How to Create a Landing Page in WordPress for a New Website

A landing page does one thing: it focuses a visitor’s attention on a single action. No navigation bar pulling them elsewhere, no sidebar full of recent posts, no footer links to browse. Just the offer, the benefit, and the button.

For a new WordPress website, landing pages are often more valuable than they first appear. They’re not just for paid ads — they’re how you capture email signups, promote a service, run a webinar registration, or turn a social media post into a measurable result. The difference between a landing page and a regular WordPress page is purpose: one is designed to convert, the other is designed to inform.

This guide covers how to build a landing page in WordPress that achieves that focus, using either a page builder or the block editor — whichever fits how you already work.

Building One in Five Steps

To create a landing page in WordPress, go to Pages → Add New and give it a specific, descriptive title. Hide the header, footer, and sidebar using your theme’s full-width template or a page builder plugin. Add your headline, benefit statement, social proof, and a clear call to action. Publish and test before sending traffic to it.

The Real Conversion-Rate Gap

Sending visitors to your homepage from an ad or email is one of the most common mistakes new WordPress site owners make. Homepages answer questions like “who are you” and “what do you offer” — they’re exploratory. Landing pages answer one question: “should I take this next step?”

The conversion difference is real, but the honest numbers are more modest than the figures often quoted for this comparison. WordStream’s broad analysis across all page types puts the median landing-page conversion rate at around 2.35%, while Unbounce’s larger study of dedicated, single-offer landing pages specifically — the kind this guide is about — found a median closer to 6.6%. A homepage, by contrast, is typically closer to that lower 1-2% figure since it’s competing against navigation, multiple messages, and no single clear next step. That gap — roughly 3-5x, not the 10x-or-more some marketing content implies — is still a real, worthwhile improvement, and it changes the economics of everything you do to drive traffic to your site.

How to Create a Landing Page in WordPress

Step 1 — Create a new page

Go to Pages → Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Give the page a title that describes the offer clearly — this will become your H1 heading, so write it as something a visitor can read and immediately understand. Avoid clever or abstract titles on landing pages. Clear beats clever every time.

Step 2 — Choose your layout approach

You have two main options. The first is a full-width page template in your theme — most modern WordPress themes include a “No Sidebar”, “Full Width”, or “Landing Page” template in the Page Attributes panel on the right. This removes the sidebar instantly and widens the content area.

The second option is a page builder plugin like Elementor, which gives you drag-and-drop control over the full layout, including the ability to hide the header and footer on specific pages. This is worth the setup time if you plan to build multiple landing pages or need precise design control. For most new websites, the full-width theme template is the faster starting point.

Step 3 — Remove navigation distractions

A landing page should have no visible menu. Navigation gives visitors a way out — and most will take it. If your theme doesn’t offer a header-free or blank template, look for the option in your theme’s customiser under Appearance → Customise. If you’re using a block-based theme, open Appearance → Editor, select your page template, and remove the Header block from it.

If you’d rather not edit templates, a page builder plugin handles this per-page without touching your theme files.

Step 4 — Write the page content

A landing page needs five elements, in this order:

• Headline — the main benefit or promise (your H1). Write it in plain language.
• Sub-headline — one sentence that expands on the headline and confirms what the page is about.
• Benefit list or description — what the visitor gets, in plain language. Bullet points work well here.
• Social proof — a testimonial, number of signups, or a recognisable logo. Even one line of evidence helps.
• Call to action (CTA) — a button that tells them exactly what happens when they click it. “Download the Guide” is clear. “Submit” is not.

Avoid long paragraphs. Use short sentences and plenty of white space. The page should be scannable in under 10 seconds. Effective call to action design deserves its own attention — the copy, colour, and placement of your button are worth getting right before you send traffic.

Step 5 — Set the permalink

In the Post Settings sidebar, click Permalink and set a clean, short URL — something like /free-guide/ or /start/ rather than whatever WordPress auto-generates from your full page title. Short, clear URLs are easier to share and look cleaner in ad copy and email links.

Step 6 — Test before running traffic

Preview the page on desktop and mobile. Click every link, test the form or button, and read the page as a visitor who knows nothing about your site. If you have a friend willing to spend 30 seconds on it, ask them what they think the page wants them to do — the answer is revealing.

Once the page is live, set up event tracking to measure form submissions or button clicks. After you’ve gathered enough data, A/B testing your landing page is the most reliable way to improve its conversion rate without guessing — and a genuinely more useful benchmark to chase than the headline homepage-vs-landing-page comparison above, since it measures your specific page against itself.

Practical Tips

• One goal per page. Trying to get visitors to sign up, follow you on social, and buy something guarantees they’ll do none of it. Define the single action you want and build everything around it.
• Keep the hero above the fold. Your headline, sub-headline, and primary CTA button should all be visible without scrolling on a standard desktop screen. If visitors have to scroll to find the button, many won’t.
• Test the headline first. Before running any split tests on design or layout, test the headline. In my experience, it’s the element with the highest impact on conversion rate — more than button colour or page length.

Common Mistakes

Leaving the navigation visible. If your menu is there, visitors will use it to browse away. Remove it or use a template that hides it on landing pages.

Copying the style of a regular page. Landing pages need more white space, shorter paragraphs, and less content than a standard WordPress page. More text does not equal more persuasion — it usually means less conversion.

Optimising a landing page for SEO. A stripped-down page with no navigation and a single CTA is not designed for search — and it doesn’t need to be. Landing pages are for controlled traffic: ads, emails, social links. If you want search traffic, write a full content page or post. If your goal is selling something to a warm audience, a sales page in WordPress with more detail may serve you better than a short landing page.

When to Use This vs Alternatives

A landing page is the right choice when you control the traffic source and have a specific conversion goal. If you want a page that ranks in Google and educates visitors over time, a standard WordPress page or content post is more appropriate. If you’re selling to a warm, high-intent audience with longer decision-making needs, a sales page with detailed copy, pricing, and objection handling will typically outperform a minimal landing page.

For a broader overview of how pages fit into your site’s overall structure, the step-by-step guide to building a WordPress website covers how landing pages sit alongside your core pages and content strategy.

Conclusion

A landing page doesn’t need to be complicated — it needs to be focused. Remove the distractions, write a clear headline, and give visitors exactly one thing to do. Build it in WordPress using your theme’s full-width template or a page builder, test it before sending traffic, and treat every element as either helping the conversion or getting in the way of it.