Landing Page vs Website: What’s The Difference

Understanding the difference between having a landing page vs website will help you decide which one to build. While the terms are occasionally used to describe the same thing, they actually have different purposes. A landing page is designed to convert visitors into leads or customers. On the other hand, a website is generally made up of multiple pages that provide information about a business or brand. This blog will show you the key differences between landing pages and websites, when to use each, and the Website Builder tools you can use to create both.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A landing page vs website is focused on a single conversion goal, while websites provide comprehensive information and serve multiple purposes simultaneously.
• Create landing pages when you need a dedicated page to help with specific sales and conversion goals. Each page should have a clear call to action.
• Use a website when you need a comprehensive online presence, provide information, and reach and build relationships with your audience.
• Effective landing page creation hinges on a singular focus, strong CTAs, clean design, regular testing, and optimization. Building a high-quality website requires planning, good design, ensuring performance, and consistently updating content.
• Hosted.com’s Website Builder lets you create landing pages and websites with unique designs, features, and functionalities.

Landing Page vs Website Explained

A landing page is a standalone web page usually designed with a specific goal in mind, such as part of a marketing strategy or advertising campaign. At its core, the landing page’s main purpose is to convert visitors into potential customers or generate leads, with every element geared to guide visitors to a desired action.

When visitors “land” on the page (hence landing page) after clicking on a link in an email, PPC ad, or social media post, it is designed to encourage them to do a specific action, known as a Call To Action (CTA), such as signing up for a newsletter or service, downloading a resource, or making a purchase.

As most of you know, a full website generally has several different pages designed to engage visitors. These usually include a homepage, about us, product and service pages, contact information, and more.

While websites display and sell products and services, they provide information about a business, brand, or person, provide customer support, and establish trust and credibility. Examples of the different types include online stores, business websites, portfolios, blog pages, etc.

Differences Between a Landing Page vs Website

Now that we’ve covered the definitions, understanding the differences between a landing page vs website allows you to use each for its intended purpose for better results.

Content and Design

One of the main differences between a landing page vs website is their design and content. Most landing pages feature short, targeted written and image content about a specific product or offer and its benefits that support a single call to action.

They often don’t have different sections, navigation menus, or additional links to avoid distraction and help direct visitors to take immediate action.

Similarly, they are often single pages with a stripped-down design and a clear structure that directs attention to clear CTA buttons. They tend to have fewer visual elements, each driving the conversion goal.

Conversely, websites are often a person’s first impression of your brand. This means they have more content (text, images, videos, features, etc.) organized into multiple pages to improve engagement and provide information more effectively.

Unlike landing pages, they include navigation bars, internal and external links, and different pages to help visitors explore your online business.

The same goes for web design, visuals, and page layouts that guide visitors through the site’s content, with consistent branding across all pages. Their designs often incorporate elements that encourage exploration and repeat visits, like dynamic content sections and interactive features.

User Experience

The user experience on a landing page vs website is deliberately limited, often with a single entry point (e.g. via Google ads) to the desired website page. It is made to be as streamlined and linear as possible to move the visitor toward the specific campaign.

Websites aim for a more comprehensive experience, where potential customers can freely navigate between pages to find what they want. They encourage discovery and engagement with various content types and between different sections and pages.

Conversion Rates

Landing pages tend to have higher conversion rates than websites because they are designed to sell products and generate leads.

While websites can drive sales and capture leads, they can have fewer conversions than landing pages because they have multiple purposes with more options and sections. However, they build relationships with visitors, creating trust and brand loyalty.

When to Use a Landing Page vs Website

You should ideally create landing pages when your primary goal is a specific campaign. As we’ve covered, you’re more likely to convert visitors into customers and leads with a clear call to action than sending them to a general website. Here are some examples of when to use one for your marketing efforts:

• Lead Generation: Capturing leads through forms by offering a free download or discount in exchange for contact information.
• Product Launches: When launching a new product or service, landing pages can drive initial sales by highlighting features and offering pre-orders or early access. This helps build anticipation and encourages immediate action.
• Events: For webinars, conferences, or other events, landing pages can provide simple registration forms with only the essential information needed, making it easier for guests to book.
• Promotions: If you run limited-time offers, sales, or free trials, they create a sense of urgency and encourage visitors to complete purchases or signups.

A website is the foundation of your online presence and business. It allows visitors to understand who you are and what you offer. It is essential for providing information, reaching your target audience, and generating income. This includes:

• Brand Awareness: Websites help establish your brand identity through design elements, messaging, and values across multiple pages and separate you from competitors.
• Providing Information: When visitors need information about your business and value proposition, a full website lets you present details in an organized, easily navigable format.
• Services or Products: Ecommerce and business sites allow you to showcase your offerings while providing the necessary information on pricing, features, and purchasing options.
• Engagement: Websites help build ongoing relationships with your audience via regularly updated content, blogs, resources, contact details, social proof, and interaction.

A well-built site is how you attract organic traffic from search engines. Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools and best practices like including relevant keywords, creating valuable content, and a positive user experience can improve your visibility in search results and reach more people.

Can You Use a Landing Page as a Website?

Even though you can have a one-page site that looks like a landing page, it’s generally not recommended, especially in the long run. These page types usually don’t have the navigation and content needed to function as an entire site; they’re not designed for it.

It can work for a small new business or a personal site with a single focus, like a blog. However, it usually won’t be the best idea when it comes to building brand awareness, providing detailed information, or if you have a wide range of products or services.

Ideally, you should have a full website for your main content complemented by separate landing pages for online marketing as needed.

Creating Landing Pages and Websites

As you can see from the above, building an effective landing page requires a focused approach. It should be a single web page; every element should support the specific marketing campaign without unnecessary links or information.

Create compelling, action-oriented call-to-action buttons that stand out. Place them front and center and repeat them on longer pages if needed. They should be clear, concise, and catchy, telling visitors exactly what you want them to do (e.g., “Download Now,” “Sign Up Today,” “Learn More).

Keep the design simple and clean, with minimal distractions and a visual hierarchy that naturally guides visitors’ eyes toward your CTA and keeps them focused on the essential details.

To improve conversion rates, use A/B testing to experiment with different headlines, layouts, CTAs, and other elements. Use tools like Google Analytics to track performance and traffic sources and refine your landing page based on real-time data.

Building a High-Quality Website

Creating a high-quality website involves more time, planning, and ongoing upkeep. Before you start building a site, you need to plan its structure to organize your content logically, especially its navigation and layout, so visitors can easily find what they want and spend more time on your pages.

Next, a polished, professional design helps with credibility while improving user experience. To build recognition and trust, the design should be consistent with your brand identity, including color, fonts, and other visual elements across all pages.

Keep your website fresh and relevant by regularly adding new content like blog posts and updating product information. Regular updates improve organic search rankings and give visitors reasons to return.

Tools and Platforms for Building Landing Pages and Websites

Even with the best landing page builder or site creation tools, you need to have web hosting and a domain name. A domain name is your online address, the URL people will type into their browser to find you (e.g., yourbusiness.com).

Web Hosting is renting space on a server to store the files (text, images, code, etc.) that make up your website or landing page and provide the resources to make it accessible online. Without a domain and hosting, your website or landing page won’t be visible to anyone online.

Several tools are available to help simplify creating high-converting landing pages and websites, even for those without design or coding skills. Many affordable web design platforms now offer website and landing page functionality, allowing you to build both while keeping everything under one umbrella.

They often include features such as drag-and-drop editors, pre-designed templates, and A/B testing capabilities for conversion optimization.

Website Builders let you create entire sites with multiple pages, blogs, ecommerce functionalities, and more, as well as single landing pages.

Hosted.com’s Website Builder add-on to our cPanel Web Hosting lets you build landing pages and websites easily without a web designer or coding knowledge. Choose from hundreds of templates with easy drag-and-drop widgets and plugins for key features. Create an entire website with multiple pages, blogs, ecommerce functionality, integrated payment gateways, or a standalone page linked to your main site.

Combined with cPanel Web Hosting and free domain name registration*, you get subdomains perfect for landing pages linked to your account. This means you can manage everything with a single user-friendly control panel.

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– 8 Website Design Tips For Small Business

– Finding The Best Website Builder For Beginners: 12 Features To Consider

– How To Build A Business Website That Drives Growth

– Step-By-Step Guide: How To Build A Website From Scratch

– How To Code A Website: A Beginner’s Guide To Web Development