8 Tips to Build a Shopify Landing Page That Converts

Shopify makes it super easy to build landing pages.

But what is a Shopify landing page? What are the different types of landing pages that Shopify offers?

Heck — should you even use Shopify to build your landing pages?

Those are the questions we’re going to answer in this article.

We’re also going to:

•  Show you how to create Shopify landing pages
• Recommend some top page builders inside Shopify
• Give you 8 tips for building landing pages that convert like clockwork.

Off to the races!

What Is a Shopify Landing Page?

A Shopify landing page is a sales page designed to get visitors to take a specific action — such as opting in to your email list, purchasing a product, or registering for an online event.

Okay…

But you might be wondering how that’s different from product pages, lead magnet offers, or your homepage.

The key difference between a landing page and other pages on your website is that landing pages maintain a single-minded focus on just one conversion objective.

In fact, it’s easier to define a landing page by what it doesn’t have. Generally speaking…

• They don’t encourage website navigation.
• They don’t have multiple CTAs.
• They don’t talk about multiple products or services.

Landing pages focus on just one conversion event to the exclusion of all else — and they are very effective because of that.

Here’s an example from List Building Secrets by ClickFunnels…

Except for some terms-and-service text below the fold, that’s the entire landing page.

Of course, landing pages can be either short or long, intricately designed or dead-simple… the key is that they’re focused on just one offer.

And that focus results in a higher conversion rate.

Should You Use Shopify to Build Your Landing Pages?

Shopify is not the only landing page builder on the market.

In fact, according to Zapier, it’s not even in the top 5, which include…

• Carrd
• ConvertKit
• KickoffLabs
• Unbounce
• Leadpages

But that probably has more to do with the fact that Shopify is far more than just a landing page builder.

Shopify features are extensive. Features include a POS system, website builder and templates, online sales channels, and lots more.

Shopify even has a massive app store (much like WordPress) that allows for just about any functionality you could ever desire.

And it builds landing pages.

So… should you use Shopify to build your landing pages? Or something else?

If you already have a Shopify store or website, that’s probably the easiest way to go. The exception is if you need some super obscure landing page feature that Shopify doesn’t offer (which is highly unlikely).

If you haven’t built anything yet and only need a landing page, we recommend using a tool like Leadpages or Unbounce.

If you just want to grow your email list with a simple landing page, then ConvertKit is a great option.

And you can consider Carrd if you just want a free and simple landing page builder.

Shopify is ideal if you also want to build an online store (their specialty) with full functionality to market and sell your products or services.

The Different Types of Shopify Landing Pages

We talked about what a Shopify landing page is.

But there are many different types of landing pages — squeeze pages, splash pages, sales pages, webinar pages, quiz pages, product pages, service pages, and so on.

Confusing, yeah?

Fortunately, if we view this from a higher level, we’ll realize that there are really only two reasons to create a Shopify landing page…

1. To Generate Leads
2. To Make Sales

There’s a lot of variation within those two goals — but the type of landing page you create matters a lot less than the goal of your landing page.

Let’s take a few minutes to dive into more detail on each of those goals…

Lead Generation Landing Pages

Generating leads means getting the contact information of people in your target market. This information is usually an email address but sometimes includes a name, phone number, or physical address as well.

For many marketers, generating leads is synonymous with growing their email list.

And that’s what lead generation landing pages are designed to do.

How?

Usually, by offering some sort of “lead magnet” — a free resource, for instance, that appeals specifically to your target market.

To get it, people have to give you their email address.

Here’s an example from Email Mastery…

And here’s another example from Natalie Hodson…

The only purpose of these pages is to generate leads.

And you can create your own lead magnet by answering the following question…

What lead magnet would be super appealing to your target market? A valuable lead magnet could be an ebook, a checklist, a free course, a live webinar, a product sample, or something else.

Create that lead magnet, use it as a “bribe to subscribe,” and build a landing page to persuade your target market to sign up or opt-in.

Sales Landing Pages

The second reason to build a Shopify landing page is to sell a specific product or service.

Remember: this isn’t the same as a product page on a basic eCommerce website. A sales landing page is a page without navigation dedicated to promoting just one of your products or services.

Natalie Hodson provides some great examples once again — partly because Shopify also hosts her website!

Here’s her landing page for her Pregnancy Training Program, which is a paid product:

And here’s a glimpse of her landing page for her Abs, Core, and Pelvic Floor program:

The only goal of these pages is to sell products — and again, they have no navigation, a single CTA, and mention no additional products or services.

Of course, there’s a lot of variation as to what you’ll sell on your landing pages — courses, a physical product, services, memberships, and so forth.

But that doesn’t matter. Landing pages work equally well for all sorts of offers.

How To Create Shopify Landing Pages (Custom or Template)

Creating a new page inside Shopify is super easy.

Just click on “Pages” in the left-side navigation and then click “Add Page”…

From there, you can adjust the page visibility and use the “Template” drop-down on the right to turn it into a no-navigation landing page.

You can also edit your landing page inside Shopify’s editor at this point.

That’s the easiest method.

If you want to make your landing page look better without coding, check out the Shopify landing page builders we recommend below.

If you know how to code — or want to hire a developer — then you can create a custom landing page using Liquid, Shopify’s open-source template language.

Top Shopify Landing Page Builders

Want access to additional landing page templates?

Also want to use a visual page builder inside Shopify?

The good news is that Shopify’s app store includes quite a few landing page builders for non-developers. In other words, you can design awesome pages without editing a single line of code.

Here are two of the best.

1. PageFly

Shopify Store Reviews: 4.9 / 5

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Lots of integrations
• Page Templates
• Mobile responsive
• Chat support
• Free pricing plan

Video Tutorial

2. Shogun

Shopify Store Reviews: 4.7 / 5

Key Features

• Page templates
• Drag-and-drop editor
• Conversion analytics

Video Tutorial

8 Tips for Building High-Converting Landing Pages in Shopify (With Examples)

We’ve offered a lot of advice for building Shopify landing pages.

We’ve also talked about how the only two goals of a landing page are to:

1. Generate Leads
2. Make Sales

Now let’s talk about how to get those results. You need to systematically craft landing pages that turn visitors into leads and leads into customers.

Here are 8 tips.

1. Stay Focused

It’d be difficult to overstate the importance of this first tip.

Your Shopify landing pages should be laser-focused on just one conversion objective. 

Whether you’re trying to generate leads or make sales, that means no navigation, just one CTA, and no visual distractions.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Everything leads toward one offer.

The single-minded focus of landing pages is what makes them so effective.

Don’t lose sight of that.

2. Create Urgency

People are procrastinators.

It’s human nature to wait to take action until something becomes urgent. It doesn’t mean we don’t want to do it… it just means we’re waiting for the “right time” (i.e., whenever it becomes urgent).

I’ll prove it to you.

A friend of mine, Jacob McMillen, often runs email promos for his online courses. Whenever he does, the vast majority of sales come in the day before the doors close.

In the graphic below, the sale ended on the 16th at midnight.

He showed me other graphics for different months as well, and that’s always the case.

People wait until the last second to buy.

That’s why urgency — making people realize that the time to buy is now — is so important on your landing pages.

Here are some ways to create it:

• Set an Expiration Date on the Deal
• Have Limited Spots or Seating
• Have Limited Stock
• Offer a Bonus That Goes Away After a Certain Amount of Time

And here’s an example of some urgency being created by Forever 21 with a countdown timer:

People might want what you’re offering, but they’re only going to buy once they feel a sense of urgency.

Create that, and your conversion rate will skyrocket.

3. Leverage Social Proof

In marketing, social proof refers to the impact things like testimonials and case studies have on a potential buyer.

People are influenced by other people.

And when it comes to your offers, people want to hear the opinions of other people who’ve taken the leap before them.

Just consider some of these stats from OptinMonster:

• 87% of buying decisions begin with research conducted online before a user purchases.
• The average consumer reads 10 online reviews before making a purchase decision.
• 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Convinced?

Here’s an example of social proof from The Hustle…

And here’s another example from Carrot…

Here are some ideas for creating social proof on your own landing pages…

• Testimonials
• Logos
• Badges
• Statistics
• Stories
• Case Studies

Choose whichever fits your offer the best and add it to your landing pages. You’ll be glad you did.

4. Consider Traffic Quality

If your landing page isn’t converting well, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a problem with your landing page.

You might have a problem with the traffic that you’re driving.

To use an extreme example, imagine I lie to people and tell them that I’m selling dog treats when I’m really selling basketball sneakers. When they visit my landing page expecting dog treats, my conversion rate is going to be trash.

Of course, you’d never do that.

But less extreme versions of that happen all the time. To drive traffic, marketers sometimes bend the truth or oversell what they’re offering.

So people leave shortly after visiting.

And we’re like…

The lesson?

Make sure that your advertisements, sponsorships, or partnerships — wherever you’re driving traffic from — are driving the right traffic for the right reasons.

Otherwise, your conversion rate will suffer.

5. Write Clear Copy

When it comes to creating landing pages, copy — the words on the page — is probably one of the easiest places to get lost.

But I’ve got good news for you.

Good copy isn’t about expert persuasion.

It’s just about being super clear about what you’re offering and who it’s for.

If you nail that, so long as you’re driving high-quality traffic, the rest will take care of itself.

Here’s a basic format you can use to create clear and compelling sales copy.

• Hook — Get the person’s attention with a compelling headline.
• Describe — Briefly describe your offer with a subheading or a few lines of text.

• Detail — Talk about the coolest features. Be concise.

• Identify — Identify who this offer is for. Also mention who it’s not for.

• Address Objections — Address some of the main objections that your target market will have.

That’s it.

Sales has always been about product-market fit, and it always will be.

Your job when writing the copy is simply to explain your offer well so that your target market knows you made it for them.

6. Optimize Your Pricing

Does your pricing match your target market?

If you’re trying to get college students (who are usually poor) to buy a $5,000 course on “How To Get Straight A’s in School,” you’re not going to sell very much.

It’s just too expensive.

Maybe you could sell it for $50, or even for $100.

There’s some wiggle room here, to be sure. But the important thing is to make sure that how much you’re charging aligns with how much your target market can afford to spend.

7. Increase Perceived Value

When we’re talking about price, there are only two ways to get a penny-pincher to convert.

You can either…

1. Decrease Your Price
2. Increase Perceived Value

For obvious reasons, the second option is usually preferable.

But how do you increase the perceived value of your offer?

One way is to bombard people with tons of bonuses before mentioning a price. They’ll start thinking, “Oh man, this is gonna be expensive,” right before you surprise them and undercut their expected price.

Now your high-ticket price feels like a good deal.

ClickFunnels does this a lot with their landing pages:

Another option is to tell the story behind your product or service. Sometimes explaining the blood, sweat, and tears that went into creating it will emphasize its value.

Or you could just set a higher price point.

After all, the easiest way to increase someone’s perceived value is to increase the price.

8. Think About Context

Every landing page is part of a bigger picture — your business, your high-level sales funnel, product or service ecosystem, cold traffic, warm leads…

And it’s important to know where your landing page lies within all of that.

Perhaps most important is to determine the visitor’s level of awareness.

Are they…

• Problem Aware — They know they have a problem, but they don’t know how to fix it.

• Solution Aware — They know they have a problem and that there are available solutions. But, they haven’t taken action.

• Product Aware — They know products like yours will solve their problem, but they haven’t purchased.

Your traffic’s level of awareness will influence what you talk about on the landing page and how you attempt to convert visitors.

Here’s a helpful graphic from Search Engine Land. It illustrates Euegene Schwartz’s “Five Levels of Awareness” correlated with what the sales copy should focus on:

Who is this landing page for, and where does it fit within your business ecosystem?

Your answer will have a significant impact on your landing page copy.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Mind still buzzing with questions? Here are some answers to other frequently asked questions about Shopify landing pages…

Can I Make a Landing Page on Shopify?

Yup! You create all sorts of landing pages on Shopify.

How Do I Improve My Shopify Landing Page?

We recommend reviewing the tips within this article. Focus on just one conversion objective. Then create urgency, create an irresistible offer, and leverage social proof. There’s a lot you can do to improve the conversion rate of your Shopify landing pages.

Can I Create and Shopify Landing Page Without a Website?

Yes, you can! But you might want to invest in a Shopify landing page builder like Shogun or Pagefly.

How Do I Add a Page on Shopify?

Adding a page on Shopify is super easy. Just follow these steps…

1. Log in to your Shopify account.
2. Click on “Online Store.” Then “Pages.”
3. Click “Add page.”
4. Create your page.
5. Don’t forget to save!

Final Thoughts on Shopify Landing Pages

With just a few clicks, anyone can create a new landing page using Shopify.

Of course, there’s a big difference between creating a landing page and creating a high-converting landing page.

They’re both landing pages.

But only one deserves the title.

Now you’ve got the necessary knowledge to create super effective landing pages on Shopify — all that’s left is action.