Instapage Review: How Does This Landing Page Creator Compare Against the Best?

You want to create beautiful landing pages but can't do a single line of code. How would you ever be able to gather new leads and sell products online then?

You have two options: hire a web designer or do it yourself with a landing page builder.

A web designer is an obvious choice if you don't have time to meddle in building web pages.

However, if you want full control over how your landing page looks and feels, then you're better off with the latter option.

To help you create a page with a high conversion rate and without any coding experience, you need Instapage. This awesome tool lets you build landing pages without the need to learn coding or web design.

Interested? Check out our Instapage review.

Try Instapage for 14 Days Right Here!

What is Instapage?

Instapage is a cloud-based landing page software. You can create thank you pages, webinar pages, and other types with the goal of turning visitors into customers. It has a number of features like drag and drop editor and built-in real-time analytics settings, to name a few.

Instapage basically is an end-to-end solution for landing page creation and monitoring.

Instapage features

Instapage is a paid service. And with plans starting at $99/month (billed annually), you want to make sure you're getting your money's worth. We're listing some of Instapage's features below to help you determine if the service is the right fit for your business.

Drag and drop functionality

Instapage's drag and drop functionality is the main reason people sign up for the service. And while that's not really new, Instapage offers true drag and drop editor functionality. This means you can place text and other elements where you want them. You're not locked to grids as is the case with some of their competitors.

This functionality has earned praise for being simple to use. You can change text and add images and videos quickly. If mastered, you should be able to create mobile-friendly landing pages in minutes.

Adding widgets increases the functionality of your pages. Need a countdown timer? There's a widget for that. Need an opt-in form? You can insert them just as easily. You'll be able to create landing pages that meet your needs thanks to the drag and drop feature.

Templates

You can create landing pages from scratch. However, those in a hurry can instead choose an Instapage template and work from there. There are over 200 landing page templates made available to you. These templates—combined with Instapage's customization features—will help you generate landing pages unique to your business.

All Instapage templates are mobile-responsive which is ideal for audiences who use smartphones regularly.

Landing page monitoring

There is also a huge need to monitor your landing pages. Instapage addresses those concerns through their monitoring tools. You get access to heatmaps (behavioral mapping), A/B (split) testing, Google Tag Manager, and more.

Instablocks

Instablocks is one of the site's unique features. What it does is allow you to build landing pages designed for mass deployment. Use this feature to create consistent page designs across different brands. You can create a component once and simply reuse it whenever it's needed. It's an absolute time-saver.

Customization

Users are able to purchase royalty-free stock photos straight from the builder tool. Instapage also has a library of 5,000 fonts available. There's no limit to what types of landing pages you can create through the service!

While customization is nice, it can be a hassle when working with a team. You need to coordinate changes so everyone's on the same page.

Fortunately, Instapage has real-time collaboration tools you can use. For example, users can leave comments on landing pages during the design phase.

These are just some of the features you can expect from Instapage. The site does have a free trial for 14-days if you ever want to check it out for yourself.

Heatmaps

If you have no clue how your users are interacting with your pages, heatmaps are your answer. Instapage has a feature that can track user movement through your landing page. You can see the results from the heatmap menu located on your dashboard.

AdWords integration

Having Google AdWords integrated into the platform is useful. You can choose to add AdWords to your Instapage account. Doing so will let you launch an AdWords campaign straight from Instapage.

Enabling this feature will let you see your ROI without the need to log in elsewhere.

Google AMP

With more users viewing pages through their phones, it's even more important to create mobile-friendly pages. Google AMP lets pages load faster on phones. However, AMP-powered pages are visually unpleasant most of the time.

Instapage resolves that by using AMP to power their pages while maintaining the looks of their templates. Be warned though: some features may not work with AMP enabled. The counter, for example, can't be added while using AMP.

This feature is only available in the advanced, Enterprise plan.

Webinars

You'll be happy to know that there are webinars available in Instapage. The topics usually center around lead generation tips and strategies. These webinars are conducted by Instapage employees of different levels. This makes you really feel like the company is absolutely invested in your success.

There are new webinars on the horizon. And even if you're unable to attend, the webinars will be made available for you should you want them.

On top of webinars, you also gain access to their marketing guides, e-books, podcast, and blogs. If you're just starting out, these might end up valuable resources to your success.

How does InstaPage work?

Instapage is fairly simple to use especially if you read the step-by-step instruction below. As with most cloud-based software, you will need to sign up for an account. The signup process is fast. If you have a Google account, you just log in and you're pretty much ready to go.

The basics

Once you've managed to create your account, you can start creating a landing page. From the dashboard, you'll have 2 options. You can create a new page or create a group (an organized way of grouping pages).

In this example, we'll focus on building a single page. Click on Create New Page will bring up 3 options. You can create a Standard Page, an AMP Page (designed for mobile), and Upload Instapage File. Let's create a standard page for now.

Clicking on Standard Page will redirect you to the Templates page. Here you'll be presented with several templates as well as an option to create a design from scratch. The navigation bar can help you filter your choices based on what kind of landing page you need. Instapage has templates for lead generation, two-step verification, webinars, and more.

Most of the offered templates look sleek and modern. However, they are reminiscent of other marketing emails you've probably seen elsewhere. It's highly recommended that you make some changes and make these landing pages your own.

Hovering over the templates will allow you to preview each one. Once you've made your choice, simply click on the template on you'll be on your way.

Regardless of selecting a blank page or a template, you'll be asked to name your page. After that, you'll be brought to the Instapage Editor.

The Instapage Editor

The Instapage Editor is where the designing will take place. For this example, we've chosen one of the free templates Instapage offers. The interface is intuitive and easy to understand. Those who aren't used to drag and drop builders would be able to get the hang of it in no time.

Immediately you can revise the text and move them where you want to. The template is divided into different sections or blocks. As with text and images, you can move blocks around with ease. You can add new blocks or remove ones you don't need.

Each block allows you to insert new content. You can add descriptions, testimonial pages, pricing information, and other relevant information.

The navigation bar gives you quick access to their customization tools. From there you can add headlines, paragraphs, images, videos, and call-to-action buttons. You can also add forms should you need them. Here you can find social media buttons that you can add anywhere on the landing page.

You should be able to create new pages in minutes once you get used to it. With a few minor tweaks, we were able to make changes to the template to make it suit our needs.

Create A/B Tests

You will find the A/B Testing button on the upper left-hand side of the Instapage Editor. Here you can create different versions of your landing pages for testing. You'll be able to experiment on call-to-actions or images and see which versions your audience would like best.

It's an important feature that users wouldn't find on other landing page builders. You can test one page against a totally different page on Instapage.

Create Forms

Creating forms can take some getting used to but should be a breeze after some practice. There are multiple options made available to users. You start by adding a form widget which is conveniently located in the navigation bar.

You'll be presented with four options once you've successfully generated a form. You have button style, form style, submission, and multistep.

• Button style – Let's you make changes to the CTA label, font, font size, color, and effects.
• Form style – Change the color of labels and field colors. Define the position of the labels.
• Form Submissions – Define what happens after the user submits the answers. You can trigger downloads or page redirects upon submission. You can also insert a thank you message.
• Multistep Form – Perfect for user submissions that require multiple steps.

These solutions make Instapage ideal for generating lead magnets.

Instablocks

As mentioned earlier, creating a landing page through the Instapage Editor makes use of blocks. These are sections you add to a page to insert additional content. While it's easy to add blocks, it can become a burden if you're working on multiple landing pages at a time.

Instablocks lets you set a custom block you can use across different pages. That way, your blocks are consistent and creating pages can be done faster. If you have Instablocks set up and ready to load, creating a page can be done in minutes.

You can create components like headers, pricing information, or product benefits ahead of time. Then when you create a new page, you simply add these blocks to your landing page and you're done.

Global Blocks

Global Blocks work the same way as a regular block. What it does differently, however, is the ability to make changes on a global scale. Say you have 30 landing pages and you have to change the same line of text across all of them. How do you do it?

With Global Blocks, any change you make to one block will be applied to other emails that are linked to the same block.

This way, you won't be forced to make individual changes. Footer information, for example, can be updated with new information in a snap.

Global Blocks are only available if you're subscribed to the Enterprise plan.

Collaboration

Instapage lets users collaborate through its built-in commenting system. Anyone looking at the page can leave a comment for other collaborators. This way, team members can have a dynamic discussion about what changes need to be made.

Users can toggle the comment mode through the navigation bar.

Mobile view

Users are shown the desktop version of the landing page by default. But you can toggle between desktop and mobile versions. Switching to the mobile version shows what your page would look like when viewed through a smartphone.

Analytics

Instapage has tracking features that would go to waste if ignored. On the upper right-hand side of the navigation bar is the settings button. Click the button to find a number of options for integrating other tools to your page.

Here you'll find options to add SEO information, conversion rate goals, Google Analytics and Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and more.

Publishing a landing page

Once you're done with your landing page, you can go ahead and publish. Publishing is easy. If you've forgotten to add some information, Instapage will remind you. If there are no errors found, you'll be given a few ways to publish your page.

• Custom domain – Allows you to publish a page to any domain you own.
• WordPress – Lets you publish pages on WordPress. Publishing on WordPress requires you to install the Instapage WordPress plugin.
• Drupal – Lets you publish pages on Drupal.
• Facebook – Publish your landing page as a tab in your Facebook page.
• Demo page – Choose this option if you want to publish the page as a subdomain under pagedemo.co

What does Instapage cost?

The only reason people might hold off on subscribing to Instapage is their pricing. Users can choose to pay monthly or annually. Their Core Plan starts at $99/month if billed annually. That number jumps to $129 if you decide to pay on a monthly basis.

They do not state how much the Enterprise plan would cost. However, it's clear that some of the features we discussed are only accessible if you're an Enterprise-level user.

If Global Blocks are important to you, it's worth noting that this is not available in the basic plan. The same is true for AMP-enabled landing pages. Even the collaboration tools are locked behind the Enterprise premium plan.

If those are the main reasons why you'd want to use Instapage, paying more for those features is something you'd have to consider.

The pricing suggests that the tool is geared towards professionals who are heavily invested in their lead generation. New players in the space might be better off exploring other landing page builders.

Instapage pros and cons

There are many reasons to love Instapage. And for most people, the features should be enough to create beautiful landing pages for generating leads. But this Instapage review will not be complete without citing the pros and cons of Instapage.

What makes Instapage great? What are its flaws? Let's take a look.

Pros

• Has an intuitive drag and drop builder. Perfect for beginners.
• Instablock saves you time, especially when creating multiple pages with the same template.
• You can perform split testing.
• Great integration with popular tracking tools and analytics.
• More than 200 customizable templates available.
• Heatmap visualizer helps you see which sections draw attention.

Cons

• The product can be expensive. Plans start at $99 per month (billed annually).
• You can only set one font for all headings. Having some options would be nice.
• There have been reports of slow customer support response time.
• Could use a few more widgets in the Instapage Editor.
• Advanced changes must be done through CSS which kind of beats the purpose of the product.

Verdict

Overall, Instapage is the all-in-one software for marketers who need total control over their landing page designs. The product is friendly for anyone who has little to no experience with coding or web design. But Instapage is definitely not for those with a small budget. The $99 price tag can be tough for some folks.

If you only need one landing page and using WordPress, there are plugin solutions that can help you create stunning pages. Sure, you won't have as much control over the design but it'll definitely be cheaper.

But for established companies and online stores looking for a landing page builder with all the tools you'll need for tracking, this could be it. Instapage has lots to offer and if used correctly, could help you land those business leads.

Want to see our review on other landing page builders?  See our LeadPages review and Clickfunnels review.