So, you’ve got a brilliant idea for a new AI app or a SaaS tool. The initial prototype is promising, and you're ready to start building a waitlist. The first step is to get a "coming soon" page online. This should be simple, right?
But for a developer, this seemingly easy task can quickly become a frustrating rabbit hole of trade-offs. The tools that marketers love often feel restrictive, and coding one from scratch feels like overkill. What’s the right tool for the job?
As a developer, your choice isn't just about aesthetics; it's about workflow, scalability, and control. Let's break down the common options.
Quick Comparison
| Approach | Control | Speed | Cost | Developer-Friendliness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code It Yourself | Highest | Slow | Low | High |
| Marketing Tools | Very Low | Fast | Medium | Very Low |
| Designer Tools (Webflow) | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
| Headless CMS (LitPage) | High | Fast | Optimal | Highest |
Option 1: Code It Yourself (The "Control Freak" Approach)
Using your favorite stack (e.g., Next.js + Tailwind CSS) gives you absolute control. You can pixel-perfect the design, optimize performance to the millisecond, and integrate it with anything.
Pros:
- Total Control: Unmatched flexibility in design and functionality.
- Peak Performance: You can fine-tune every aspect for speed.
- No Subscriptions: You only pay for hosting.
Cons:
- Time Sink: What starts as a "quick page" can easily turn into a multi-day project. Setting up the boilerplate, styling, deployment pipeline, and form backend takes time.
- Maintenance Overhead: Updating copy isn't as simple as editing a document. It requires a code change and redeployment.
- Not a "Marketing" Tool: You still need to manually connect it to an email service provider, set up analytics, and figure out what makes a great waitlist page.
Verdict: A valid choice if you have a very specific design in mind and time to spare. But for most pre-launch projects, the time cost outweighs the benefits.
Option 2: All-in-One Marketing Tools (The "Good Enough" Approach)
Tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit offer basic landing page builders as part of their email marketing suite.
Pros:
- Simple & Fast: You can get a page up in under an hour.
- Integrated Email: The form is natively connected to your email list.
Cons:
- Extremely Limited: The design templates are often generic and unprofessional. Customization is minimal.
- Poor Performance: These pages are not typically optimized for speed, which can hurt conversion rates.
- Lack of Developer Control: Forget about custom domains on free plans, custom analytics, or easy integration with your other tools. They are walled gardens.
Verdict: A temporary solution if you literally have 30 minutes and zero budget. But you'll outgrow it almost immediately and damage your brand's first impression with a generic-looking page.
Option 3: Designer-Focused No-Code Tools (The "Webflow Trap")
Platforms like Webflow and Framer are incredibly powerful. They offer stunning visual design capabilities and have become the standard for marketing teams.
Pros:
- Visually Stunning: You can create beautiful, agency-quality pages.
- Powerful Animations: Great for creating impressive interactive experiences.
Cons:
- The "No-Code" Lie for Developers: While they claim to be no-code, achieving anything complex or connecting to a real backend often requires wrestling with their specific visual programming model, which feels alien and restrictive to developers used to writing code.
- A Black Box: You don't control the underlying code, making it difficult to debug performance issues or integrate seamlessly with a developer's existing workflow (e.g., Git).
- Overkill & Expensive: These are complex tools with a steep learning curve and a price tag to match, designed for building entire websites, not a simple, efficient "coming soon" page.
Verdict: An excellent choice for design teams, but often a source of frustration for developers. It's like being forced to use a visual IDE with a proprietary language when all you want is to write clean, simple code.
Option 4: The Headless CMS Approach (The Developer's Choice)
This is the modern approach that combines the best of all worlds: developer control and marketing agility. A Headless CMS (like LitPage) acts as the content backend, while you retain full control over the frontend.
This is how it works with a platform like LitPage:
- You Choose Your Frontend: Use a pre-built, high-performance template or bring your own Next.js/React code. You work in a familiar development environment.
- Content is Managed Separately: The marketing team (or you, wearing your marketing hat) can update headlines, text, and images in a simple, Notion-like editor without ever needing to touch the code.
- Core Components are Built-in: Forms, email list integration, and analytics are native to the platform. No more duct-taping three different services together.
Pros:
- Developer Freedom, Marketing Speed: Developers work with code they love, while marketing can iterate on content instantly.
- Git-Based Workflow: LitPage and similar tools can sync with your Git repository, treating your marketing content just like your code.
- Integrated by Design: Landing pages, forms, email, and analytics are all part of one seamless system.
- Scalable: The same system you use for your "coming soon" page becomes the foundation for your blog, documentation, and main website later on.
Verdict: The ideal solution for a tech launch. It respects the developer's workflow while providing the speed and ease-of-use needed for effective marketing. You get the control of coding it yourself with the convenience of an all-in-one tool.
Conclusion: Stop Fighting Your Tools. Start Shipping.
Your "coming soon" page is the first piece of your company's infrastructure. It shouldn't be a compromise. While generic tools have their place, a developer-led startup thrives on efficiency, control, and a workflow that doesn't get in the way. Choose a foundation that aligns with how you build.
A headless, integrated platform like LitPage is built for this new way of working, allowing you to move fast without sacrificing quality or control.
Reclaim your workflow. Launch your next page with LitPage for free.