Instapage is basically software devoted to helping you create better landing pages. The first thing you need to know is that it is 100% dedicated to creating landing pages only. Building a well-optimized landing page doesn’t have to be hard anymore. You don’t need to have a back-and-forth with a web designer and pay lots of money. There are all sorts of tools that can help you build a feature-rich landing page without the need to learn how to code and that is what Instapage does.

Like some of the greats out there, this software offers the following:

• A drag-and-drop editor
• Integrations with main email and marketing tools like MailChimp, Marketo, etc.
• Comprehensive landing page analytics
• Creation of mobile-friendly pages
• Publish pages quickly
• A clean user interface
• Customizable templates
• Access to professional stock images
• Collaboration tools

But those are just a few of the highlights. So, without further ado, let’s dig into what makes Instapage so great at what it does.

What does Instapage do? 

You already know by now that Instapage is a landing page builder. But here is what that actually means:

Instapage is not a grid-based page builder like WordPress. You are absolutely free to drag and drop each element exactly where you want it.  You have widgets that let you insert elements like CTA buttons, countdown timers, and more. You also get access to 200+ customizable templates which can greatly help you, if you don’t want to start from a blank slate.

It provides direct access to 33 million Bigstock images which makes it easy to insert professional stock images. 

You get to have helpful analytics, from Heatmaps to A/B testing, Google Tag Manager, and more.

You can easily create all kinds of forms, including multi-step forms. Then, link them to a huge number of integrations. Instapage can even automatically handle delivering assets like lead magnets.

You can manage landing pages for multiple websites from one Instapage account, which is helpful if you run a number of sites.

This is by no means the full feat of what Instapage can do but it’s a solid look into some of its highlights.

How to Create a Landing Page With Instapage

Now let’s be a bit more practical with this review and show you how you can create a landing page.

When you primarily log in, you will find a list of all the landing pages you have created. If this is your first, you won’t have much to pull from here. Instead, choose “Create a Standard Page.” This will display three options: create a page from a template, an AMP page, or upload an Instapage file.

Most often, you will go the template route, due to having sample files. AMP pages are designed for mobile and can be a good route to go if you are designing a page specifically for mobile use. These are designed to load incredibly fast, but you will get this option if you sign up for the Enterprise plan. 

For the purpose of this article, I am going with a template. When you select “create a page from a template” you will be presented with all available templates. That is 194 options, to be precise. To make it easier, you can filter the templates by specific types depending on the goal of your campaign: Lead generation, webinar pages, click-through, mobile app, and even a thank you page.

Once you have chosen your template, you will be taken to the Instapage template editor. I’m going, to be honest, this is where Instapage really shines. Its editor is one of the best around, and with it, you can adjust the colors, fonts, and designs to match your existing website or marketing materials. The editor is entirely “drag and drop”, so you can put any element exactly where you want it to be within the page. Using it, you can add:

• Headlines and  Paragraphs
• Images and Videos
• Buttons
• Forms
• Shapes

And it gets better. Instapage’s editor is Pixel Perfect. Instead of having pre-defined grids and placement options to drag your elements too, you can just place them anywhere on the page you like. As you drag your elements to different places, Instapage will display guidelines to help you space and align all elements accordingly. And, because having a mobile-friendly website is crucial these days, Instapage allows you to easily switch between desktop and mobile view to make sure everything is placed and optimized accordingly across all devices. You can even edit your page directly from the mobile view.

Publishing Your Landing Page

When you are ready to publish your page, you have a few options. You can publish it to:

1. A custom domain
2. WordPress
3. Drupal
4. Facebook
5. A demo page

A custom domain is pretty clear. Simply enter in the domain you would like to publish to. But take note, this one does necessitate a little technical know-how. Luckily, Instapage has a video to walk you through the process. 

If you have a website on WordPress and want to publish your landing page there, Instapage has a plugin devoted to doing just that. This makes the process extremely easy. Just log into your Instapage account from your WordPress site and publish right there. 

Publishing to Facebook is also easy. Select the option and your Facebook page, and it’ll publish. Or, if you want a demo of your page before it goes live, publish it to Instapage’s demo domain review. 

As an InstaPage bonus, you can download your landing pages directly to your computer for future use.

Additional Features

Instapage comes with some additional features that help separate it and keep it ahead of other software out there. These features are:

Instablocks – These are very helpful and useful for times when you want to create multiple landing pages, but do not want to alter the style of the page. Instead of recreating your entire page, it will save your elements to be reused when in need. You will have access to blocks already made by Instapage or you can create your own.

Heatmaps – This is a very cool and useful analytics feature that provides insight into how users are interacting with your page. It tracks mouse movement, how far visitors scroll, click, and where they spend the most time on the page. 

Note: Heatmaps are only accessible with the Optimizer plan

A/B testing – If you want to test different elements of your page, you can perfectly do this using Instapage. Just clone the main copy and make a second copy with any changes to the text, images, CTAs, etc. When you publish your landing page, some will see the control version, and others will see the variation. 

Information on how each page performs will be stored in your Instapage analytics section.

Analytics

No top marketing software is complete without a devoted analytics section. Instapage is no exception, and this is actually one of its chief selling points. The nice thing about Instapage is that it lets you set up conversion goals right in the editor, and then track progress over time. In the Editor, you will find sections called Conversion Goals and Analytics in the right-hand menu. 

In the Conversion Goals section, you can set goals to track in your analytics. In the Analytics section, you can add Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, etc. Then, when you check your Analytics section after your page is live, you will find information about your page’s conversion rate based on the goals you set.

This is also where you will find information concerning the performance of your split tests, and you can also tweak the traffic split between the two test versions here. You will also find a section that collects information on the leads each page has collected.

Pricing

Instapage is great. Really great. But the major question is how much will I spend to get access to this amazing software.

Instapage comes with three pricing plans. The first, the Core plan, starts at $69.99/month and contains the most basic features like the mobile-responsive builder and Instablocks. 

The second, the Optimizer plan, starts at $99/month and gives you access to unlimited A/B testing, conversion goal tracking, and heatmaps.

Third and final, the Team & Agency plan, starts at $179/month and has 15 private sub-accounts and branded lead notifications. 

Luckily, Instapage does come with a free 14-day trial, so you can test the waters to see if it is the fit for you. 

While you can do some adequate things with the basic Core plan, like simply designing and publishing (splendid) landing pages, the Optimizer gives you access to helpful tools like A/B testing and heatmaps, which can help your overall conversion rate in the future.

Benefits of InstaPage

You’ve learned how to use Instapage to create and analyze a landing page without the need to learn any coding. But if you are still on the fence about InstaPage, I decided to let you know how beneficial InstaPage can be to you and your business.

1. Great For Collaboration

If you are part of a team or agency, you will love Instapage’s built-in collaboration tools, that are even built into your landing page creation tool.

Using Comment Mode, you, or any member of your team, can click on a specific section of your design to leave a comment right there. 

2. Easier working with common elements

You already know about Instapage’s full landing page templates, but Instapage also contains a smaller template option called Instablocks. Instablocks are basically templates for a specific section of a landing page. For example, you might have an Instablock for a header section or a CTA section.

This helps you speed up your development process without requiring you to use a completely pre-built template. You can also save your own sections as Instablocks, which is a huge time-saver if you need to reuse similar elements across multiple landing pages.

3. Google AMP support for quick-loading mobile landing pages

AMP helps your landing pages load very fast for mobile visitors. But the problem with most AMP pages is that they are ugly.

Instapage lets you use AMP seamlessly without sacrificing design and conversion optimization. You’ll have some limitations on size and technology that are essential to the AMP platform (e.g. you lose the timer widget) – but you are still able to build validated AMP pages using the familiar Instapage builder.

4. AdWords integration to track effectiveness and 

Instapage can actually help you connect your landing page to Google AdWords with just a few clicks. The benefit is that you can view cost and AdWords campaign information inside your Instapage dashboard, which makes it easy to see your ROI.

5. More options for attribution data beyond AdWords

Beyond its dedicated integrations with Google AdWords and Google Analytics, Instapage also lets you pass custom lead metadata (like referral source or IP address) for even more detailed attribution tracking.

6. Built-in heatmaps to find hotspots

Heatmaps help you analyze where users are interacting with your pages the most. Normally, you would need an external tool like Hotjar to track heatmaps for your landing page. But Instapage can automatically track heatmap analytics and let you view them right from your Instapage dashboard.

Final thoughts on Instapage Review

Instapage is a powerful tool. It is definitely a bit above the WordPress page builders that many bloggers are used to.

While it is powerful, the Builder is still easy to use and accessible to beginners. And I loved how free-form the Builder is. You really do have the power to put anything anywhere.

I also liked how things like A/B testing and conversion goals were built right into the Builder. It feels like they are part of the actual design process, rather than a peripheral tool tack on to a finished page

Finally, the publishing options make it simple to use the landing pages that you create, no matter what type of website you’re running.

It’s definitely not the cheapest tool. But if you want a high-powered, optimization-oriented landing page builder, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

Originally posted 2021-11-16 18:42:57.