Understanding the different purposes of websites and landing pages is essential if your business relies on online leads or sales. Knowing when to use each one can help you maximize your business’ online potential. If your business currently doesn’t use these online methods, now would be a great time to start!
WEBSITE
Your Website is the central online hub for your business. It should educate the visitor and offer an introduction to your business. It should have information about you, explain your products or services, as well as contain contact information to allow users to reach out to you.
Pro Tips:
- If you have client reviews about your business, having client testimonials on your site is a great way to build credibility.
- If your industry produces content for others, displaying your work in an online portfolio on your Website lets you show off your hard work and gives prospective clients an idea of why they should invest in you.
- Every page on your website should have its own individual purpose, and the information presented on each page should match up with this purpose.
- It shouldn’t be confusing for the user to navigate between pages, otherwise you risk losing visitors before they have finished exploring.
LANDING PAGE
A Landing Page is a singular web-page that stands alongside your Website and all the information presented on it is far more specific. Its design should support your Website’s design, but doesn’t necessarily have to be a replica of it. There is room for creativity as long as it is still easy to navigate and good at completing it’s goal.
Pro Tips:
- The goal of a landing page is usually to get the user to sign up or complete some sort of action, for example, getting users to fill out their email address to opt-in to your future email marketing campaigns, downloading a free Ebook, or simply a place users can view your latest Webinar.
- A Landing Page is designed to be streamlined and have no distractions preventing the user from following the flow of the page and reaching that goal.
- Landing pages are a crucial part of Digital Marketing, as they are catered to represent your Digital Campaign. They offer the most relevant and logical destination after a person clicks on your Digital Ad. For example, if you have a Real Estate business, and your Digital Ad mentions “Finding a Real-Estate Agent”, where would it make more sense for your customers to be sent after clicking the ad: A page on your website listing all of your Realtors, or a page that walks the user through the process of finding a real estate agent? Offering the most relevant and intuitive path for your users will give the best results, as users are less likely to be confused about where they get led to after clicking an ad.
SO…SHOULD I USE A WEBSITE OR A LANDING PAGE?
If You’re Establishing An Online Presence: Website
When you are making your business accessible for the first time online, a Website is often the best place to start. Some smaller businesses are choosing to do a one-page “minisite” instead of a full-fledged website.
If You’re Setting Up A Digital Campaign Destination: Landing Page
You want the user to click-through to a page that is relevant to the ad they were just viewing.