Landing pages are an important part of any online business and marketing approach. They provide a way for businesses to collect information from potential customers, and they can be used to generate leads or sell products and services.
But where should you host your landing pages? There are a number of options, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at landing page hosting and then look at some of the most popular choices.
What is Landing Page Hosting?
Landing page hosting is basically someplace where you can build and have visitors interact with your landing pages. The hosting provider will give you a web address where people can find your pages or where you can send visitors from things like ads, websites, or social content.
For most businesses, the best option is to host their landing pages using their own domain name. This gives you more control over the page and makes it easier for people to remember where to find it.
The main advantage of using a domain name or subdomain is that you can use your own branding on the page. This can help build trust with potential customers and make it more likely that they’ll interact with your page.
Two Primary Options
There are two primary options when it comes to where to host your landing pages:
Self Hosted
The first option is to host your landing pages on your own website. If you have a WordPress site, for example, you can install a plugin like LeadPages or Beaver Builder and then create your landing pages right on your site.
The advantage of self-hosting is that you have complete control over your page. You can design it however you want, and you don’t have to rely on a third-party service.
The downside is that it can be more difficult to set up, and you’ll need to make sure your site is fast and secure. You’ll also need to be careful about how you promote your pages so you don’t hurt your website’s SEO.
This has the advantage of being very customizable, and you can use your own domain name. However, it can be more expensive and time-consuming to set up and maintain, and you may need to hire someone with web development experience.
Hosted Service Provider
The second option is to use a third-party service to host your landing pages. Services like LeadPages, Unbounce, and Instapage will provide you with a web address where you can send people to your landing page and provide a landing page builder and help with templates to help with landing page design.
The advantage of using a hosted service is that it’s easy to set up and use and they typically come with landing page creators to create effective landing pages quickly. You don’t need any web development experience, and the service will take care of hosting, security, and updates for you.
The main disadvantage of using a third-party website is that you don’t have as much control over the page. You also can’t use your own branding, which can be a disadvantage if you’re trying to build trust with potential customers.
Evaluating Hosted Service Providers
When looking to choose a platform to host your landing pages, it is important to consider a few key factors. Below are some factors that you should keep in mind when making your decision:
Speed
How fast are they able to load the landing pages? This is important because if someone has to wait too long for the page to load, they are likely to leave before they even see the content.
You should also consider the speed of the editor when you’re creating your landing pages. If it’s slow and laggy, it will be difficult to design your pages the way you want.
Scalability
What is the maximum number of visitors that can visit your landing page at one time? If you’re expecting a lot of traffic, you’ll need to make sure the platform can handle it.
You should also consider how easy it is to scale up your account if you need to. If it’s difficult or takes a long time, it may not be worth using the platform.
Overall Stability
Are they reliable and have a good uptime? If your landing pages are down, you’re losing potential customers.
You should also consider how often the platform has downtime. If it’s frequently down, it may not be worth using.
Custom Domain
Not all allow a custom domain, for many this is a must. If you’re using your own domain name, you’ll want to make sure the platform allows it.
If they don’t but you like their services you may need to look at another shorter version of your name to run the landing page from if required.
Templates
Having a vast array of pre-built landing page templates can help someone who is new to the design and build process set up a high-quality page quickly.
Look for a platform that offers a wide variety of templates so you can find the perfect one for your marketing efforts.
Integrations
What other platforms does it integrate with? The more integrations, the better. You’ll want to be able to connect your landing pages to your email service provider, CRM, etc.
Pricing
How much does it cost to use the platform? Is there a free plan? A free plan can be great for testing out the platform before you commit to paying for it.
Consider how the pricing scales as well. If you need to add more landing pages, will the price increase dramatically?
Customer Support
Do they offer support at all hours, is it chat or email only, these aren’t issues for some but can be something to consider.
Analytics Tracking
Do they have the ability to add tracking codes like Google Analytics to the pages so you can see how people are interacting with your pages?
It’s important to be able to track your page views, unique visitors, and conversion rates so you can improve your pages over time.
Landing Page Hosting Choices
If you aren’t interested in self-hosting there is a wide range of choices, personally, for a landing page, I would say self-hosting is the most time-consuming so let’s look into the best way to host landing pages.
This is due in large part to WordPress themes not typically built to create landing pages specifically so you would have extra work the below will help you do with much more ease!
Systeme.IO
The Systeme.IO platform has a wide array of functionality that allows you to create landing pages, actually manage email lists and sign-ups, provide courses and memberships, and all at a cost far less than most other tools providing any one of those functionalities.
The creator was fed up with the massive costs that ClickFunnels charges and so he started the work to build what he viewed as a one-stop-shop to provide all the necessary functions at a cost that allowed all to build and grow.
LeadPages
This was designed with landing pages in mind. LeadPages provides its users with a variety of tools and features to help them create their email lists as well as convert people into purchasers.
They have been a solid performing platform for nearly a decade and have helped people from all walks of life succeed in their online business endeavors.
Instapage
Instapage offers both a simple and easy-to-use interface as well as unrestricted A/B testing for an extremely decent cost for the performance and options provided.
The great thing about Instapage is that it offers an endless range of business templates to choose from. It also has a huge selection of high-quality templates and exceptional client service.
Unbounce
Unbounce is a well-known landing page builder that has been around for a long time. The platform is more geared towards experienced marketers and provides drag-and-drop elements, templates, and APIs to pretty much any marketing automation or CRM system available.
Additionally, it also partners with Zapier to allow you to link it to any application you desire without issue. If you already use Zapier, this may be the right choice to add to your portfolio.
The Unbounce Content Delivery Network (CDN) provides your landing pages with a global presence, allowing them to load quickly from any location via Amazon CloudFront. It also allows you to host multiple domains on the same landing page hosting server.
Final Thoughts on Hosting Landing Pages
There are a number of things to consider when choosing where to host your landing pages. The most important thing is to make sure the platform can handle the amount of traffic you’re expecting and that it’s reliable.
You should also consider the pricing and how it scales as well as the customer support offered. Analytics tracking is also important so you can see how people are interacting with your pages and make improvements over time.
There are a number of choices available, both for self-hosting and for using a landing page hosting platform, so take the time to consider all your options and choose the one that’s right for you.
