Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a website to establish an online presence. Yes, you read that right—you can create different types of landing pages to meet your marketing needs without the time and cost of developing a complete website.
Landing pages have become a go-to choice for marketers, small businesses, and startups because they’re not only faster and more affordable to deploy but also highly effective in driving specific actions. Unlike standard websites, landing pages are standalone pages designed primarily to increase conversion rates for goals like feedback collection, lead generation, and product purchases.
Curious how you can create your own? Read on for a step-by-step guide to creating a landing page without the need for a full website.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Do you always need a complete website?
The simple answer is no. While a full website can help boost brand awareness and provide comprehensive information about your products or services, it’s not always necessary—especially for short-term campaigns, lead generation, or promotions. After all, why build multiple web pages when a single page, focused solely on your objective, can do the job effectively?
When you have a specific goal in mind, a landing page is often the more efficient and impactful option. With fewer distractions, it keeps visitors’ attention right where you want it. Plus, it has some clear advantages over a full website:
- Less technical know-how required: You can skip hiring a web designer by using no-code landing page builders.
- Faster deployment: With a no-code builder, you can create your landing page in minutes or hours, while a full website might take 10 to 14 weeks to build.
- Lower cost: Businesses that use landing page builders typically spend about $113 to design a standalone page. Even hiring a freelancer (roughly $15-200 per hour) can still be more cost-effective than building a website. Plus, landing pages eliminate the need to pay for a hosting service.
With a landing page, you get a streamlined, budget-friendly solution that’s perfect for targeted campaigns and specific goals.
Examples of when a landing page might be better than a full website
There are plenty of scenarios where a landing page is not only sufficient but can be a better choice than a complete website, such as:
- Event registration: A landing page simplifies the process of signing up attendees for webinars or in-person events by providing direct access to your registration form. No need for individuals to scour through multiple pages—they can sign up with just a few clicks.
- Product promotion: When launching a new product or running a pre-order campaign, a landing page keeps your target audience’s attention focused on the specific item you’re promoting. This targeted approach can boost interest and drive more sales.
- Lead magnet: A landing page is ideal for offering free content, like ebooks or guides, in exchange for visitor contact information. It allows you to emphasize the value of your offer and capture leads effectively, helping you build your email list.
- Service inquiries: Simplified contact forms on a landing page can capture interest in a service or consultation without requiring visitors to navigate a full site. This encourages more potential customers to reach out.
A landing page can be the smart choice when you want simplicity, focus, and efficiency—all in one place.
What to look for in a landing page builder
A quality landing page builder can save you time, cut costs, and make it easier to launch a high-converting page. But the key here is finding the right builder. List your options, and check for these essential features to ensure you choose the best fit:
- Ease of use: Look for a builder with a user-friendly interface and pre-made templates to simplify page creation.
- Customization capabilities: Choose a tool that lets you match your standalone pages with your brand’s colors, logos, and messaging, promoting consistency across campaigns.
- Mobile optimization: Ensure the builder’s pages are mobile-friendly so they look and perform great on any device.
- Integration capabilities: Opt for a builder that integrates seamlessly with other marketing tools, including links for forms and lead magnets like ebooks, to support your overall marketing strategy.
- Analytics: Built-in analytics are essential for tracking your campaign’s performance. Look for a builder that includes its own tools and/or integrates with platforms like Google Analytics for a more comprehensive view of visitor behavior and engagement.
Bitly Pages checks all these boxes. Not only does it provide mobile-optimized, customizable templates and integration options, but it also offers real-time data on your landing page’s engagement.
And that’s not all—when you sign up for Bitly Pages, you get access to the full Bitly platform, making it simple to incorporate branded QR Codes and short links into your strategy. You can take your audience directly to your landing page via a custom QR Code, then effortlessly lead them further down the funnel with an embedded short link.
Both QR Codes and links are trackable, giving you insights into your campaign’s performance, including scans and clicks by location, device, and referrer—valuable data to help you understand your audience better.
How to build a landing page without a complete website
Now that you know the value of landing pages and when they’re a great alternative to full websites, let’s walk through the steps to create one:
1. Choose your landing page builder
The first step is selecting the right landing page builder. Refer back to the key features we’ve covered to ensure you choose a tool that’s user-friendly, reliable, and efficient.
You can easily create impactful landing pages with Bitly because it offers eight professional templates, customizable layouts for different goals, and compatibility with various marketing tools to support comprehensive strategies. These features make Bitly Pages an ideal choice for driving results quickly and effectively.
2. Select your template
When you pick your tool, choose a simple template that aligns with the goal of your landing page. For example, choose a product promotion template to run a pre-order campaign or a lead generation template if you want to capture leads. This way, you can easily incorporate pertinent elements like product visuals and lead capture forms.
Bitly Pages offers templates in various categories, including promotions, link-in-bio, and products and services, making it easy for you to find the best one for your needs. Alternatively, you can start with a blank slate if you want complete control over your page’s appearance.
3. Customize your design
Once you select the most suitable landing page template, customize it to align with your brand and campaign goals. Adjust the layout, colors, and fonts to match your branding, creating a cohesive landing page design that enhances the user experience and reflects your business.
Pay attention to visual hierarchy to guide visitors’ focus toward the most important elements. For example, use a distinct font size and color for your call to action (CTA) to make it stand out, or incorporate white space around key elements like your CTA or visuals to draw attention.
4. Add essential content elements
Following landing page best practices means including key content elements that support your goal. Depending on the purpose of your page, consider incorporating the following:
- Headline (vital for all landing pages): Clearly state your value proposition to show visitors why they should keep reading.
- Clear and concise copy (vital for all pages): Provide supporting text for your headline to encourage engagement.
- Compelling CTA button (vital for all pages): An eye-catching CTA to guide visitors on their next step.
- Visuals (valuable for product or service pages): Add images or videos to break up text and provide additional details about your product or service. Ensure visuals align with your page’s purpose.
- Social proof (valuable for promotion pages): Include testimonials from past clients to convince visitors to complete desired actions.
- Contact form (ideal for lead capture pages): Use concise forms to gather contact information from potential customers.
By following these landing page best practices, you’ll create a clear, compelling page that drives visitors to take action.
5. Integrate any necessary links
Add links to relevant tools to enhance your page’s effectiveness. For example, with Bitly Pages, you can include a link to Calendly for scheduling, Typeform for collecting feedback, or your ecommerce store to drive sales.
Use branded short links from Bitly—they feature your custom domain name—to build recognition, foster trust, and ultimately increase clicks.
With Bitly Links, you can also identify what resonates the most with your audience by monitoring total clicks. Try A/B testing different elements, like CTAs, page copy, and colors, and monitor how these changes impact engagement. This approach supports well-informed landing page optimization.
6. Publish and promote the page
Once you’ve added all the vital elements and links, review your page carefully and assess each component’s functionality. Confirm that all CTAs are relevant and clickable, visuals appear correctly, Bitly Links and external forms work properly, and the page is mobile responsive.
When everything is set, publish and promote your page. Launch an email marketing or a social media campaign using Bitly Links to direct traffic to your page. You can also extend your reach by promoting the page on print materials like flyers and billboards with Bitly Codes.
As your campaigns run, use Bitly Analytics to track audience engagement, including total clicks or scans. This data will help you identify the most impactful marketing channels and optimize future promotions.
Create high-converting landing pages in minutes with Bitly
Creating a landing page instead of a full website is a smart way to drive conversions while saving time and money. Whether you’re launching short marketing campaigns, promoting a new product, or capturing leads, a reliable, well-built landing page builder can meet your needs.
With Bitly Pages, you can design, customize, and publish a high-impact landing page in minutes. Bitly offers a wide range of templates tailored to different objectives, allowing you to fully customize your page to align with your goals and brand identity. Plus, with Bitly, you gain access to Bitly Links, Codes, and Analytics, giving you the tools to track performance and understand audience insights. Upgrading to a paid plan enhances these capabilities with additional features, allowing for deeper insights and more customization to continually optimize your landing page for even better results.
Skip the hassle of a full website and create high-converting landing pages in minutes—Sign up with Bitly today!
