How to Create a Landing Page on Shopify (Step-by-Step)

Landing pages sell harder than regular pages.

A product page serves as a catalog entry — it informs, shows variants, and offers an add-to-cart button. A landing page is built for a single goal: convert a specific audience arriving from a specific source. When a shopper clicks a Facebook ad for your bestselling moisturizer, they should not land on a generic homepage with navigation links to twenty different product categories. They should land on a focused page that matches the ad's promise, reinforces the value proposition, handles objections, and funnels them toward one action.

Shopify does not have a dedicated "landing page" feature, but you can build high-converting landing pages using three approaches: the theme editor (no code), page builder apps (visual drag-and-drop), and custom Liquid templates (full control). This guide covers all three, followed by the anatomy of a landing page that actually converts.

What Is a Landing Page and Why Does Shopify Need One?

A landing page is a standalone web page designed for a single conversion goal, stripped of navigation menus and competing links that dilute attention. According to Unbounce's 2025 Conversion Benchmark Report analyzing 44,000 landing pages, the median e-commerce landing page converts at 5.2% — compared to the average Shopify store conversion rate of 1.3%. That 4x difference exists because landing pages remove distractions and focus every element on driving one specific action.

A landing page is fundamentally different from every other page on your Shopify store. Regular pages have navigation menus, footer links, sidebar widgets, and multiple paths a visitor can follow. A landing page has one path: convert or leave.

The defining characteristics of a landing page:

• Single goal: One CTA, one desired action (buy, subscribe, sign up)
• No navigation: Menu and footer are removed or minimized to prevent exit routes
• Message match: Headline mirrors the ad or link that brought the visitor
• Social proof: Reviews, testimonials, or media mentions reinforce credibility
• Urgency elements: Countdown timers, limited stock notices, or time-sensitive offers
• Objection handling: FAQ or guarantee section addresses hesitations

The 4x conversion gap between product pages and landing pages is not about design talent. It is about focus. Every element on a landing page exists to serve the conversion goal. Every element on a regular page serves multiple masters — navigation, brand discovery, cross-selling, information — and that divided attention reduces conversion effectiveness.

For Shopify stores running paid ads, the math is straightforward: if you spend $1,000/month on Facebook ads sending traffic to a product page that converts at 2%, you get 20 sales. The same $1,000 sent to a landing page converting at 5% yields 50 sales. Same ad spend, 2.5x the revenue.

How Do You Create a Landing Page with Shopify's Theme Editor?

Shopify's Online Store 2.0 theme editor supports custom page templates that can be assigned to any page. By creating a dedicated template with an alternate layout (removing header/footer navigation), you build a landing page without any code. Dawn and most modern themes support this workflow through the Customize menu. The limitation is design flexibility — you are constrained to the sections and blocks your theme provides.

The theme editor method requires zero code and works with any Online Store 2.0 theme.

Step 1: Create a custom page template.

1. Go to Online Store > Themes > Customize.
2. In the page selector dropdown at the top, click Create template.
3. Choose "page" as the template type and name it "landing-page."
4. Shopify creates a new template you can customize independently.

Step 2: Remove or minimize navigation.

In the template customizer:

1. Click on the Header section.
2. If your theme supports it, hide the header entirely or switch to a minimal header with just the logo (no navigation menu).
3. Do the same for the Footer — remove it or keep only essential links (privacy policy, terms).

Step 3: Build the landing page layout.

Add sections in this order:

1. Image banner with a headline that matches your ad or email campaign copy. Include a CTA button.
2. Rich text section for your core value proposition — what the product does, who it is for, and why it matters.
3. Featured product section displaying the specific product with add-to-cart functionality.
4. Multicolumn section for product benefits (3-4 columns with icons).
5. Testimonials section (if your theme has one) or a rich text block with customer quotes.
6. Image with text section for a satisfaction guarantee or risk-reversal message.
7. FAQ section addressing the top 3-4 objections.
8. Featured product (repeated) at the bottom as a second CTA.

Step 4: Assign the template to a page.

1. Go to Online Store > Pages.
2. Create a new page or select an existing one.
3. In the right sidebar, under Template, select your "landing-page" template.
4. Save and preview.

This method is fast (30-60 minutes for a complete landing page) and requires no code. The trade-off is that you are limited to your theme's available sections. If your theme does not have a testimonials section, you cannot add one through the editor.

For stores using Dawn theme customization, Dawn provides enough section variety — image banner, rich text, featured product, multicolumn, collapsible content — to build a solid landing page entirely through the editor.

How Do Page Builder Apps Expand Your Landing Page Options?

Page builder apps like Shogun, GemPages, and PageFly provide drag-and-drop visual editors with 50-200 pre-designed sections, A/B testing capabilities, and countdown timers built in. According to Shogun's 2025 merchant survey, stores using dedicated page builders create landing pages 3x faster than those using custom code and see 15-25% higher conversion rates from the built-in optimization features. Monthly costs range from $39-149 depending on features and page limits.

When the theme editor's section library is too limited, page builder apps fill the gap.

Top page builder apps for Shopify landing pages:

Pros of page builder apps:

• Visual drag-and-drop editing (no code)
• Pre-built templates designed for conversion
• Built-in A/B testing to optimize over time
• Countdown timers, progress bars, and urgency elements included
• Independent from theme limitations

Cons of page builder apps:

• Monthly subscription cost adds up
• Performance overhead (apps inject their own CSS and JavaScript)
• Lock-in risk (pages built in one app do not transfer to another)
• Learning curve for each app's interface
• Can conflict with theme code or other apps

When to use a page builder:

The decision point is volume. If you need one or two landing pages per year, use the theme editor or custom code. If you run monthly promotions, seasonal campaigns, and A/B tests across multiple landing pages, a page builder pays for itself through speed and testing capabilities.

For stores running paid ad campaigns, the A/B testing feature alone justifies the cost. Testing two headline variants against 1,000 visitors can reveal which version converts 20-40% better — a difference that compounds across your entire ad spend.

How Do You Build a Custom Landing Page with Liquid Code?

Custom Liquid landing pages provide unlimited design control, zero app dependencies, and optimal performance since there is no external JavaScript overhead. The implementation involves creating a custom page template (alternate layout file), writing HTML/CSS/Liquid sections, and assigning the template to a Shopify page. Build time is 2-6 hours depending on complexity, but the result loads 30-50% faster than app-built equivalents according to Shopify's theme performance benchmarks.

Custom code gives you the fastest, most flexible landing pages — at the cost of requiring Liquid, HTML, and CSS knowledge.

Step 1: Create an alternate layout.

In your theme code (Online Store > Themes > Edit Code), create a new file in the layout directory called landing.liquid:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="{{ request.locale.iso_code }}">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>{{ page_title }}</title>
  {{ content_for_header }}
  {{ 'base.css' | asset_url | stylesheet_tag }}
  {{ 'landing.css' | asset_url | stylesheet_tag }}
</head>
<body class="landing-page">
  {% section 'landing-header' %}
  <main>
    {{ content_for_layout }}
  </main>
  {% section 'landing-footer' %}
</body>
</html>

Notice: no navigation menu, no standard header, no standard footer. Just a minimal header (logo only) and a minimal footer (legal links only).

Step 2: Create the landing page template.

Create a file in the templates directory called page.landing.json:

{
  "layout": "landing",
  "sections": {
    "hero": {
      "type": "landing-hero",
      "settings": {}
    },
    "benefits": {
      "type": "landing-benefits",
      "settings": {}
    },
    "product": {
      "type": "featured-product",
      "settings": {}
    },
    "testimonials": {
      "type": "landing-testimonials",
      "settings": {}
    },
    "faq": {
      "type": "landing-faq",
      "settings": {}
    },
    "cta": {
      "type": "landing-cta",
      "settings": {}
    }
  },
  "order": ["hero", "benefits", "product", "testimonials", "faq", "cta"]
}

Step 3: Build custom sections.

Create each section file in the sections directory. Here is a hero section example:

{% comment %} sections/landing-hero.liquid {% endcomment %}
<section class="landing-hero">
  <div class="landing-hero__container">
    <div class="landing-hero__content">
      <h1 class="landing-hero__headline">{{ section.settings.headline }}</h1>
      <p class="landing-hero__subheadline">{{ section.settings.subheadline }}</p>
      <a href="{{ section.settings.cta_link }}" class="landing-hero__cta">
        {{ section.settings.cta_text }}
      </a>
    </div>
    {% if section.settings.hero_image %}
      <div class="landing-hero__image">
        {{ section.settings.hero_image | image_url: width: 800 | image_tag:
           loading: 'eager',
           class: 'landing-hero__img' }}
      </div>
    {% endif %}
  </div>
</section>

{% schema %}
{
  "name": "Landing Hero",
  "settings": [
    { "type": "text", "id": "headline", "label": "Headline", "default": "Your Main Headline Here" },
    { "type": "textarea", "id": "subheadline", "label": "Subheadline" },
    { "type": "text", "id": "cta_text", "label": "CTA Button Text", "default": "Shop Now" },
    { "type": "url", "id": "cta_link", "label": "CTA Button Link" },
    { "type": "image_picker", "id": "hero_image", "label": "Hero Image" }
  ]
}
{% endschema %}

Step 4: Assign the template.

Go to the page in your Shopify admin and select "landing" from the template dropdown. All your custom sections become available in the theme customizer.

This approach produces the leanest landing pages possible. No app overhead, no external scripts, and full control over every pixel. For stores that already maintain Liquid code examples in their theme, this extends naturally from existing custom development work.

What Are the Essential Elements of a High-Converting Landing Page?

Unbounce's analysis of 44,000 landing pages identifies five elements present in top-performing pages: a headline matching the traffic source's promise, social proof within the first two scrolls, a single prominent CTA repeated 2-3 times, a risk-reversal element (guarantee, free returns, or trial), and zero outbound navigation links. Pages with all five elements convert at 2-3x the rate of pages missing two or more of these elements.

Design does not convert. Structure converts. Here is the anatomy of a landing page that works, from top to bottom.

Section 1: Hero (above the fold).

• Headline: 5-10 words that match the ad or email that brought them here. If your ad says "Get 30% Off Our Bestselling Serum," the landing page headline must say the same thing.
• Subheadline: One sentence expanding on the benefit.
• Hero image: The product in use or the transformation it delivers.
• CTA button: High-contrast color, action-oriented text ("Get My 30% Off" not "Submit").

Section 2: Problem/agitation (first scroll).

Describe the problem your product solves. Use specific, relatable language. Not "struggle with skin issues" but "wake up to dry, flaky patches that no moisturizer seems to fix."

Section 3: Product presentation with benefits.

Show the product with 3-4 benefit callouts. LiquidBoost's Product Benefits snippet is designed for exactly this — clean, visual benefit icons paired with short descriptions that scan easily on mobile.

Section 4: Social proof.

Use the Customer Love Social Proof snippet or Social Reviews snippet to add review content without building from scratch.

Section 5: Mid-page CTA.

Repeat the CTA button at the 50% scroll point. Visitors who have read this far are warm — give them an easy path to act.

Build landing pages that convert from the first visit. LiquidBoost snippets integrate directly into your landing page sections — the Price Display snippet shows dynamic pricing, the Trust Icons snippet builds instant credibility, and the Dynamic Countdown Bar creates real urgency. Install them in minutes, no developer needed. Browse the snippet library.

Section 6: Objection handling (FAQ or guarantee).

List the 3-5 most common reasons people hesitate:

• "What if it does not work for me?" (answer: 30-day money-back guarantee)
• "How long does shipping take?" (answer: 2-5 business days)
• "Is this really worth the price?" (answer: cost-per-use breakdown)

Section 7: Final CTA with urgency.

The bottom CTA should include an urgency element: a countdown timer, a limited-stock notice, or an expiring discount. Not artificial urgency — real deadlines that give the visitor a reason to act now instead of bookmarking the page.

How Do You Remove Navigation from a Shopify Landing Page?

Removing navigation from a Shopify landing page requires either a custom layout file (the cleanest approach), conditional Liquid logic in your existing header snippet, or CSS to hide navigation elements. The conditional approach checks the page template name and hides navigation for landing pages while preserving it for all other pages. This technique increases landing page conversion by 15-30% according to VWO's A/B test database, because it eliminates escape routes.

The navigation menu is the biggest conversion killer on landing pages. Here is how to remove it without affecting the rest of your store.

Method 1: Custom layout (recommended).

This is the approach from the custom Liquid section above. A separate layout file (layout/landing.liquid) simply does not include the standard header section. Clean, no conditionals needed.

Method 2: Conditional header rendering.

If you prefer using one layout for all pages, add a condition to your header snippet:

{% unless template.suffix == 'landing' %}
  {% section 'header' %}
{% else %}
  <header class="landing-header">
    <a href="/" class="landing-logo">
      {{ shop.name }}
    </a>
  </header>
{% endunless %}

Method 3: CSS hiding (quick but imperfect).

Add this to a custom CSS block on your landing page:

.landing-page .header__nav,
.landing-page .header__search,
.landing-page .header__cart,
.landing-page footer {
  display: none !important;
}

This approach is fast but fragile — it hides elements visually while they still load (hurting performance) and can break if your theme updates class names.

For stores following conversion rate best practices, removing navigation is one of the highest-impact single changes you can make to any campaign-specific page.

How Do You Track Landing Page Performance on Shopify?

Landing page performance tracking requires three layers: traffic metrics (sessions, bounce rate, time on page via Google Analytics), conversion metrics (add-to-cart rate, purchase rate, revenue per visitor via Shopify analytics), and campaign metrics (cost per acquisition, return on ad spend via your ad platform). Setting up UTM parameters on all inbound links enables proper attribution in Google Analytics, showing exactly which campaigns drive which revenue.

Building the landing page is half the job. Measuring its performance closes the loop.

Essential tracking setup:

1. UTM parameters on all traffic sources. Every link pointing to your landing page should include UTM tags:

https://yourstore.com/pages/summer-sale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_moisturizer&utm_content=video_ad

2. Google Analytics 4 events. Track key interactions:

• Page view (automatic)
• Scroll depth (automatic in GA4)
• CTA button clicks (custom event)
• Add to cart (Shopify integration)
• Purchase completion (Shopify integration)

3. Shopify analytics. Go to Analytics > Reports and filter by landing page URL to see sessions, conversion rate, and revenue attributed to that page.

Key metrics to monitor:

A/B testing landing pages:

If you are using a page builder with built-in A/B testing, test one variable at a time:

• Week 1-2: Test two headlines
• Week 3-4: Test two hero images
• Week 5-6: Test CTA button text

If you are using custom code, create two landing page templates and split traffic at the ad platform level (50% of ad traffic to page A, 50% to page B).

External resources for landing page optimization:

• Unbounce's Conversion Benchmark Report provides industry-specific data
• Google's landing page best practices covers requirements for Google Ads quality score

How Do You Optimize Landing Pages for Mobile Shoppers?

Mobile visitors account for 71% of Shopify traffic and behave differently than desktop users: they scroll more, read less, and make decisions faster. Mobile landing pages need larger CTA buttons (minimum 48px height), shorter headlines (5-7 words vs 8-12 on desktop), single-column layouts, and compressed content blocks. According to Google's mobile UX research, mobile landing pages with touch-friendly CTAs convert 20-30% better than desktop-adapted designs.

Mobile-first landing page design is not about shrinking a desktop page. It is about restructuring for thumb-driven interaction.

Mobile optimization checklist:

1. Single-column layout. No side-by-side content below the hero — stack everything vertically.

2. Thumb-zone CTA placement. Position CTA buttons in the lower-center of the screen where thumbs naturally rest. Avoid top corners — they require a stretch.

3. Sticky CTA bar. Add a fixed-position bar at the bottom of the screen with the primary CTA:

.landing-sticky-cta {
  position: fixed;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  padding: 12px 16px;
  background: #fff;
  box-shadow: 0 -2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
  z-index: 100;
}

.landing-sticky-cta button {
  width: 100%;
  padding: 16px;
  font-size: 18px;
  font-weight: 600;
  border-radius: 8px;
}

4. Compress testimonials. Show 2-3 short quotes on mobile (not 6 full reviews). Use a horizontal scrollable carousel if you need to show more.

5. Reduce image count. Each image consumes mobile bandwidth and data. Use one hero image, one product shot, and minimal decorative images. Lazy-load everything below the fold.

6. Font size minimum: 16px. Anything smaller forces pinch-zooming, which iOS Safari interprets as a usability failure and can trigger layout issues.

LiquidBoost's Product Pills snippet works particularly well on mobile landing pages — compact, tappable product cards that take minimal vertical space while communicating key product attributes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a landing page on Shopify without an app?

Yes. Shopify's theme editor allows you to create custom page templates with unique section layouts. By creating a template with an alternate layout that removes header and footer navigation, you build a focused landing page entirely within Shopify's native tools. This approach works with all Online Store 2.0 themes and costs nothing beyond your existing Shopify subscription.

How many landing pages should my Shopify store have?

Create one landing page per distinct campaign or traffic source. A Facebook ad campaign for your bestselling product deserves its own landing page matching that ad's messaging. A separate Google Ads campaign targeting different keywords needs its own page with matching headline language. Most active Shopify stores run 3-8 landing pages at any given time, creating new ones for seasonal promotions and archiving old ones.

What is the difference between a landing page and a product page on Shopify?

A product page serves all visitors regardless of how they arrived — it includes full navigation, related products, variant options, and multiple paths forward. A landing page is designed for visitors from a specific source with a single conversion goal. Landing pages remove navigation, match the inbound message, add focused social proof, and restrict the visitor to one action. Product pages inform; landing pages persuade.

How do I A/B test landing pages on Shopify?

Without an app, split test at the traffic source level: create two landing pages and send 50% of your ad traffic to each. Compare conversion rates after 200+ conversions per page for statistical significance. With a page builder app like Shogun or GemPages, use their built-in A/B testing feature to randomize which version visitors see. Test one variable at a time — headline, hero image, CTA text, or layout — never multiple changes simultaneously.

Do landing pages help with Shopify SEO?

Landing pages designed for paid traffic typically use noindex meta tags because they duplicate product page content and lack the depth Google rewards in organic search. Landing pages designed for organic traffic (targeting specific long-tail keywords with unique, in-depth content) can rank well. If your landing page targets a keyword like "best moisturizer for dry skin winter," write 1,500+ words of unique content rather than repurposing product descriptions.

Keep Reading

• Shopify Conversion Rate Benchmarks for 2026
• Shopify Landing Page Examples That Convert
• How to Boost Shopify Conversion Rates Without Developers

The real question a landing page forces you to answer is not "how do I build this?" — it is "what is the one thing I want this visitor to do?" When you can answer that in five words, the page designs itself. Every section either drives toward that action or gets removed. That ruthless focus is what makes landing pages outperform every other page type by a factor of four.