If you’re doing any kind of page building at the moment, whether that’s squeeze pages, thank you pages, sales pages, download pages, any web or funnel style pages whatsoever, then STOP IT!
Outsource it! You should be marketing and promoting your business. That’s your No 1 priority and if you’re hiding behind a technical labyrinth of procrastination, then I can tell you that’s not going to bring you in customers.
That being said, with the amount of ‘non techie’ page builders that are popping up all over the web these days sometimes it’s quicker to do it yourself.
So if you are a DIY page builder and you refuse to outsource then this post is for you!
I decided to to a quick review of four platforms.
Leadpages
Thrive Themes
OP2
ClickFunnels
Leadpages & OP2 are the page builders I use most regularly in my business. Thrive Themes I’ve had a play with and Click Funnels is brand new (with a free trial at the time of writing).
For this experiment I created a squeeze page in each platform with the same details (some small changes were made due to the design of the pages).
Here are my results;
Thrive Themes – Page Created in 3 minutes
I recorded myself building each page so if you’d like to see how each platform works and watch over my shoulder as I create the pages then please see the videos below.
Leadpages vs Thrive Themes (9 mins)
OP2 vs ClickFunnels (11 mins)
The VERDICT (2 mins)
If you don’t have the time to watch the vids (although I highly recommend you do), here’s an overview of what I think are the pros and cons of each platform;
Leadpages
Pros
- So, so, so easy to use. Just click and edit. That’s it.
- Use their pre-written copy on the pages, just swap out the key elements for your products / industry.
- You can pick a template based on it’s overall conversion rates.
- The templates look nice, they’re clean, well designed and definitely improve conversions.
- They have the functionality for you to upload media, so you can build an entire funnel just on their system.
- Publish your page straight into a tab on facebook
- Loads more. Leadpages is definitely the page builder of choice!
Cons
- Due to how they’re setup, there’s little room for innovation so can at times be inflexible, which is the main reason I don’t create sales pages on Lead pages.
- They’re so popular you will see your design used my many others online. However they are adding more and more templates, so this problem will undoubtedly be short lived.
Price
$37 / $67 / $97 a month depending on what package you choose
Thrive Themes
Pros
- You can plug it in to your wordpress website and create any page you like on your site
- Very flexible drag & drop style editor. You can put what you want where you want it
- Easy to use and edit, particularly as it’s all in page, so you’re seeing your page as you’re building it
- Innovative team behind it, so lots of new features & updates being released regularly
- They are adding pre-made templates much like the other systems for you to amend and edit and make your own.
Cons
- Until they release more templates, it requires a little more ‘techie’ input. If you want to make your page look fancy with colours and outlines there’s definitely more to it. (I have to add a caveat here that I have only played with it a little. I’m not a seasoned user so I may be doing it an injustice, but I’m looking at it from a very simple new, non techie user point of view)
- There’s simply more ‘fiddling about’ required at the moment to end up with a nice design.
Price
$59 / $87 / $199 depending on what package you use.
OP2
Pros
- James & his team have done a great job with OP2. It’s a fantastic very flexible page builder for the total ‘non techie’s’ amongst us
- Easy to use, drag & drop, on page editor
- Super flexible, you can build any page with any design you like
- Once you have a design you like you can save the template and re-use on any site with OP2 installed
- Comes with pre-made templates a bit like leadpages (but a lot more flexible) that you can edit and make your own
Cons
So why isn’t OP2 the winner?
- Because it’s so laborious to use. There’s so much clicking and adding of rows and elements and bits and pieces that to build a page is about as interesting as watching paint dry!
Price
$97 / $197 / $297 one off fees depending which package you choose.
Click Funnels
Pros
Because this is a brand new software I don’t really know enough about it yet, but my first impressions are as follows;
- It’s not just a page builder, it’s a funnel builder. This really could be a complete game changer if you’re building any kind of funnels in your business
- It’s flexible and as with Thrive Themes and OP2 looks on first glance like you could create any page design you wanted to
- It comes with pre-made templates that you can use and edit to make your own
- Because it’s a funnel builder, the page building side is just one element, it’s heavily focused on stats, conversion rates and helping you to generate leads and sales. It’s really a business system which probably takes it slightly out of the realm of todays experiment
Cons
- Right now it’s a bit buggy. The team have some work to do to smooth some of the techie elements out.
Price
2 week free trial (closes Oct 7th), thereafter $97 / month
Summary
So clearly Leadpages is my Lead page builder of choice and I actually outsource sales pages and more complex designs these days, although we do use OP2 for simple sales pages.
However I am looking forward to playing more with Click Funnels. Once they iron out some of their small teething problems (which happens with all new software), then I think that’s going to be a very useful and time saving tool. Grab your free trial now, it closes in a few days.
Lastly click here if you’d like a copy of my 8 Email Styles PDF as demonstrated in the videos!
I’d love to hear from you. Has this been helpful? Do you have any others you recommend? Have you got any questions? I’m here to help!
Happy page building!
Jo :)
Share Your Thoughts With Me Below :)
Thank Jo, was waiting for your review as I do not have the experience or time to go through them like you have. I like what I have seen at Leadpages but appreciate your Con of not being flexible. I am going to give Click Funnels the two week trial a go and see how it works with what I am doing. I also like the total business system format as I would like to have everything in one place, especially the stats etc. Looking forward to your update on Click Funnels once you have had a chance to play with it more.
Thanks Glenn, yep looking forward to setting up some funnels in CF. Will let you know how I go :)
Great stuff, Jo! I’ve used all of them except Click Funnels and I agree that Leadpages is my top choice. However, I’m using Thrive Themes for websites because it is simple and easy to create crisp, awesome looking sites fairly quickly. Thanks for this review – you validated my thoughts on these tools. You’re awesome, as usual!
Thanks so much Claudia! :)
Jo – you’ve missed one of the critical advantages of Leadpages – which is the 2 step optin. Apparently it increases conversions by 30% – which is potentially 30% more sales and business :-)
Hi Jane, thanks for the comment! I do Business Development for LeadPages. We just announced another great feature: http://blog.leadpages.net/feature-update-create-timed-popups-exit-popups-leadboxes/
Great post, Jo! :)
Sincerely,
Kevin Raheja
Business Development, LeadPages
Hi Kevin,
Lovin’ the exit pops etc – saves me $200 I might have spent on another system. I love how Leadpages keeps innovating. Just could do without the overselling though – I was NOT impressed when I discovered that you can’t actually host multiple client leadpages because you can only have one integration with each email service provider. That is something which you guys oversell and maybe you’d like to reconsider how you word that.
Hey Jane! Yes, you can drive unlimited traffic, but can only set up one of each kind of autoresponder. For example, 1 AWeber account, or 1 Mailchimp account. However…. we recently announced Sub Accounts! This is particularly useful for agencies and for managing client pages.
More info on that here: http://blog.leadpages.net/new-feature-leadpages-sub-accounts-get-multiple-accounts-clients-easily-manage-integrations/
Thanks for the comments, Jane.
Have a wonderful week!
-Kevin
You’re missing the point that it was oversold on the webinar that I bought Leadpages from where we were told we could host client leadpages as well. Clay conveniently omitted to mention that you could only do that if you also had all of your client accounts on your own Aweber or whatever account. As I said – oversold.
Thanks Kevin. Thanks for the great software! :)
I haven’t actually proved that yet Jane. It’s definitely worth a split test to see if those numbers are true! :)
Where the heck did the Optimizeds Press 2 part go?
Hi Henrik, OP2 is in the second vid :)
Hi Jo,
Thanks. Always value your knolledge :-)
– I bought OP2, some time ago – and are just getting into it now. So your review I thought, would be helpfull. I am mentioning this as I went straight to the second vid, titled “OP2 vs -,,-” But from your answer given, I now saw all vids.
You labled it wrong – the OP2 is in the beginning og the first vid.
Thanks and regards.
:-)
Henrik
Thanks Jo great post as always …. I have been using Thrive for past couple of months and find it really great not only for building optin pages but very quick and easy for general posts and pages too. Certainly agree it will be better when they have more designs, which I think they are working on. I did look at Click Funnel recently so was good to get an inside view of that. Thanks again :)
Thanks Martin, yes I think Thrive has some real potential, I look forward to watching it develop. :)
I use LP because it is so easy to use. I also chose the annual billing and got in when it was $200.
Awesome Sharon! :)
Hey Jo!
Great article! This has a ton of useful information on some strong software options. I handle business development at http://instapage.com and I wanted to extend a full version of our software to you to test drive. I think you’re going to be stoked.
Instapage is similar to LP, but instead of being stuck with static templates that every other customer is using we allow you to fully customize your landing page so that it fits your exact campaign specifically, not generally.
You can also use more than 70 high converting templates that we have professionally designed for totally free You can use them as is or modify/customize them to your liking. All templates work across all devices.
WordPress and email integrations are also totally free on all plans as well as automatic A/B testing – which is the root point; LP has these features, but only on the $67 plan and above.
Shoot me an email or a tweet if you’re interested! Im going to check out more of your blog its really good stuff. :)
Kieran Daniels @kierankyle
http://instapage.com
Hi Kieran, I’d love to try out your software! I’ll be in touch. Thanks so much! Jo :)
This is so timely! I have several clients using one or another of the above, but I am still more than happy with my OP2 purchase, James & his support team are fantastic, and the Clubhouse upgrade has so far given me over 50 free page templates that are ridiculously easy to customise. Plus graphics, icons etc etc, Well worth the extra $17 per month.
I tried to buy Thrive through Jared’s aff link but the plugin developer never bothered to get in touch so he lost out on my custom there, and Leadpages is too stiff in terms of editing for my taste. Instapage.com also is one worth looking at as per Kieran’s comment, very nice templates and pricing is pretty good too.
Thanks Jo, always great info on your Blog!
Thanks Amy, there’s no doubt OP2 is probably the most flexible out of the platforms, just not quick and easy enough for me.
James is a diamond though! :)
Hi Jo-
Very helpful comparison as have to admit had not heard of two of these platforms- may go do trial
Am just in the process of designing a launch funnel for a client- working with Amy of Wkd actually! Have used Lead pages and agree- can be a bit limiting using templates- no options to add some extra elements on some of them- BUT their webinar opt ins are brill. Also love their 2 step opt in leadboxes. However- OPT2 has bonus of membership feature which I need – but hate the fact you cannot “technically” use it on client sites???? Also bought recently- new on page, page builder style leadpage software called WPProfit Builder http://wpprofitbuilder.com/ which is very much a DIY style approach but does have a TON of designs which are all customizable. I think in the end you use which software works best for the particular project- and if you are a bit of a fan like me- you try them all- gives client the choice of style!
Once again thanks for the helpful article- and the email styles pdf!
Hey! I would love to demo you on http://instapage.com you can sign up and test the builder without entering payment info or signing up for a free trial :)
Thanks so much for mentioning wpprofitbuilder, I had an email about that so I think I need to try it out and see how it compares!
Thanks for your comments! :)
Hi Jo, I was thinking about wpprofitbuilder too as I saw a promo for it.. Looks good from the video webinars they did after launch. Doesn’t have all the extras but maybe a good place to start especially with the one time cost and having it right on your wp site. Looking forward to your review on this one as well. Hope you are feeling better!
Just learning ClickFunnel…
Dude, I SO needed what you did here. Awesome review. No BS…loved it. I was so techie-tied as to which to use. Thanks (from an American stationed in Singapore)
Now, how about helping one step further for website bulds (SquareSpace vs. ME, vs. etc)? Or am I pushing it?
Hired so many builders and got trash. The disadvantages of being away from home. Thanks for being the connection to excellence.
Jo -2 questions.
I am working on a membership site and need to learn more about landing pages. (I am using other plugins, not op for the membership, it is already built)
1) Is op2 really good enough in your opinion? because I’d prefer a one time, rather than monthly charge – I know lead pages is cool but I think the charge is too high! I much prefer a one time plugin charge.
2) I have concerns about plugins not playing nice…would it make sense maybe to have a separate WP install & domain where I make all my landing
Thanks!
Hi Adam, yes & yes.
OP2 is a bit laborious but it does the job and it offers a lot more flexibility than Leadpages. The benefit of Leadpages is ease.
I have a separate WP install for my optins & sales pages, so definitely recommend that. Hope that helps! :)
Jo, very helpful. I actually purchased Thrive Content and plan to put it on a separate install since the site is already built. I wasn’t sure if landing & sales HAD to be on the same domain. – all the best! Adam
Great review and breakdown. LeadPages would almost be 100% if they could add drag and drop functionality. In my opinion Clickfunnels is clearly the ultimate solution since it can do squeeze pages in addition to membership sites. Clickfunnels would dominate if they added a content locking feature like WP Sharely to virally share your funnels. But for now you’ll have to combine WP Sharely with Thrive Themes or OptimizePress.
Jo, what an excellent write up! I really needed this to make my final decision on what you purchase. As you know, LeadPages does NOT have a drag and drop functionality which makes it almost obsolete. ClickFunnels on the other hand, if you take a look at some of the reviews (which are highly controversial: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-forum-classified-ads/1097380-clickfunnels-click-here-free-trial.html – for example shows that there are a limited number of traffic you can actually send! Which isn’t disclosed (thumbs down). LeadPages on the other hand, if you read from this source: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-forum-classified-ads/1100480-get-leadpages-save-up-40-a.html shows that there’s unlimited volumes of traffic you can send.
Hi Rocki, I wonder where you’ve been reading about the traffic limitation with ClickFunnels as it’s definitively a critical information to know before buying it. I read the links you’ve share here and couldn’t find anything on the matter…? Thanks
Thank you for your review!!! I started off using Leadpages and it is very very easy to use. I was getting bothered trying to customize it and opted for thrive theme instead, still each to their own.
I like LeadPages, but I have been using Thrive much more of late and actually now prefer it. You can customize where you need to and the templates are growing all the time which is fantastic. My experience with their support has also been good. For me, knocking out a lead capture page from video to giveaway, lead magnet etc it is just so easy. My 2 cents anyway :)
Thanks Jo Barnes for this great post! I use Thrive Themes and Optimizepress 2.0 for all of my sites and they seem great. I have yet to check out Lead pages and Clickfunnels but after reading your review I will have to have a closer look. Thanks and I love your site design :)
Hello Jo,, thanks for sharing – great overview! I too have been burning the midnight oilto test and evaluate several of these landing page plugins. Like you said, ClickFunnels may not be equal in this battle however i agree, it might just be a real game changer.
I tested it for the two weeks trial with excellent results but didn’t experience any bugs – maybe they’re fixed. So, what did i like so much about CF,….. the UI, simplicity and ease of use, page stacking and sorting, multiple pages to switch in and out of the A/B testing area, although overwhelming at first – the wide variety of customization options for each page, the stats, and the huge seller for me – the framework built around setting up integrated sales funnels for your business.
So, if you want a page builder there are loads of options the best are the ones Jo has introduced here however, if you want to build the system journey for your customer from lead magnet – landing page – data capture – auto responder – exit intent and other OTO – to cart and so on then I highly recommend you TRIAL ClickFunnels. That said, we need to be very clear on our objectives and how CL or any other plugin will integrate with your existing mix before shelling out $97 per month – on repeat, and then there’s other addons!
For me, the TRAIL was an excellent experience and I am continuing to explore how it would fit for us. Hope this helps, thanks Jo!