As a non-professional web developer, you once had to go through dozens of tutorials, books, and online learning resources to learn how to design with code. Back then, creating a site from scratch was strictly trial and error. As a result, it can easily take several hours or even days before you can achieve the site you visualized in your head.
While designing your website through code is still as rewarding as ever, it’s no longer a necessity with today’s technology. All you need to do is use a drag-and-drop site builder or integrate a CMS into your domain if you want a professional-looking website up and running.
Regarding flexibility, scalability, and ease of use, WordPress is one of the top choices for beginners and veterans alike. True, its built-in theme and style customization options are quite limited. But with an external landing page plugin, you can create sales page exactly the way you want them — all in a matter of minutes.
Below are the top five of the best WordPress landing page plugins compared.
1. OptimizePress
Site: https://www.optimizepress.com/ — Price: $97
Although a landing page needs to be stylish, it must also be optimized specifically for maximum conversion rates. OptimizePress is one of the few landing page builders that are equipped for the job. Apart from a real-time page editor, some of its key features include a membership site builder, external e-commerce integrations, split testing, and visitor tracking.
Thanks to its generous supply of themes and templates, OptimizePress ensures your landing pages are geared towards conversions.
To start using OptimizePress, take a minute to run the blog setup by going to ‘OptimizePress' > ‘Blog Setup' from the WordPress dashboard. This will allow you to specify your site’s theme style, branding elements, layout, and modules.
Take note that running through all the steps is a complete overhaul of your site — changing everything from your banner logo to your sidebar widgets.
Unlike the other plugins mentioned in this list, OptimizePress doesn’t depend on the active WordPress theme you have installed. Rather, you can automatically generate a brand-new landing page based on the options you’ve used throughout the setup process.
Still, you can use the “Live Editor” if you want to make manual adjustments to your page’s design. Go to ‘OptimizePress' > ‘Page Builder' to access this feature.
Notable Features:
- Built for Conversions – In OptimizePress, everything under the hood is built for conversions. The step-by-step nature of the plugin ensures you get everything right – from your headlines to the CTA button.
- OptimizePress Marketplace – As a comprehensive landing page platform, OptimizePress grants you access to a “marketplace” where you can find icon packs, prebuilt pages, templates, and other resources for scalability.
- Membership Site Management – OptimizePress is the only plugin in this list that allows you to build and manage your very own membership site.
2. Beaver Builder
Site: https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com/ — Price: Free / $99 for premium templates and modules
If you’d like to modify your page while keeping fundamental design aspects from your current theme, then Beaver Builder’s Lite Version is the perfect plugin for you. Once installed, it can make any page completely editable via a drag and drops interface.
To launch the Beaver Builder editor, go to your WordPress dashboard and click ‘Pages' > ‘All Pages.' Hover your mouse over the page you’d like to edit and click Page Builder. Alternatively, you can open the page and click the Page Builder tab from the WordPress editor.
In the main page editor, you can add rows with varying columns, and then add different page elements through “modules” and WordPress widgets. That’s how Beaver Builder works in a nutshell.
For example, if you’d like to add a 2-column content area, click Row Layouts, select 2 Columns, and then drag it to the desired location on your page.
This will add two new content areas in your page outlined with blue dotted outlines. You can modify the properties of each column by clicking them.
You then have three options when it comes to adding content elements into these rows: Basic Modules, Advanced Modules, and WordPress Widgets.
Under Basic Modules, you can add various photos, text, audio, video, and custom HTML elements. Just drag and drop them into one of the column areas you’ve created when adding rows.
Notable Features:
- Premium Modules and Templates – If you can invest in at least the standard package, you can gain access to premium modules & templates that can help you effortlessly spice up your website.
- Usable with Any WordPress Theme – Beaver Builder allows you to make page customizations without totally transforming your current WordPress theme.
- Row and Module Saving – Lastly, Beaver Builder allows you to save rows and modules you’ve previously created or used. This lets you save time in case you need to reuse them again.
3. Elementor Page Builder
Site: https://elementor.com/ — Price: Free / $49 for 1 site
When it comes to functionality, Elementor Page Builder is more advanced than Beaver Builder. This is especially true when comparing their free versions.
With Elementor, you can easily add interactive elements such as image carousels, buttons, progress bars, and social icons. To access the editor, go to any post or page you want to customize and click ‘Edit with Elementor.'
This will bring up the main toolbar where you can modify global settings or add new elements to your page. For example, if you want to add a new CTA button to your landing page, drag Button and drop it into the appropriate section.
You can then modify the settings for page elements by simply clicking them. To add more sections, click the Add New Section button or drag any element to an empty page area.
Notable Features:
- Templates – Even with the free version, Elementor lets you use beautiful templates that are pre-configured for maximum conversions.
- Unified Global Settings Menu – By clicking the hamburger icon in the Elementor toolbar, you can quickly adjust global settings such as layout colors, fonts, and advanced plugin settings.
- Advanced Styling Options – Aside from the global settings, Elementor also provides you with more styling options through ‘Elementor' > ‘Settings' > ‘Style'. Here, you can modify content width, space between widgets, default fonts, and so on.
4. SiteOrigin Page Builder
Site: https://siteorigin.com/page-builder/ — Price: Free / $29 for 1 site
The Page Builder plugin from SiteOrigin is another capable landing page builder, but it’s best described as a core component of a bigger WordPress ecosystem. First, need to install the separate SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle to make full use of the visual page builder. You may also install the SiteOrigin CSS and Installer plugins to expand functionality further, but these are optional as far as landing page creation goes.
Upon installation, you can boot up the page builder by going to the WordPress editor and clicking the ‘Page Builder' tab.
Although you can make thorough customizations without leaving the main WordPress editor, you should use the “Live Editor” for a real-time preview of your changes. To do this, simply click the ‘Live Editor' button from the main toolbar.
The Live Editor allows you to add rows, use pre-built layouts, or integrate functionalities to your page through widgets.
Notable Features:
- High Expandability – The page builder may appear lackluster at the surface, but the SiteOrigin suite of plugins is a notch above the rest regarding scalability. This is thanks to the visual CSS editor, plugin installer, and a host of premium “add-ons” that can be separately downloaded from the SiteOrigin website.
- Live Screen Previews – SiteOrigin allows you to toggle between the desktop, mobile, and tablet modes to preview your site on different screen sizes.
5. KingComposer
Site: https://kingcomposer.com/ — Price: Free / $29 for 1 site
KingComposer is another landing page builder that integrates seamlessly with the WordPress infrastructure. After installation and activation, you can start using the plugin by going to any page and clicking ‘Edit with KingComposer.'
From there, you can begin editing every section of your page down to the smallest detail. For example, if you click the ‘Edit' button or the ‘Column Text' pop up on a text block, you can quickly change its font style, color, and sizing options through the “Text Block Settings” window.
To add more sections and elements to your page, only use the main KingComposer toolbar. You can use up to four columns for each row, which should be more than enough for whatever layout you have in mind.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of KingComposer is the extensive library of elements. Upon clicking the green ‘Elements' button, you’ll find a collection of functionalities that you can add to your site with a single click — from blog post carousels to countdown timers.
Notable Features:
- Easy Animations – With KingComposer, you don’t need a professional coder to implement simple animations with your content.
- Templates Library – You can use the built-in “Sections Manager” to quickly save and reuse layouts. This can be accessed through the live editor or by going to ‘KingComposer' > ‘Sections Manager' from the main dashboard.
- Easy Optimize Option – Finally, KingComposer allows you to execute optimization techniques to boost page performance automatically. This includes pre-rendering resources to static files, leveraging browser caching, utilizing compression, and minifying site code.
The Verdict
For WordPress users who are already satisfied with their current theme, Beaver Builder and Elementor are the best choices. Not only are these plugins lightweight, but they can also help you make quick adjustments to your site with a few clicks.
KingComposer and SiteOrigin Page Builder, on the other hand, are perfect for those who prefer a more hands-on approach to site building. But if you’d like to focus on the goal of converting visitors, then you might as well save up for a premium OptimizePress account. This will make sure your design efforts ultimately affect your bottom line.
