page differ from those of a lead generation landing page.
Whatever the goal, the template must have the following elements:
- Headline and supporting subheading
- Hero image
- Copy
- Call to action
- Signup form (for lead generation)
You can also add social proof and elements like countdown timers to increase a sense of urgency or trigger FOMO.
Remember, conversion-centered design is clean and focused. Headlines are goal-centric, critical information is front and center, visual assets complement copy, and CTAs stand out against the background.
4. Write compelling content
After picking a great landing page template, you can add content. The best thing about using landing page templates is they take the stress out of design and allow you to focus on creating compelling content.
It involves attention-grabbing headlines, visuals showing the product or demonstrating its use, landing page copy highlighting benefits, and powerful CTAs. We’ll touch on some of this in the best practices section below. So, we won’t belabor those points. Instead, we’ll talk about what type of content is effective for landing pages.
We recommend videos. Decreasing attention spans and the limited functionality of landing pages don’t give you enough space to engage and convert leads. That’s especially true for complex products or services.
Videos change that. They increase customer engagement and, most importantly, conversions. In fact, 38.6% of marketers report that video is the number one landing page component that impacts conversions,
There are two ways to use video in your landing pages: explainers and customer testimonials.
Explainers are short-form videos (between 30 seconds and 2 minutes). They describe a problem, how the product or service fixes it, and why you (the audience) should choose them.
Video testimonials are an authentic way to demonstrate social proof. Unlike written testimonials, which are hard to verify, these videos show an actual person talking about your product or service. They are one of the best ways to trigger conversions on click-through landing pages.
5. Add forms or opt-in boxes
Forms are vital for lead generation. They enable you to capture a lead’s data. However, customer privacy is a sensitive topic. A common landing page mistake is adding lengthy forms with unnecessary fields. These are a turn-off for many potential customers.
Reduce this friction by asking for essential information, i.e., name and email address.
But what if you want more qualified leads? The solution is simple. Break the landing page form into two or three steps.
See the illustration below.
It’s less intimidating, and once the user commits to the first step, they’re likely to complete the process. Moreover, by asking for the email address first, you don’t lose the lead if they decide to abandon the form.
Your forms should also have an email marketing opt-in box. Customers share contact information for specific reasons, such as to receive a lead magnet or as part of the checkout process. Data privacy laws require businesses to acquire customers’ consent to use their data for marketing purposes.
6. Optimize for conversion
Many factors influence landing page conversion rates. Some are outside your control, like the nature of your niche industry.
Others, like user experience, clarity of value proposition, CTA effectiveness, and page load speed, are within your grasp.
Landing page optimization improves page performance to increase conversions. It involves leveraging user experience tools and A/B testing to discover what’s working and what isn’t.
Critical elements you should optimize include:
- Headlines – grab visitor’s attention
- Copy – communicate the value of the offering
- Images – complement your message
- CTAs – drive the converting action
- Page speed – affect user experience
Also, consider optimizing landing pages for organic search. Paid advertising can get expensive and is a short-term solution to drive traffic. You need organic traffic to drive conversion rates in the long term.
Best practices for creating a standalone landing page
Standalone landing pages must have everything visitors need to make a decision. You don’t want to risk them not coming back if they leave to find more information. So, here are some landing page best practices to make the most out of your efforts.
1. Have a clear and compelling headline
Headlines can make or break a landing page. They are the first thing visitors see and, in some cases, the only thing they read. As many as 80% of people don’t read past the headline. So, if you bury the lead in the landing page copy, you won’t convert leads.
Headlines must catch readers’ attention and entice them to stay. The best way to achieve this is to turn the customer’s goal or pain point into a headline.
Check this out:
From the headline, visitors know that the information on the page will teach them how to improve their marketing. And they are learning from experts.
The primary features of a successful landing page headline are clarity and relevance.
Clear headlines tell audiences what your page is about. They don’t use clever phrases or jargon.
Relevant headlines correspond to the ad that triggered the page. For instance, the social media ad introducing the guest speakers of your event shouldn’t drive traffic to the event registration form. That’s not why people click the link, and you risk losing customer trust.
Here’s a quick tip: If the ad says, ‘Meet the Speakers,’ include the phrase in the landing page headline. We also recommend matching the color scheme. It assures visitors they have arrived at the correct page.
2. Use high-quality visuals
High-quality visuals can increase your landing page conversion rate. Would you shop in an online store that didn’t have product pictures? No. Similarly, people want to see what they’re purchasing and how it works.
We’ve already seen that most people skim headlines. Images and videos are a great way to supplement the content they don’t read. Therefore, your visuals must be relevant and complement your messaging.
Note we said high-quality visuals. Poor-quality images and videos negatively impact user experience, causing high bounce rates and lower conversions. Google research shows that bounce rates increase by 32% when page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. And for high-converting landing pages, every second counts.
Low-quality images also erode trust. Blurry or pixelated visuals raise concerns about your credibility, leading to missed opportunities.
3. Keep the copy concise and persuasive
If the function of the landing page headline is to capture attention, the purpose of the copy is to deliver value.
You have one page to state your case. It is tempting to throw everything at this opportunity but resist. No one wants to read a bunch of text. Instead, highlight key information visitors need to convert.
For example, in addition to event information like location, your event landing page should tell prospective attendees what they can expect from the event, whether it’s interactive sessions with keynote speakers, networking dinners, or training workshops.
Use bullet points to break up text and make information digestible.
The example above gives users a peek into the marketing guide by highlighting what users can expect to learn.
4. Add clear call-to-action (CTA)
CTAs are prompts that tell visitors to perform specific actions, such as buying a product, downloading a lead magnet, or signing up for a newsletter. As such, they need to be visible, clear, and action-oriented. If your landing page conversion rates are low, it is likely because people aren’t aware of the CTA.
CTAs appear as clickable buttons of hyperlinked text. Use contrasting colors to make them pop against the landing page’s background color. Enlarging CTAs also makes them stand out.
The CTA Text is crucial. Earlier, we mentioned clarity and relevance regarding landing page headlines. Apply these principles to your calls to action as well.
You want customers to be clear about what will happen when they click the button. If the CTA says ‘Sign up for Free eBook,’ the prospect expects to receive an eBook in exchange for personal data. In other words, your CTAs should do what they say.
The number and placement of landing page CTAs also matter. There should be only one call to action. Even if you use two CTA buttons (one at the top and the other at the bottom of the page), both should prompt the same action.
There’s no magical spot that guarantees conversions. The rule of thumb is to place one CTA button above the digital fold where customers can see it.
See the example below.
Alternatively, you can use a sticky CTA button, which keeps the CTA visible even when web visitors scroll down the page.
Ultimately, the best CTA placement depends on your visitors. You can use heatmaps to show customer engagement hotspots.
5. Make it mobile responsive
More than half the world’s traffic comes from mobile users. You’ll miss out on a massive chunk of your target audience if you don’t optimize your landing page experience for mobile browsing.
Traditional landing page design favors the horizontal layout of desktop screens. However, with smartphone sales outpacing desktops, it has become essential for web designers to provide positive user experiences across various devices. That means dynamic landing pages that can adapt to different screen orientations.
Check out the desktop version of this landing page.
Now, see the mobile version.
Responsive design scales and formats web pages to fit the screen specifications of the device, enhancing user experience. And the easier your page is to navigate, the higher the chance of conversion.
6. Conduct A/B tests
There’s no perfect landing page, but you can get close through testing.
A/B or split testing compares two versions of your landing page to identify the elements that drive conversion. The pages are identical except for one or two components. For instance, if you want to see if static images or GIFs drive conversions, create two landing pages (one with and the other without) and see which resonates with your audience.
Test your landing page elements individually (headline text, CTA placement, lead capture form length, etc.) till you find the combination that drives the most conversions.
How to track the performance of standalone landing pages
How do you know your conversion optimization strategies are working?
Tracking, of course.
Here are five tracking strategies that deliver valuable insight into landing page performance.
Integrate Google Analytics
Google Analytics collects website data and creates reports with actionable insights. It helps businesses determine traffic sources, discover customer behavioral trends, and capture visitor demographic information.
Understanding how visitors interact with your landing page allows you to improve targeting and identify conversion opportunities.
Use UTM parameters
UTM parameters are tags at the end of a landing page URL that allow analytic software to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
See the example below.
The black text is the original link. The color-coded text represents the UTM parameters.
There are five UTM parameters – source, medium, campaign, term, and content.
The source tag shows which website visitors come from. The medium tag shows which channel visitors come from. The campaign tag identifies the campaign name. The term tag identifies keywords targeting your campaign. The content tag identifies the ad or post that was clicked.
The first three are required for analytic tracking.
Use heatmaps
Heatmaps capture and visually represent customer browning behavior. They analyze user interaction on your landing page, showing you areas to optimize for maximum impact. These interactions are mouse clicks, scrolling behavior, and mouse movement.
The example below shows how visitors scrolled the page.
The activity is numerically and color-coded. As visitors drop off, the colors change from warm to cold. So, the red part represents the area everyone sees. Heatmap solutions like VWO can be really helpful here.
Conversion tracking
Conversion tracking measures how well you’re meeting your landing page goals. It is the key metric that tells you whether your page is successful.
Google Analytics tracks the number of conversions and the source of those leads. This way, you know which channels contribute most to your objectives.
Event tracking
Event tracking identifies visitor behavior, allowing you to make informed decisions around user interactions and engagement.
Events are actions users take while on your landing page. They include loading a page, clicking a button, viewing a video, making a purchase, and more. This behavioral insight allows you to discover usage patterns and identify breakdowns in workflow.
Conclusion
Establishing an online presence is critical, but you don’t always need a website to do that. Sometimes, high-converting landing pages are enough. When done correctly, you can attract target audiences and convert them in the time it takes to build a fully functional website.
Hopefully, this guide proves this point. We explored landing page goals, benefits, and drawbacks to show why you would use them instead of websites. We showed you how to create a landing page without a website and the best practices to get the most out of it. All with real-life examples.
Of course, it would be better if you could have both a landing page and a website.
Still, creating a landing page without a website is simpler than you think. All you need is a reliable landing page builder. GetResponse offers beautiful landing page templates for free. So, you can get started today.