We simply can’t wait!!! The last time Pardot had a radical landing page builder redesign was 2012. It is time for a total revamp and a new Pardot Landing Page Builder. This is part 1 of a 2-part article, as the New Pardot Landing Page Builder is not yet launched but soon will be. We were invited to preview it in its near-final stages. This first part shows you how you currently have to build a landing page in Pardot. Then, part 2, will demo the new builder. Stay tuned!
How you are currently (< July 2021) using the Pardot Landing Page Builder
You are either using the ‘drag/drop’ interface that was a bit old fashioned, not anywhere near as flexible as I’d like and not mobile-friendly, or you were using HTML templates that you basically designed yourself.
Most people will start with the drag/drop interface and then get stuck. Or realise what they just designed is not mobile! Then they’ll go the other route, aka the HTML route with your designs, and what you’d get out of the box from Pardot is a ‘standard’ layout. However, this layout is actually meant for forms, not really landing pages.
And when you’d choose that, you’ll get a blank box! Not good enough for the average marketer, who expects a lot more support. In short, landing pages, while ever so important in digital marketing were not the most favourite part of Pardot by many of my clients.
Soon, they would be asking me for help, and I get them on their way inexpensively by showing them that you can choose ‘new layout’ and then ‘import’ one of the 5 ‘predesign options’ that Pardot put together. Then, if you save that, it becomes available for your landing page also. A bit clumsy on how that all hangs together, and no where in the tool do you find beautifully layout examples that you can just piggy back on.
(We offer clients some of our ready-made templates which we can easily modify for them to embrace their branding and customer journeys. )
That’s nice if you are one of our clients, but if not yet, then follow along:
Let’s say you imported one of the 5 layout templates, realise that they are still only wireframes. You can now find them next to your Standard layouts in the landing pages section of Pardot, but you can only fill in the boxes, not modify the layout, as that is part of the underlying HTML-based ‘layout’.
What Pardot’s landing page looks like if you choose one of the pre-made layout options:
In sum, in today’s world, you need 4 ‘layers’ to create 1 landing page: custom fields (mapped to Salesforce), a form with fields, a layout (template), and a landing page. And you really need to know a bit of HTML/CSS or hire someone (i.e. us) who does, to do the final tweaks. However, for many clients, HTML is not a favourite topic. And therefore, landing pages are shunned like the plague for Pardot MVPs.
A New World
What we know about the New and Improved Pardot Landing Page Builder Coming Next
No one knows all the details yet other than Salesforce itself today. But, … I do know this:
- Pardot will be introducing a new drag-and-drop builder for Pardot landing pages in the new release.
- And it will be one that’s good! Responding to long standing customer requests.
- And I’m sure that it’ll be mobile-first. Obviously, we’re in 2021: Google now favours mobile pages over ‘regular’ ones.
- Most importantly, it will be easier to use for marketers than the current one.
As soon as the Landing Page is officially announced by Salesforce, I will reveal all and show you how great it is!
Till then!
