8 Best Lead Magnet Tools to Skyrocket Conversions (Compared)

At WPBeginner, we’ve been using different types of lead magnets for over a decade now to get readers to subscribe to our email list. So far, we have built lead magnets like ebooks, free tools, giveaways, checklists, and a lot more.

We have also used dozens of lead magnet tools, including an ebook builder, an optin form creator to build optin forms, and email newsletter tools to grow an email list. That’s why we know what it takes to capture as many leads as possible and turn them into paying customers.

In this article, we will share the best lead magnet tools and our firsthand experience with them.

What Is a Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet or an optin bribe is a valuable piece of content or resource that you can offer to potential customers in exchange for their contact information, like their email address or phone number.

Lead magnets are highly effective in attracting new leads and growing your email list.

Some common types of lead magnets include ebooks, whitepapers, checklists, templates, webinars, quizzes, case studies, video tutorials, podcasts, free trials, discounts, and more.

If you want to grow your email list with a lead magnet, then you will need to make it relevant to your target audience and provide valuable information or insights that they can’t easily find elsewhere.

How We Selected Lead Magnet Tools

Here are a few things we considered when choosing lead magnet tools for this showcase:

• Our first-hand experience: We’ve been growing our email list with lead magnets and have used several lead magnet tools in the process. We picked tools that we are already using on WPBeginner and our partner brands.
• Different use cases: To grow leads with lead magnets, you’ll need to use different types of tools, such as a lead magnet creator, email marketing software, a form builder, and promotion tools. While compiling this list, we considered those different use cases.
• Factors: We looked at multiple factors, including ease of use, features, pricing, and customer support to ensure that you get the best possible value for your money.

Why Trust WPBeginner?

At WPBeginner, we are a dedicated team with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, lead generation, and design. We extensively reviewed each plugin and tool featured here and thoroughly tested them on real websites.

To learn more, see our complete editorial process.

Overview of the Best Lead Magnet Tools

	Name	Category	Pricing	Free Option
🥇	Beacon	Lead Magnet Builder	$19 / month	✅
🥈	OptinMonster	Lead Form Builder	$9 / month	❌
🥉	WPForms	Lead Form Builder	$49.50 / year	✅
4	Thrive Leads	Lead Form Builder	$99 / year	❌
5	Canva	Lead Magnet Builder	$120 / year	✅
6	SeedProd	Lead Magnet Promoter	$39.50 / year	❌
7	Constant Contact	Email Marketing Tool	$12 / month	❌
8	Brevo	Email Marketing Tool	$25 / month	✅

1. Beacon (Lead Magnet Creator)

Beacon is a powerful lead magnet creator that helps businesses and marketers create high-converting lead magnets. With Beacon, you can easily make ebooks, whitepapers, checklists, email templates, and more without any design or coding skills.

We tested Beacon for this article. From our experience, it’s by far the best lead magnet builder we’ve ever worked with.

Beacon features a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create lead magnets, even for beginners. You don’t need any design or coding skills to get started.

It offers a wide range of professionally designed templates that you can customize to create your own unique lead magnets.

Its drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily add and arrange elements on your lead magnet. With just a few clicks, you can add text, images, videos, and more.

Pros of Using Beacon:

• Lead capture forms: Aside from lead magnets, Beacon also lets you build lead capture forms that you can embed on your site to collect leads.
• Integration with popular email marketing platforms: It seamlessly integrates with all major email marketing platforms, so you can easily add new subscribers to your email list.
• Content blocks: Beacon provides a library of pre-made content blocks, such as calls-to-action, opt-in forms, and social share buttons. These not only help you build a lead magnet but also grow your email list.
• Team collaboration: It allows multiple team members to collaborate on creating lead magnets. This feature is particularly useful for teams working remotely or on different schedules.

Cons of Using Beacon:

• Limited free plan: While Beacon offers a free plan, you’ll have to upgrade to download a lead magnet you have built. However, you can embed a lead magnet form on your site and collect emails with the free plan.
• No A/B testing: Beacon doesn’t offer A/B testing, which can be helpful for optimizing your lead magnet forms.

Why We Recommend Beacon: Beacon is the best bet if you are looking to build stunning lead magnets that convert without hiring a designer. It even lets you create a library of gated content within a minute!

Pricing: Beacon offers a free version, which is best for new businesses and hobbyists. The premium version starts at $19 per month.

2. OptinMonster (Lead Magnet Form Builder)

OptinMonster is the best lead generator tool that comes with pre-designed form templates to help you create a high converting lead magnet form.

We actually use it on WPBeginner to create high-converting popups, a sticky floating bar, and many other types of campaigns to grow our email list.

For more details, learn how to do lead generation in WordPress like a pro.

Creating a Lead Magnet Form

To create a high-converting optin bribe form, simply sign up for OptinMonster, choose a lead magnet template that you like, and then customize it to match your branding.

Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add your lead magnet image to the form.

Then, make sure you integrate your email marketing service with OptinMonster. That way, as soon as someone subscribes to your list, you can send the lead magnet to their email while also growing your list.

Pros of OptinMonster:

• Super easy to build a form: With the drag and drop builder, you can create a high-converting lead magnet form in minutes.
• Never build a form from scratch: OptinMonster offers a variety of pre-built lead magnet templates, so you don’t have to start a campaign from scratch.
• Page-level targeting: You can target specific pages or posts with your form to increase conversions.
• Other advanced targeting: OptinMonster also has several advanced targeting features, like exit intent, onsite retargeting, A/B testing, and more.

Cons of OptinMonster:

• No free plan: While OptinMonster doesn’t advertise a free plan, if you install its free WordPress plugin, then you can get a free plan.
• SaaS tool: Since it’s a SaaS plugin, you’ll have to log in to OptinMonster to build a form. However, unlike other popup plugins, it doesn’t slow down your site since it doesn’t consume much of your server resources.

Why We Recommend OptinMonster: OptinMonster is by far the best lead magnet form tool available on the market. We use it on WPBeginner to boost our lead generation growth.

Pricing: OptinMonster starts at $9/month when billed annually. To get advanced features like Exit Intent technology and Yes/No forms, you need the Pro plan, which starts at $29/month.

You can read our OptinMonster review for more details.

3. WPForms (Freemium WordPress Form Builder)

WPForms is the most user-friendly WordPress form builder plugin that allows you to create high-converting lead magnet forms with ease. It’s available in both a free and premium version, with the free version offering a wide range of features to help you get started.

Unlike most free WordPress form plugins, WPForms offers native integration with an email marketing service: Constant Contact. That means without paying a dime, you can create a lead magnet form in WordPress and start growing your email list right away.

We use WPForms on WPBeginner for different purposes, including contact forms, lead generation, and more. Based on our experience, we believe it’s the most beginner-friendly WordPress form builder.

The premium version of WPForms comes with several additional features:

• Integrations: Integrate your forms with popular email marketing services like AWeber, GetResponse, Mailchimp, and more.
• Pre-built form templates: WPForms comes with a library of 1800+ pre-built form templates to choose from. This can save you time and effort when creating your own forms.
• Drag-and-drop form builder: The drag-and-drop form builder makes it easy to create forms without any coding knowledge. Simply drag and drop the fields you need onto the form builder to launch your forms right away.
• Mobile-responsive forms: WPForms forms are mobile-responsive, so they will look great on any device.
• Spam protection: WPForms includes built-in spam protection to keep your forms safe from spam submissions.

Pros of Using WPForms:

• Beginner-friendly: WPForms is designed to be easy to use, even for beginners who don’t have any coding experience.
• Easy peasy: Its drag-and-drop interface and its collection of pre-built form templates make it easy to build and launch a WordPress form.
• Complete WordPress form solution: Whether you want to integrate payment processors with your forms or build other types of forms, like registration or even login forms, WPForms is the best bet.
• Great support: WPForms has a dedicated support team that is available to help you with any issues you may encounter.

Cons of Using WPForms:

• Only Constant Contact with the free version: The free version only supports the Constant Contact integration. For integration with other email marketing services, like Mailchimp or AWeber, you’ll have to use the paid version.
• No targeting features: WPForms is a great option for creating simple lead generation forms, but it doesn’t offer any targeting features. That means you’ll have to embed the forms via WordPress blocks to display them.

Why We Recommend WPForms: If you’re looking for a lead generation form builder plugin, then WPForms is the right fit. It even allows you to create multiple types of forms, like payment forms, registration forms, survey forms, and more.

Pricing: WPForms pricing starts at $49.50/year. There’s also a free version of the plugin, which has limited features.

Read our WPForms review for more details.

4. Thrive Leads (WordPress Plugin to Build Forms)

Thrive Leads is another popular lead generation tool that allows you to create high-converting optin forms and lead magnet campaigns.

Although it comes with limited functionalities compared to OptinMonster, it’s built specifically for WordPress users. On the other hand, OptinMonster is a standalone tool that supports non-WordPress sites as well.

We use Thrive Leads on some of our partner brands, and it’s helped us grow our leads exponentially.

Thrive Leads comes with tons of lead generation form templates, including a lead magnet optin form. Just choose one of those templates, and you can quickly design an optin freebie form that helps you skyrocket your email list.

Thrive Leads lets you easily integrate the forms with your email marketing software, such as Constant Contact, Brevo, AWeber, and more.

Pros of Using Thrive Leads:

• Drag-and-drop interface: Thrive Leads features an easy drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to create and customize opt-in forms without any coding knowledge.
• Variety of opt-in form types: Thrive Leads offers a wide range of opt-in form types, including lightbox popups, slide-ins, content lockers, and more. This allows you to choose the type of form that best suits your needs and website design.
• Mobile-responsive: All Thrive Leads opt-in forms are mobile-responsive, meaning they look great and function properly on all devices.
• WordPress plugin: You don’t have to log into the Thrive Themes website to create a campaign. Campaigns can be set up right within your WordPress dashboard.
• Purchase as a bundle: If you’re looking for a complete conversion optimization toolkit, then you can buy the Thrive Themes suite as a bundle for huge savings.

Cons of Thrive Leads:

• No free version: Thrive Leads is a premium plugin, and doesn’t offer a free version.
• Limited targeting features: Although it has many features, they are limited compared to tools like OptinMonster.

Why We Recommend Thrive Leads: Thrive Leads is the best choice if you are looking for a lead form solution built for WordPress sites. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Price: Thrive Leads costs $99/year. It’s also available to purchase as part of the Thrive Suite, which has several integrated plugins at one great price: $299/year.

Read our Thrive Suite review for more details.

5. Canva (Yet Another Lead Magnet Builder)

Canva is a free online graphic design platform that allows you to create professional-looking designs, including a lead magnet design, without any design experience.

As we tested Canva, one of the features that stood out was its wide range of templates and tools. Those templates make it super easy to create stunning visuals.

Canva can be a valuable tool for creating visually appealing and informative lead magnets. You can use it to create various types of lead magnets, including ebooks, whitepapers, infographics, checklists, templates, and more.

Pros of Using Canva:

• Create eye-catching designs: Canva’s drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create beautiful designs for your optin bribes. You can choose from a library of templates or start from scratch and easily add your own images, text, and branding.
• Use high-quality images: You can easily find high-quality images from their library. You can also upload your own photos or use royalty-free images from the web.
• Share your lead magnets easily: Canva makes it easy to share your lead magnets with your audience. You can download them as PDFs or images, or share them directly on social media or via email.

Cons of Using Canva:

• Learning curve: While Canva is user-friendly, mastering the platform’s features has a learning curve.
• Can be slow: Canva can be slow to load and use, especially when working with complex designs or large files.
• Not all features are free: While Canva offers a generous free plan, some features are only available to paid subscribers.
• Limited design options: Some users may find the design options to be limited compared to professional design software like Photoshop.

Why We Recommend Canva: If you’re looking for a free platform that lets you design a lead magnet, then Canva is the right choice.

Pricing: The basic features are free to use. You can get premium access for $120/year for one person.

6. SeedProd (Landing Page Tool for Lead Magnet Campaigns)

SeedProd is a powerful WordPress landing page builder that helps you create high-converting landing pages to promote your lead magnet campaigns. It comes with a library of 300+ pre-built landing page templates, including templates for lead magnets.

After choosing a template, you can customize your landing pages to match your brand by changing the colors, fonts, and layout.

We use SeedProd on many of our sites to create high converting landing pages. We have also used it build a complete website from the ground up.

From our experience, one thing that makes SeedProd stand out is its collection of website kits and templates for landing pages, sales pages, and more.

Pros of Using SeedProd:

• Drag-and-drop interface: SeedProd features an easy drag-and-drop builder, allowing you to create and customize landing pages without any coding knowledge.
• Variety of landing page templates: SeedProd offers a wide range of landing page templates, including templates for lead generation, sales, and thank you pages. This allows you to choose the template that best suits your lead generation campaign.
• Mobile-responsive: All SeedProd landing pages are mobile-responsive, meaning they look great and function properly on all devices.
• Integration with popular email marketing platforms: SeedProd integrates with all major email marketing platforms, including Constant Contact, MailChimp, AWeber, and so on. This makes it easy to add new subscribers to your email list.

Cons of Using SeedProd:

• Limited features in the free version: The free SeedProd plugin comes with a limited number of features.
• Requires a Pro plan to build themes: Their flagship WordPress theme builder, complete website builder, and theme kits are only available with Pro or higher plan.

Why we Recommend SeedProd: SeedProd is the best option for growing your leads by building stunning landing pages that convert.

Pricing: Starting from $39.50 for a single site license. There’s also a free version with limited features.

For more details, see our complete SeedProd review.

7. Constant Contact (Email Newsletter Tool)

To build an email list with your lead magnet campaign, you will need to use an email marketing service. Constant Contact is a leading email marketing platform that comes with all the essential features to grow an email list with a lead magnet.

While we use Drip on most of our websites, we believe Constant Contact is the best choice for small businesses that need affordable email marketing plans.

During our testing, we found that it lets you create professional-looking emails quickly and easily.

It provides a range of professional email templates that you can customize to match your brand.

Plus, you’ll get a range of automation features, such as autoresponders and drip campaigns, to help you save time and streamline your email marketing efforts.

Pros of Using Constant Contact:

• Drag-and-drop email editor: The drag-and-drop email editor makes it easy to create professional-looking emails without any HTML knowledge.
• Affordable pricing: Constant Contact offers a variety of pricing plans to fit your budget.
• Landing pages: Constant Contact allows you to create landing pages to capture leads and grow your email list.
• List segmentation: Constant Contact allows you to segment your email list so you can send targeted emails to your subscribers.

Cons of Using Constant Contact:

• No free plan: It doesn’t offer a free forever plan.
• Expensive: The pricing can get expensive as you grow your email list.

Why We Recommend Constant Contact: Constant Contact is the best email marketing service that offers affordable pricing plans for small businesses.

Pricing: Constant Contact has a 60-day free trial (no credit card required). After that, their pricing starts as low as $12 /month.

WPBeginner users can use our Constant Contact coupon code to get an additional 20% off.

8. Brevo (Freemium Email Newsletter Tool)

Brevo is a beginner-friendly email marketing platform. It’s designed to make it easy for small companies and entrepreneurs to build email lists and grow their businesses.

We like Brevo’s interface, which is designed to be simple and easy to use, even for people who don’t have any experience with email marketing. You can create beautiful emails, build landing pages, and automate your email campaigns with just a few clicks.

Once you build your lead magnet, you can create an optin form with Brevo and start collecting email addresses by embedding the form on your site.

With Brevo, you can easily set up a trigger email that sends the lead magnet to your users’ email addresses as soon as they sign up for your newsletter.

Pros of Using Brevo:

• Free plan: Unlike Constant Contact, Brevo offers a free forever plan. No credit card info is needed to sign up.
• Affordable: Brevo offers affordable plans, especially when compared to other similar email marketing tools.
• SMS and WhatsApp marketing: Aside from email marketing, Brevo also lets you connect with your contacts through SMS and WhatsApp marketing.
• Great customer support: Brevo has a dedicated customer support team that is available to help you with any questions or problems you may have.

Cons of Using Brevo:

• Not comprehensive: Brevo isn’t as comprehensive as other feature-rich email marketing services.
• Limited free plan: Its free plan only allows you to send a limited number of emails and contacts.

Why We Recommend Brevo: If you’re looking for a reliable email marketing service that comes with a free plan, then Brevo is the best choice.

Pricing: Brevo offers a completely free email marketing plan with unlimited contacts. Their free plan lets you send up to 300 emails per day, but all your emails will have their branding.

Their paid plans start from $25 per month for Starter. You can also include SMS in your account, but the pricing will vary based on your sending requirements.

What Are the Best Lead Magnet Tools?

If you want to build a stunning lead magnet, then we recommend using Beacon. It lets you design ebooks, checklists, email templates, whitepapers, and more without any design skills.

Alternatively, to create high-converting lead magnet forms, OptinMonster is your best bet. It allows you to design popups, sticky footer bars, and other campaigns.

You can then connect your lead magnet campaigns with a powerful email marketing tool like Constant Contact.

We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress lead magnet plugins for your site. You may also want to learn how to grow your email list faster or the future of popup marketing.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 8 Best Lead Magnet Tools to Skyrocket Conversions (Compared) first appeared on WPBeginner.

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WPBeginner Turns 15 Years Old – Reflections, Updates, and a Giveaway ($50,000 in Prizes)

It’s quite surreal to type that WPBeginner turns 15 years old today!

Time flies when you’re having fun especially with such an amazing community of website owners, small businesses, and web professionals. YOU ARE the best part of WPBeginner!

Like every year, I will take a few minutes to share all the major things that are happening in the business as well as my personal life.

But more importantly, to celebrate this big milestone, we’re doing a HUGE birthday giveaway with over $50,000+ in prizes. There will be 215 lucky winners!

Enter WPBeginner’s Birthday Giveaway!

Since this is a long article, you can easily skip to the section you’re most interested in:

• My Personal Updates
• WPBeginner Updates
• Company / Product Updates
• WPBeginner 15th Birthday Giveaway

My Personal Updates

As many of you know, I have been using WordPress since I was 16 years old, and I started WPBeginner in 2009 when I was in college at age 19.

Ever since then, I’ve been fully committed to the WordPress community, and WordPress plays a huge role both in my life as well as my family’s life.

My son Solomon is now 7 years old, and we attended WordCamp Europe together last month in Turin, Italy. The event was a lot of fun, and it was really cool to see Solomon attend the presentations, chat with sponsors, and really embrace the community.

We as a family are continuing our travels around the world, exploring new cultures, and meeting local WPBeginner readers.

Here are some photos from our travels:

One of the best parts about running a fully remote online company is the flexibility it offers us. We have team members in over 50 countries now, and my goal is to visit at least few more countries this year. Side note: yes we’re hiring.

Also if you didn’t get a chance to read my 2023 recap, I highly recommend checking it because I shared lessons learned from last year.

WPBeginner Updates

We have had quite an amazing year at WPBeginner, and I’m really proud of all the things we’ve been able to accomplish.

Of course, none of this would be possible without your continued support, so THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Here are some of the big updates that happened on WPBeginner in the last 12 months:

1. We Launched WPBeginner Pro Services

One of the top requests we got from our reader survey was to offer affordable WordPress development and website management services.

Well, I heard you loud and clear, and this year we launched WPBeginner Pro Services.

Our Pro Services offer affordable WordPress development and website management for businesses of all sizes.

Here are all the professional WordPress services we have added for you:

• Custom WordPress Design & Development: Looking for a custom website design? Stop wasting time on Upwork and other marketplaces. Let our expert team build your dream website for you.
• WordPress site maintenance: Struggling to manage your WordPress website? Let our WordPress experts handle the technical side for you, so you can focus on what really matters – growing your online business.
• WordPress speed optimization: A one-second delay in your page loading times can reduce your conversions by 7%. We’ll audit your site for speed and make it faster.
• Hacked site repair: If your website ever get hacked, you can hire us to remove any malicious code, clean up the hack, and restore your WordPress site in no time.

Ready to bring your dream WordPress project to life? Find out more about our professional WordPress services.

2. We Launched WPBeginner Solution Center

A lot of our readers rely on us for expert recommendation on the best WordPress plugins, web tools, and themes for specific use-cases.

This year, we launched the WPBeginner Solution Center where we’re writing detailed reviews of the best business tools for your website, and along with our expert review, you can also read reviews from actual users too.

Here are a few premium WordPress product reviews on WPBeginner:

• WPForms Review: a detailed review of the most beginner friendly form plugin that’s used by over 6 million users.
• Hostinger Review: a thorough review of one of the fastest growing WordPress Hosting companies.
• Divi Review: detailed analysis of one of the most popular multipurpose theme and page builder.
• MemberPress Review: expert analysis on the most popular WordPress membership and course plugin that’s helping creators earn over $1 billion dollars each year.

If you own a WordPress theme or plugin and want to get it listed on WPBeginner’s Solution Center? Simply submit an application form and our team will be happy to consider your product or service.

Also if you find a plugin in the list that you’re using on your website, add your review to help other readers.

3. Contributing to WordPress and Open Source

At WPBeginner, we have always been big supporters of open source.

As part of our Five for the Future commitment, we now sponsor 9 WordPress core contributors. These people spend 194 hours every single week helping to make WordPress the best content management system on the planet.

We also released a free Search & Replace Everything plugin on WordPress.org that makes it easy to do bulk updates on your WordPress site.

This is very helpful especially if you want to update a link on every page, change an image that’s used in multiple areas, or make bulk changes when you’re moving your site.

4. Global Sponsor for All WordPress Community Events

WPBeginner joined the WordPress global community sponsorship program in 2024. That means we’re sponsoring every WordCamp on the planet!

With our global sponsorship, WordCamps across the globe can spend substantially less time worrying about fundraising and focus more on bringing the best WordPress content for local WordPress communities.

5. New Acquisitions, Investments, and Product Launches

In 2018, I created the WPBeginner Growth Fund as a way to invest in awesome WordPress-focused companies that are solving the problems that you, our readers, want us to help with.

In the last 12 months, we’ve made several big acquisitions and investments in the ecosystem:

• We invested in GrooveHQ, a top-rated customer support help desk software. Over 2,000 businesses use GrooveHQ to deliver exceptional customer service. GrooveHQ comes with all the tools you need to deliver exceptional customer support including: a shared inbox, live chat, smart workflows, reporting, integrations, and cutting-edge AI features. Here’s the full background story.
• In October, Seahawk Media joined the WPBeginner Growth Fund. This premier WordPress agency provides development, design, maintenance, migration, support, and other world-class services to 1,000+ brands including DreamHost and GoDaddy. Here’s the full background story.
• Remember Envira Gallery and Soliloquy? Long-term readers will know that I built these product, but had to sell them at the end of 2017. I’m excited to welcome them back home. Along with that, we also acquired NextGEN Gallery and the Photocrati theme.
• We completely revamped WP Charitable, so it’s easier than ever to launch and run successful donation & fundraising campaigns. The plugin comes with a visual campaign builder, and all the powerful features like recurring donations, peer to peer fundraising (aka crowdfunding), actionable reports, and more. Here’s the full background story.
• We launched SEOBoost, a powerful content optimization tool that helps you use A.I. and NLP to grow your organic traffic and SEO rankings.
• We acquired LowFruits, an SEO tool that helps you find keyword ideas that are easy to rank for. This way you can start writing the right content that will bring traffic faster.
• We acquired Beacon.by, a professional lead magnet creator to help you generate more leads from your website. This tool helps you turn your blog posts into eBooks or design beautiful eBooks from scratch.
• We launched a free Chrome extension called All in One SEO Analyzer by AIOSEO. This allows you to perform an in-depth SEO audit of any page with a single click. Here’s the full background story.
• We also took an investment stake in Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Akismet, and more.

I’m really proud of how far we’ve come with the Growth Fund, and it’s really amazing to see the impact our companies are making both in the WordPress ecosystem as well as the larger open web.

Want me to invest in your business? Learn more about the WPBeginner growth fund.

Company / Product Updates

A lot of new readers ask me how do we make money at WPBeginner, when we give away all our WordPress tutorials for free?

Yes, we have a huge library of WordPress video courses that are completely free for everyone.

WPBeginner is funded 100% through the support of our readers like you.

My various companies develop premium WordPress plugins to help you grow your website. These plugins are built with the same beginner-friendly approach you know and love from WPBeginner, and they have powerful features to take your website to the next level.

When you buy a license for any of my premium plugins, you’re not only helping make your website better, but you’re also helping support WPBeginner and our mission.

My company, Awesome Motive, now has over 330+ team members across the world, and all of us are committed to help you build a better website!

Here’s a list of our plugins that you should check out. Collectively, they’re being used on over 25 million websites. Your support means a lot to us whether you use the free version or purchase a premium license — we are here to serve.

Plugin	Description	Free version
OptinMonster	Powerful conversion optimization software that helps convert abandoning visitors into subscribers & customers.	Download
WPForms	Trusted by over 6 million websites, WPForms is the world’s most beginner-friendly WordPress form builder.	Download
Duplicator	Backup your entire WordPress site, including databases, themes, plugins, & settings – all with a few clicks.	Download
AIOSEO	The original and most powerful WordPress SEO plugin used by 3 million+ sites to boost traffic & rankings.	Download
MonsterInsights	The most popular Google Analytics plugin that helps you make data-driven decisions.	Download
WP Mail SMTP	The #1 plugin that ensures your emails arrive safely in the recipient’s inbox, and not in the spam folder.	Download
SeedProd	The ultimate drag and drop website builder to create custom WordPress themes and landing pages.	Download
Smash Balloon	Seamlessly integrate your social media feeds with WordPress. Used by 1.7 million websites.	Download
PushEngage	Powerful push notification software. Add a new traffic & revenue channel to your site.	Download
SearchWP	Trusted by 30,000+ website owners, SearchWP lets you customize WordPress search form and search results.	No
Easy Digital Downloads	Top rated WordPress plugin for easily selling digital products and subscriptions.	Download
AffiliateWP	Launch your own self-hosted affiliate program in minutes to grow your eCommerce revenue.	No
WP Simple Pay	Accept payments online without a shopping cart. Supports credit cards, ACH bank debit, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.	Download
Sugar Calendar	Powerful event calendar management plugin built for churches, conferences, and more.	Download
WP Charitable	WordPress donation and fundraising plugin that helps you raise more money. Trusted by 10,000+ non-profit orgs.	Download
WPCode	Add custom code to your site without editing your theme files. It can replace dozens of existing WordPress plugins.	Download
Thrive Themes	A powerful suite of conversion-focused tools that can transform your website into an online business platform.	No
Envira Gallery	Create beautiful photo and video galleries with this easy-to-use drag-and-drop gallery builder.	Download
User Feedback	See what your users are really thinking through smart website surveys. Trusted by 200,000 websites.	Download

WPBeginner 15th Birthday Giveaway

To celebrate the 15^th birthday of WPBeginner, we’re running our biggest ever giveaway!

We are giving away premium plugin licenses worth over $50,000, to 215 lucky winners.

So, what kind of goodies are we giving away? Here’s the complete list:

WPForms, MonsterInsights, OptinMonster, AIOSEO, SeedProd, WP Mail SMTP, Smash Balloon, WPCode, Duplicator, UserFeedback, WP Charitable, Funnelkit, Smart Slider, WP SMS Pro, WP Statistics, PublishPress, Simple Author Box, WP Login Lockdown, Hostinger, SiteGround, FooPlugins, Themify Builder, Elementor, ManageWP, EWWW Image Optimizer, HeroThemes, ThemeIsle Hyve, Bluehost, GreenGeeks, WP Rocket, Really Simple SSL, LearnDash, Wishlist Member, MemberPress, WC Vendors, Wholesale Suite, Advanced Coupons, Visser Labs, AdTribes, Weglot, WP Engine, Omnisend, Solid Backups, and Solid Security.

Thank You, Everyone

I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us in this journey. I really do appreciate all of your retweets, personal emails, content suggestions, and the interactions at the events.

I also want to say special thank you to everyone who’s using our plugins because that enables us to keep bringing more free tutorials on WPBeginner.

You all are AMAZING and without you, there is no WPBeginner.

I look forward to another solid year ahead of us.

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Founder of WPBeginner

The post WPBeginner Turns 15 Years Old – Reflections, Updates, and a Giveaway ($50,000 in Prizes) first appeared on WPBeginner.

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How to Make a Classified Ads Website with WordPress (Step by Step)

Many of our readers ask us about different ways to make money online with WordPress. While starting an online store or doing affiliate marketing are straightforward options, you might also be interested in creating a classified ads website.

A classified ads website is an online marketplace where users can post ads for things they want to sell, buy, or trade. This could be anything from used furniture and clothes to cars, apartments, or even services like lawn mowing or pet sitting.

In this article, we will show you how to easily make a classified ads website in WordPress, step by step.

Why Make a Classified Ads Website?

A classified ads website allows users to post ads for things that they may want to sell. Other people visiting your website can then use the details provided in that ad to contact the vendor and make a purchase.

You can set a specific commission upon purchase or charge users money to post an ad on your website. You can also allow users to add job postings like they’d find on Freelancer or Upwork.

Plus, you will be able to create a platform specifically catering to your local community’s needs for buying, selling, and finding jobs. You can even target a specific niche for classified ads, such as sports equipment or thrift clothing, to attract customers.

This will make it easy for users to buy or sell products right from the comfort of their homes and bring more traffic to your website.

Overall, building an ads website can be an easy way to earn money online.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to easily create a classified ads website, step by step. Here is a summary of the steps we will cover in this tutorial:

• Step 1: Choose a Website Builder
• Step 2: Choose a Domain Name and Hosting For Your Website
• Step 3: Make a New WordPress Website
• Step 4: Choose a Custom Theme
• Step 5: Use the Business Directory Plugin to Build a Classified Ads Website
• Step 6: Create a Home Page and Navigation Menu
• Step 7: Create a Contact Form With WPForms
• Step 8: Use AIOSEO to Boost Site Rankings
• Bonus: Use MonsterInsights For Site Analytics

Step 1: Choose a Website Builder

To start a classified ads website, you will first need to choose a website builder.

For this, we recommend WordPress because it is the best website builder on the market, used by over 43% of sites on the internet. It is free, easy to use, and super scalable.

However, you must keep in mind that there are two types of WordPress.

WordPress.com is a blog hosting platform, while WordPress.org is an open-source, self-hosted software. For details, see our comparison between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

For a classified ads website, you will need WordPress.org, which gives you complete creative freedom and can integrate with any classified ads plugin. To learn more, you can see our complete WordPress review.

Once you have chosen a website builder, it is time for you to purchase a hosting and domain name.

Step 2: Choose a Domain Name and Hosting For Your Website

A domain name is your website’s name on the internet, like LocalListing.com or www.TreasureTrove.com. This is the name that customers must type in their browser to reach your website.

On the other hand, hosting is where your website lives online and stores all its data. You can see our top picks for the best WordPress hosting services if you need help picking a provider.

Now, you will notice that even though WordPress is free, this is where your cost will start adding up. A domain name will cost you about $14.99/year while hosting costs start from $7.99/month.

If you are just starting out, then this can be a bit expensive.

Thankfully, Bluehost is offering a generous discount to WPBeginner readers along with a free domain name and SSL certificate. They are one of the largest companies in the world and an official WordPress-recommended hosting partner.

To get a discount on Bluehost, just click on the following button.

→ Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←

This will take you to the Bluehost website, where you have to click the ‘Get Started’ button.

You will now be taken to the pricing page. Here, you can select a plan according to your website’s requirements.

We recommend the Basic or Choice Plus plans as they are the most popular ones among our readers. Once you make a choice, just click the ‘Select’ button under a plan.

This will take you to another screen, where you can type in the domain name you plan to use for your classified ads website.

Keep in mind to choose a name that is specific to your niche and is easy to spell, pronounce, and remember. For ideas, you can see our beginner’s guide on how to choose the best domain name.

If that doesn’t help, then you can also try WPBeginner’s free Business Name Generator to come with a website title.

Then, go ahead and type the name and click the ‘Next’ button.

After that, you must add your account information, phone number, business email address, name, and country. You will also see a list of extras that you can buy with the hosting.

Then, type in your payment details to make the purchase. On doing that, you will receive a confirmation email with details to log in to your Bluehost dashboard.

This will be your control panel where you can easily manage your classified ads website.

Step 3: Make a New WordPress Website

Upon hosting purchase, it is now time for you to install WordPress. Keep in mind that if you sign up on Bluehost using our link above, then WordPress will be automatically installed for you.

However, if you plan to create a different website for your classified ads, then you can switch to the ‘Websites’ tab in the Bluehost dashboard. Then, click the ‘Add Site’ button.

You will now be taken to another screen to select a site type. As you are creating a completely new WordPress site, you must select the ‘Install WordPress’ option.

If you just want to migrate a WordPress site you have already created to another domain name, then you can choose the ‘Transfer an existing WordPress’ option. Once that is done, click the ‘Continue’ button.

Now, you must add a name for your classified ads website into the ‘Site Title’ field.

After that, click the ‘Continue’ button.

Bluehost will then ask you to connect to a domain name for your ads website.

However, if you haven’t purchased one yet, you can opt for the ‘Use a temporary domain’ option in the meantime. Remember to click the ‘Continue’ button to move forward.

Your WordPress site will now be installed for you and it can take a few minutes.

Once that is done, you will be redirected to the ‘Websites’ tab where you will notice your newly created website.

Go ahead and click the ‘Edit’ button to log in to your WordPress admin area.

If you want, you can also log in to your dashboard by visiting yoursite.com/wp-admin/ in the web browser. Just make sure to replace yoursite.com with your own domain name.

Note: If you chose a different web hosting for your classifieds website, like WP Engine, SiteGround, or Hostinger, then you can see our beginner’s guide on how to install WordPress for instructions.

Step 4: Choose a Custom Theme

Once you visit your WordPress website, you will notice that the default theme has been activated on it.

A theme is basically a professionally designed template that controls how your website looks to the visitors.

However, to make a good impression and encourage users to post ads, it is a good idea to replace your default theme with one that matches your niche.

You can use any of the popular WordPress themes and customize them according to your liking.

Additionally, you can see our list of the best WordPress business themes to get more ideas. Once you choose a suitable one, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress theme.

However, if you don’t like any of the themes, then you can use SeedProd instead. It is the best WordPress theme builder that allows you to create your own custom theme in just a few minutes.

You can easily design your pages using the drag-and-drop builder and premade templates offered by the plugin.

Upon activation, just visit the SeedProd » Theme Builder page from the WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Theme Template Kits’ button.

This will take you to a new screen where you can browse the templates and select the one you like.

Doing this will launch the visual builder where you can customize the theme using blocks in the left column.

For details, see our tutorial on how to create a custom theme in WordPress.

On the other hand, if you have decided to use a conventional WordPress theme, then you must visit the Appearance » Customize page from the WordPress dashboard.

This will open the theme customizer, where you can change background colors, menu locations, site titles, and more.

However, if you are using a block theme, then you will have to visit the Appearance » Editor page to open the full site editor.

Here, you can drag and drop the blocks from the left column to customize your website. Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

For more information, see our tutorial on how to use the WordPress full site editor.

Expert Tip: If you feel like customizing your website is too much work, don’t worry—we have you covered! WPBeginner is now offering website design services, where our team of experts can design the perfect custom website for your needs.

For more details, just see our WordPress Website Design Services.

Step 5: Use the Business Directory Plugin to Build a Classified Ads Website

Now that you have customized the theme, it is time to set up your website to accept classified ads.

To do this, you will need the Business Directory Plugin, which is popular for creating a directory, setting up classified ads, organizing listings, and accepting payments.

First, you need to install and activate the Business Directory Plugin. For details, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note: Business Directory Plugin has a free plan that you can use. However, to unlock some features like support for Stripe and PayPal, you may need the pro plan.

Upon activation, visit the Directory » Settings page from the WordPress dashboard. Here, you will notice a popup asking for permission to create some new pages on your website.

Go ahead and click the ‘Create required pages for me’ button. The plugin will now create a ‘Business Directory’ page where users can view different listings and submit their own.

Once you have done that, switch to the ‘Registration’ tab from the top.

You can now toggle the ‘Require login to post listings’ switch to ‘ON’ if you want users to have to register and log in on your website to submit their classified ad.

Then, you can add the URL for a login and registration page that you have created on your website. If you haven’t done so, then see our tutorial on how to create a custom login page in WordPress.

You can also disable the option if you want to allow anyone to submit listings. Next, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

Now, you can switch to the ‘Listings’ tab from the left column.

Once there, you can configure the number of listings per page, select the default listing status, and more.

You can also take a look at all the other settings offered on this page.

For instance, you can switch to the ‘Searching’ tab and check the box next to the data that you want to make searchable. If you want users to browse ad listings based on a user’s email address, then you can select that field.

Expert Tip: If you are looking to improve search across your entire website, then we recommend using SearchWP. For more details, just see our tutorial on how to improve WordPress search.

After that, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

Then, you have to switch to the ‘Payments’ tab.

Here, you can select a currency and add a payment message that will be displayed to users upon a successful transaction.

Next, switch to the ‘Authorize.net’ option and toggle the switch. This is the only payment method available in the free plan. If you are using a premium plan, then you will also be able to use PayPal, Stripe, or Payfast.

Now, go ahead and add your login ID and transaction key to connect the payment gateway with the plugin. Once you are done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

To start accepting classified ads on your website, you must visit the Directory » Directory Content page and switch to the ‘Form Fields’ tab from the left column.

This screen will now show a list of default fields that are added to the form users will need to submit with their ad details.

From here, you can rearrange the order of the form fields using the up and down arrow on the left side of each field.

You can also remove a field by clicking on the ‘Delete’ link. However, if you want to edit the field, then you can click the ‘Edit’ link.

This will open a new page where you can change the field label, switch its type, mark the field as mandatory, add an optional description, and more.

Once you are done, just click the ‘Update Field’ button to save your changes.

Then, you need to switch to the ‘Categories’ tab from the left column and click the ‘Add New Category’ button.

We recommend creating at least 4-5 categories for your ads. These will help users browse through your listings and also help you target specific niches.

For example, you can create different categories for sporting equipment, job postings, clothes, and more.

Clicking on the button will open a popup on the screen, where you can add a category name.

Then, click the ‘Add New Category’ button in the prompt to complete the process.

After that, you must switch to the ‘Plans’ tab, where you will notice that a free listing plan has already been added along with a paid plan with $1 for 365 days.

To change these settings, just click the ‘Edit’ link under one of the options.

Note: You can also add a completely new pricing plan by clicking the ‘Add New Plan’ button at the top.

This will take you to a new screen, where you can change the plans’ name, decide how long the listing can run with this plan, the number of images allowed, pricing, and more.

Once you are done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

Now that everything is set up, just visit the Business Directory page on your website, where you will notice a search form visitors can use to search for classified ads.

Similarly, if someone wants to submit a listing, then they can click the ‘Add Listing’ button.

This will direct them to a new screen, where they can add their listing title, description, website URL, email address, phone number, and zip code.

Once done, users can just click the ‘Complete Listing’ button to submit their ad.

Once users start submitting ads on your website, you will be able to view them by visiting the Directory » Directory Content page and switching to the ‘Listings’ tab.

Here, you will notice all the listings are set to ‘Pending Review.’ Now to make any changes, you can click the ‘Edit’ button.

This will open the block editor, where you can check all the listing details and add tags.

Once you are satisfied, just uncheck the ‘Pending Review’ option and click the ‘Publish’ button to make the classified ad live.

If you want, you can also add a classified listing yourself by clicking the ‘Add New Listing’ button on the ‘Listings’ page.

This will again open the block editor, where you can add all the details for the classified ad by yourself.

You have now successfully created a classified ads website.

If you need more information on the Business Directory Plugin features, then see our tutorial on how to make a web directory in WordPress.

Step 6: Create a Home Page and Navigation Menu

The Business Directory Plugin will create a specific page where users will be able to view your ad listings. It will also be named ‘Business Directory’, which can be misleading.

We recommend changing that name to something related to classified ads by visiting the Pages section and selecting the ‘Quick Edit’ option under that page.

After that, you need to add the classified ad listing page to your navigation menu to make it easy for users to browse through your ad listings and submit their own ads.

To do this, you need to visit the Appearance » Menus page and expand the ‘Pages’ tab from the left column. Here, you must check the ‘Classified Ad Listing’ option and click the ‘Add to Menu’ button.

After that, click the ‘Save Menu’ button to store your settings.

However, if you are using a block theme, then this method won’t work for you. To edit the menu in FSE, you must visit the Appearance » Editor page from the WordPress dashboard.

This will open the full site editor, where you must choose the ‘Navigation’ tab.

When you do that, a list of items currently present in the navigation menu will be displayed in the left column.

From here, you must click the pencil icon.

The full site editor will now open the menu section where you have to click the ‘Add Block’ (+) button next to the navigation menu items.

This will open a prompt, where you need to search for the plugin page with the name that you gave it. Once you find it, you can click on it to add it to the menu. Finally, click the ‘Save’ button at the top to store your settings.

For details, see our tutorial on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.

Next, we recommend adding an attractive home page for your classified ads site. This will be the user’s introduction to your site and may decide whether they want to stay and explore or leave.

To help you with this, you can see our beginner’s guide on how to create a custom homepage in WordPress.

Once you have created an attractive page, you can easily set it as the home page by visiting the Settings » Reading page from the admin sidebar.

Now, select the ‘A static page’ option in the ‘Your homepage displays’ section. Next, open the ‘Homepage’ dropdown and choose the page you want to use.

Finally, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

Step 7: Create a Contact Form With WPForms

Once you have set up all the pages, it is time for you to create and add a contact form.

This will provide a convenient way for users to get in touch with you if they have any questions about payment methods or classified listings. Plus, it can help you build an email list by capturing leads.

You can easily do this with WPForms, which is the best contact form plugin on the market.

It comes with a drag-and-drop builder, 1800+ premade templates, and complete spam protection. Plus, it offers a free plan if you are on a budget.

All you have to do is use the WPForms ‘Simple Contact Form’ template and then add it to any page or post using the WPForms block.

For detailed instructions, see our tutorial on how to create a contact form in WordPress.

If you want users to be able to contact you more quickly, then we recommend using a business phone service like Nextiva. It is easy to use, has a lot of features, and comes with reasonable pricing.

This will allow users to contact you directly through phone calls to ask questions or report an incident on your website, boosting the user experience.

You can even use Nextiva for adding live chat, CRM, online surveys, fax, and more. For details, see our tutorial on how to set up an auto attendant phone system for your website.

Step 8: Use AIOSEO to Boost Site Rankings

Now that you have finished customizing and adding features to your classified ads website, it’s time to focus on SEO. This will help you bring more traffic to the platform, boost brand awareness, and ultimately lead to more conversions.

You can do all of this using All in One SEO for WordPress.

It is the best SEO plugin on the market that has a beginner-friendly setup wizard to help you choose the best SEO settings for your website.

AIOSEO also offers features like a headline analyzer, XML sitemaps, schema generator, broken link checker, and more.

Plus, you can perform image SEO and connect your website with Facebook and Twitter. This will allow you to share important ads on your social media handles to attract visitors.

For more information, see our ultimate WordPress SEO guide.

Bonus: Use MonsterInsights For Site Analytics

Once you have optimized your site, we also recommend using MonsterInsights, which is the best analytics solution on the market.

This tool will help you see where your visitors are coming from and how they are interacting with the ads posted on your site.

You will also be able to identify how effective the classified ads are in driving conversions. Once you collect this real-time data with the help of the plugin, you can optimize your SEO strategies or try other hacks to boost traffic and generate leads.

Overall, MonsterInsights can help you make data-driven decisions to improve the user experience and potentially increase the effectiveness of your classified ads.

For details, see our step-by-step guide on WordPress conversion tracking.

We hope this article helped you learn how to make a classified ads website. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide on how to sell ads on your WordPress site and our top picks for the best WordPress plugins to grow your business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Make a Classified Ads Website with WordPress (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.

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