Let’s say you just finished creating a digital product. It might be your first or your fifth—a course, an ebook, a template, etc. Whatever it is, you’ve been perfecting it for weeks. And now, you’re buzzing with excitement because it’s time for the world to see it. But then, you realise you need a landing page.

Do you hire a designer who’ll charge you a premium and take six weeks, while your brilliant idea gathers digital dust? Or is there a faster way that won’t drain your bank account?

Most creators get stuck in what is called the perfection trap. You convince yourself your landing page needs to look solid with custom animations and pixel-perfect everything. Meanwhile, your competitors are already making sales with “good enough” pages while you’re still debating serif vs. sans-serif.

In our honest opinion, you’re probably overthinking it. Half the successful creators we both know didn’t launch with perfect landing pages. They started with something functional, then improved as they grew. Because your first landing page only needs to do one thing: convert visitors into customers, not to win design awards.

Here, we’re settling this landing page builders vs custom design debate once and for all, with some facts, examples, and what works, because if you’re going to make one of the most important decisions for your creator business, you deserve the full picture.

Landing Page Builders vs Custom Designs: What’s the Difference?

Once you’ve decided to get your product out there, the next big decision is: how exactly are you going to create a page that sells it? You’ve got two main options: either use a landing page builder or go full custom with a designer or developer.

It’s like choosing between moving into a fully furnished apartment or building your dream house from scratch. Both get you shelter, but the timeline, cost, and complexity are totally different stories.

In the next few sections, we’ll break down what each option means and how to know which one makes sense for you.

What is a Landing Page Builder?

You know those sales pages that feel effortless? The headline pulls you in, the product looks amazing, and by the time you get to the final CTA, you’re halfway through typing your card number.

Those pages don’t happen by accident. They’re designed to convert, and more often than not, they’re built using a landing page builder.

A landing page builder is a tool that helps you design and publish a complete sales page without writing code, hiring a developer, or googling what “HTML padding” means at midnight. Instead of starting from scratch, you get a system that handles the heavy lifting so you can focus on your offer. Most come with things like:

• Pre-built templates designed specifically to convert
• Drag-and-drop editing so you can tweak everything without touching code
• Payment processing that works across multiple currencies and payment methods
• Automated product delivery, so customers get instant access right after purchase
• Email capture and automation, helping you stay connected post-purchase
• Built-in analytics, so you can see what’s working and where to tweak
• Mobile responsiveness, because most people are buying on their phones
• And SEO tools, so your pages can get discovered organically

It’s like having a designer, developer, and marketer in one place, but without invoices or technicalities.

How Landing Page Builders Work

Now that you know what landing page builders are, let’s talk about what it’s like to use one, step by step.

Step 1: Pick a Template: Most builders come with professionally designed templates, built and tested based on actual user behaviour and conversion data. All you have to do is scroll through and pick the one that fits your vibe.

Step 2: Customise it:  Drag, drop, tweak and repeat. You can easily change colours, fonts, images, and text, all without touching code. The layout is already optimised, and mobile responsiveness is handled. You just focus on making it reflect your brand.

Step 3: Set up payments: This is where some tools get tricky, especially for creators in Africa, where not every payment processor caters to our local payment methods. Selar understands the struggle and has created a landing page builder built with  African creators in mind, so you can accept payments in multiple currencies and payment methods that work both locally and globally. 

Step 4: Launch, Edit, Repeat:  Once you’re set, you publish and go live. If you need to change a price, update a headline, or add new offers, you can do it easily, without looping in a dev or filing a support ticket.

What is a Custom Landing Page Design?

A custom landing page is exactly what it sounds like: a page designed from scratch, usually by a freelance (or in-house) designer or agency, to match your brand, your tone, and whatever layout you have in mind. Custom means flexibility, you can control everything: fonts, animations, layout, flow, mobile tweaks, down to how your call-to-action button responds when hovered over.

On the flip side, it takes time, costs money, and usually involves a lot of back-and-forth. For big brands running massive product launches or campaigns that need advanced features, it makes sense. They have the budget, the team, and the luxury of time.

But if you’re a solo creator trying to launch an ebook, course, or digital product, next week, a custom build can turn into an expensive delay because you’ll be waiting weeks (sometimes months), reviewing mockups, revising copy, and explaining why you don’t want the buy button in red. 

And when all’s said and done, it might still miss the mark. That’s not to say custom is bad. It just demands a little extra. Extra beautiful, extra flexible, extra expensive, and extra stressful if you’re on a deadline or budget. For most digital creators, it’s usually more than you need, and not what you need right now.

What Custom Development Involves

Let’s say you do decide to go the custom route. What does that look like? Well, it’s a full development project. One that usually involves multiple specialists, lots of coordination, and a timeline that stretches over several weeks (or months). Here’s how the process typically plays out:

Phase 1: Discovery and Planning (1-2 weeks)

• Strategy consultations with designers and developers
• Wireframing and user experience mapping
• Technical requirements documentation
• Content strategy and site architecture planning

Basically: a lot of meetings, planning documents, and mood boards.

Phase 2: Design Creation (2-4 weeks)

• Initial design concepts and revision cycles
• Brand integration and visual identity development
• Mobile and desktop layout optimisation
• Feedback incorporation and iterations

This is when you start wondering if you care that much about button spacing.

Phase 3: Development (3-6 weeks)

• Programming and coding implementation
• Payment system integration and testing
• Email system configuration
• Cross-browser and device testing

Phase 4: Launch and Optimisation (1-3 weeks)

• Bug fixes and performance optimisation
• Content loading and final testing
• Go-live coordination and monitoring

And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly. Which (let’s be honest). rarely happens without at least one delay.

Landing Page Builders vs Custom Designs: Side-by-Side for Creators

You want something that looks good, works fast, and doesn’t chew through your entire launch budget. Here’s how landing page builders stack up against custom design side-by-side, creator-style:

Feature	Landing Page Builder	Custom Design
Cost	Usually free or low-cost	Starts at thousands and goes higher
Launch time	A few hours or less	Takes weeks or longer
Tech skills needed	Zero, drag, drop, done	Require dev. supports
Customization	Template-based, but flexible enough for rebranding	Fully customised
Conversion templates	Built-in and tested	You’ll need to test and tweak from scratch
Mobile responsiveness	Built-in automatically	Needs to be designed and tested manually
Best for	Creators, solopreneurs, side-hustlers	Agencies, startups with funding, and perfectionists

The bottom line is that landing page builders understand how you need to go from idea to income faster. While custom pages are beautiful, they are often better suited for brands with bigger teams, complex features, or time to burn.

And if you’re selling digital products, a solid builder like Selar already has everything you need. From product listings, payments, checkout flow, and a clean design that makes people click “Buy Now.”

Why Landing Page Builders Work for Digital Creators

The side-by-side comparison is helpful, but if you’re a digital creator, the choice is even clearer. Builders don’t just make sense, they’re essential. This is why:

1. Speed to Market: In the creator economy, timing is everything. Trends shift, audiences move fast, and while you’re still waiting on a custom design, your competitors might have already launched twice. Landing page builders allow you to strike while the idea is still hot.  Some creators might even launch 3–4 products in the time it takes to finish one custom page. That’s not just faster, it’s more data, sales, and growth.

2. More Cost-Efficient: In all honesty, most creators are bootstrapping. Landing Page Builder (like Selar) costs about;

• Monthly: ₦12,000 or ₦120,000/year
• Setup time: 2–4 hours

This is with every feature/tool you’d need included.

Custom development, on the other hand, might cost about

• Setup: ₦200k–₦250k (if you’re lucky)
• Timeline: 8–16 weeks
• Revisions & maintenance? Add ₦50k–₦70k per tweak

That ₦500k+ custom setup could fund 10 product launches and a full marketing strategy.

3. Built-in Creator Features: Generic site builders are made for everyone. Creator-first platforms like Selar are built for people selling digital products, so you get things like:

• Instant digital delivery
• Payment processing that works in Africa
• Affiliate tools built-in
• Product protection, tax handling, and customer segmentation
• And email automation 

4. Optimised to convert: Great landing page builders are like mini conversion labs. Their templates are based on solid data, from the colours, layouts, and CTA placements that make people buy. 

And with 70% of digital product purchases happening on mobile, responsive design isn’t just nice to have, it’s non-negotiable. Builders make sure your page looks clean and converts, everywhere.

When to Use a Landing Page Builder

By now, you probably see why landing page builders are a go-to for creators. But if you’re still wondering whether it’s the right move for you, here’s how to tell.

If any of this sounds familiar, a builder is your best bet:

• You need to launch fast. You’ve got a course, ebook, or coaching offer ready to go, but the only thing missing is a page to sell it. A good landing page builder helps you go live in a few hours.
• You don’t want to spend a fortune. You want a clean, functional, great-looking page that doesn’t require paying thousands to a designer. With the right builder, you don’t have to.
• You’re still testing your products. Whether it’s adjusting pricing, rewriting your CTA, or A/B testing different offers, a builder allows you to iterate quickly and learn as you grow.

When a Custom Design Makes Sense

Landing page builders today are powerful. From branding and payment integration to automation and mobile optimization, they cover almost everything most digital creators need.

But there are a few edge cases where a custom-built landing page might be worth the extra time, cost, and coordination.

Here’s when custom design makes sense:

• You’re building a highly interactive or complex experience. If your vision involves things like multi-step flows, conditional logic, advanced personalization, or interactive product demos—something that pushes the boundaries of what templates can do—custom development gives you the flexibility to execute it exactly as imagined.
• You have very specific brand or design requirements. Most builders allow deep customization. Think colors, fonts, layouts, mobile design, and even animations. But if you need something completely bespoke, like unique illustration styles, animated mascots, or motion-led storytelling that goes beyond standard layouts, a custom build gives you that creative freedom.
• You’re investing in a flagship campaign with premium positioning. For large-scale product launches or campaigns where visual identity and experience are central to positioning, a custom landing page can help elevate the feel and execution. Especially if you’re coordinating across multiple teams or channels, the precision might be worth it.

That said, these scenarios are the exception, not the norm. 

Builders like Selar already handle 90% of what most creators need: clean design, fast launch, payments, mobile optimization, and conversion-focused layouts. 

Unless your idea truly calls for something more technically complex or creatively experimental, a builder will get you there faster—and without the extra overhead.

What Makes a Great Landing Page

Whether you’re using a builder or going the custom route, the goal’s the same: to make it ridiculously easy for someone to say yes to your offer. That means your landing page should be clear, focused, and structured in a way that guides people and that will include a strong headline, a clean layout, and one action to take.

Now, if you’re wondering what that looks like in practice, how long it should be, what to include, and where to put testimonials, we’ve already covered all of that in this full landing page guide for creators. It breaks down headlines, CTAs, layouts, and everything else that helps your page convert.

Selar’s Landing Page Builder

We’ve talked about what makes a great landing page and what tools can help you build one.

But most landing page builders weren’t built for creators, especially African creators. They were made for everyone: marketers, agencies, SaaS teams, fitness coaches, and many others.

Selar is different. It was built specifically for people like you, African creators selling digital products.

So instead of overcomplicated toolsets and workarounds, you get just what you need:

• Templates built for conversion
• Built-in checkout so buyers don’t have to jump through hoops
• Instant product delivery
• Clean, mobile-ready layouts 
• Multiple payment options, including support for African and international customers
• Automatic digital rights protection, like download limits and content access control
• Insightful analytics that show what’s working and what’s not
• Affiliate integration, so others can help you sell

So if you’ve been wondering how to build a landing page that looks great, converts well, and doesn’t cost a fortune or fry your brain, this is it.

Final Verdict: What Should You Choose?

If you’re a digital creator, you probably don’t need a custom-designed landing page. Rather, what you need is something clean, conversion-ready, and easy to launch—built to help you sell without slowing you down.

Custom pages have their place, especially for big brands running complex campaigns. But if you’re a solo creator trying to launch, test, or finally start earning from that ebook or course you’ve been sitting on, a landing page builder is a better option. And Selar’s builder was made specifically for that.

So, before you spend three weeks waiting on a mockup, or worse, trying to code one from scratch, try Selar.