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I'm building a landing page builder. What do you want in it?

It will push both quality and usability further but offer limited design flexibility. It will be as if you tell your designer what you want and they'll design and code it for you instead of you designing it yourself.

We IHs build a lot of landing pages to test our value propositions so I'm hoping for your input on these questions. Thanks!

  1. do your prefer to export a static site for a one time fee & host yourself or do you prefer a hosted solution @ $/mo?

  2. whats lacking from the existing solutions what you'd be happy to pay for?

  3. How much do you value flexibility in a site builder? would it bother you if you couldn't move that one button 10 pixels to the left?

  1. 2

    Sounds like a neat idea.
    My answers:

    1. Yes, I prefer static sites, and a one-time fee is always preferable to a subscription. I really need to cut back on my subscription fees.
    2. What's lacking from existing solutions? Most static site generators are overly complicated or built for blogs, and not great for simple landing pages. I just want to convert a folder of markdown files into a site, and maybe have a choice of 4 or 5 themes/templates. Poole is what I use now https://github.com/obensonne/poole, though it's not very popular.
    3. Doesn't need to be too flexible.
    1. 1

      Thanks for your feedback, Rick! It sounds like you'll be the ideal customer for this. I'll get you beta access to it when it's ready and if you want it.

  2. 2

    There are a large number of existing landing page builders out there, so you'll really need something that stands out.

    In answer to your questions:

    1. I probably prefer a hosted solution as long as there are relevant integrations. Saves me time and hassle. I use Webflow.com for Prumio and we have it hosted with them.

    2. Difficult to say. There are quite a few different builders, from AI-based builders such as firedrop.ai and the grid, to drag and drop builders like Launchaco.com and Webflow.com. There are some great players in this market.

    3. Flexibility is great, but not a necessity.

    It will be really hard to differentiate yourself from existing landing page builders, so my advice would be to do a lot of extensive research before building anything. Then build a simple landing page advertising your product (before building the product) and post it here for us to see. If you generate some interest, then you should certainly build it.

    Good luck :)

    1. 1

      thanks for your feedback, James! That helps a lot.

      Firedrop looks interesting but like many alternatives, the outcome just isn't good enough. The sites are too slow, have UI bugs and just look plain boring.

      I like launchaco's approach but even their pages don't look that great & they don't offer A/B testing.

      1. 1

        Those were just 2 examples -- there are many, many more, so make sure to do as much research as possible.

  3. 1

    Hi Felix! Good idea.

    1. I really like the carrd.co approach to this. They host but I can also export anytime.

    2. Modern design. I haven't seen a landing page builder that's able to keep up with innovations around website design. For example, many websites now have a layout and feel like this: https://slack.com/

    3. Flexibility can be limited if the design is really good.

    1. 1

      Carrd is really interesting. Their pricing is inredible, what others charge in a month, they charge in a year.

      The problem I have with it is that it's too complicated to use and the outcome doesn't look that great.

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      This comment was deleted 7 years ago

  4. 1

    Many sites/domains included in the price for cheap like carrd.

    1. 1

      thanks Shaun, thats good to know.

      Why do you need the many sites? To test different ideas simultaneously? Or to provide it as a service to clients?

      1. 1

        I was doing a project that required me to build custom microsites for a lot of people. I extensively looked at hosted website builders and found that virtually none of them offer multiple hosted sites for less than $10-15 per site per month. Carrd was the one exception. Could be a competitive advantage. As Carrd is 1 page only, there are no companies with sites with more pages than that for below that price as far as I've seen

  5. 1

    You should refer to other website builder or landing page builder because they have some features in common and some unique features. Here are some builders you can refer to: https://www.servicesfordd.com/collection/website-builder/
    As for me, I think a landing page can be customized easily and integrate some common features such as Subscribe Newsletters.

    1. 1

      Thanks Matt, that list has some I didn't know yet. I am researching the others as well of course but I am more interested in the specific needs of this community.

      Newsletter susbcription is definitely a popular feature and will be included in some variants.

  6. 1

    Webflow.com is my benchmark, as I return to them repeatedly. I consider their current pricing a bit too complex for lander use. They might be aiming more for the agency niche which makes sense in a way.

    1. Hosted with simple pricing and multiple landers, e.g. $/month for 10 sites + $ for domain / site
    2. Great import from Sketch
    3. It's a lander, not a work of art – a robust grid system with vertical rhythm should align items nicely

    Other considerations –

    • Plain text email templates with variables
    • Bulk email sendout from lander domain
    • Simple split testing for elements configurable from editor (for texts and hero images, not button colors)
    • Dead-simple Split test analysis ("For header, A (27.5%) trumps B (3.5%)")
    • Waiting line
    • Pay/donate/share to advance in waiting line
    • NO FIXED TEXTS IN PUBLIC !!! I want to translate views to my non-English native language
    • Run the full pirate metrics funnel from one solution (simple PPC tools for Acquisition –> ... –> tracking Referrals)
    1. 1

      Thanks Henri, those are great insights!

      You're right their pricing is pretty complex to get behind.

      Those features are also very interesting. The waiting line could be important for many indiehackers.

  7. 1

    Not a lot of feedback to offer as I am not expert in landing page building but I would totally love to partner with you. Will PM you!