Q: What is the difference between a website and a landing page? And why does it matter?

TL;DR: They have different missions.

A landing page is focused on one function. The homepage of the website covers all possible functions. We have only one homepage; we can multiply landing pages and optimize them for their function. It’s an opportunity to size.

(=> add links inside the page)

Landing pages offer plenty of opportunities.

Simply put, a landing page is a webpage with a Call to Action Button standing right and foremost.

A landing page comes from a precise single purpose: Imagine you have an event coming up and need a dedicated space to promote it and encourage people to join. You featured a new product in your newsletter and need an order form. You launch your app on Product Hunt, and you want a specific page for that with the special offers. You made a video on YouTube, and you need a place on your website to land viewers of a specific video with a specific message for them. The purpose is not only unique by the offer but also by the occasion and how aware people are of your offer.

A typical example is a page made to convert people from a free offer to a paid offer. ‘Conversion’ here refers to the action of a user transitioning from a free offer to a paid one. They know your product; they already used it. The page must add the nudge and the urgency to ease the conversion. This is not something a general-purpose homepage can do.

Because the sole goal of the landing page is to convert, we want to remove all distractions and open loops from it. Distractions could be unrelated links or information that might divert the user’s attention. Open loops could be unanswered questions or unfulfilled promises. The only way out is the conversion.

That’s something homepages can’t do. If you use your homepage for everything, it’s a missed opportunity. The more so that landing pages are cheap, independent, and will not break your site. The homepage is unique

It’s 2024, and most small businesses have a website.

In many cases, the website is really a webpage with their name somewhere. The mission is to be an online business card and a presence on the web.

The homepage, the one we reach when we type the domain name ( like “mycompany.com”), is the catch-all place for every request.

It could be your friend seeking the phone number, a delivery guy checking the physical address, or somebody who found you on Google for a term that is nothing specific to you.

It’s like a phone book entry.

Since it serves so many purposes, we are more or less obliged to add plenty of links and information to cover all the cases: legal, physical address, and social media presence.

Also, we feel forced to list everything we do. If you sell clothes and furniture, both will appear, even if you can prioritize one over the other.

Predicting what will happen when a customer or a lead reaches your homepage is hard.

Most advanced websites. Most advanced websites will have a lot more pages. They can have a blog, many product pages, and documentation like guides, how-to, and videos.

Still, the homepage plays the same role even if it does a lot more work, and tons of expertise has been put into it.

On a website, FAQ, pricing, and product pages are all different pages; in a landing page, they all come together to form a clear single workflow intended as an experience. Single product website.

A particular case is when the website is made to introduce a new product. The homepage is like the main landing page. It is structured according to the same rules of focus on conversion rate optimization.

That’s a reason why designers often confuse landing pages and the homepage.

The single difference is a minimal top navigation bar and a fat footer.

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Off-site landing pages

Landing pages are so independent, they don’t even need to belong to your site.

That’s a surprising claim but easy to understand. Several email marketing apps, for example, have a landing page feature built-in. They have ready-to-use templates you can customize in minutes. Zoom has also a feature to let you personalized RSVP pages. All those are landing pages. They will contain your elements, pictures, brand, and copy but are not on your site.

Trust factors

Sure enough, with all the spam and pishing around, people will want to be sure the page is legit and can be trusted.

Being on a trusted place like Convertkit or Zoom is not sufficient; reusing your logo either. We need your domain name to be used with a subdomain before.

Some people call it a vanity link. It’s misleading, that’s the proof it’s you even when not on your site starting with www.

It usually costs a bit extra but is worth it when you reach a certain notoriety.

Because conversion is all about building trust.

Disposable pages

You could also imagine having a site made only for all the landing pages you created and ditching them as needed.

Few will remain in the long term and will be indexed by search engines. Those are better on your site, under your sole control.

What matters is the root domain name.

Now you know the difference between a home page and a landing page and why you could have many.

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See also different types of websites different types of landing pages