A lot of people ask me what the difference is between a Homepage and a Landing Page.
To the untrained eye, it would seem that they are one and the same, however this could not be more wrong. Both Homepages and Landing Pages have very specific and distinct aims. In this article I will help guide you through the difference between the two.
Homepage
A homepage is the first page of a business’ website. This is where a website visitor will come to learn more about your business and browse your offerings.
Its’ main goal is to inform your potential customers about what you do and how you can help them to solve their problem with your range of products or services.
A homepage will typically include a whole variety of different information and guide your visitor to the section relevant to them.
What makes a great homepage?
A great homepage will be simple to navigate with snippets of information about your whole range of offerings.
These snippets of information will give your visitor just enough information to know that they are in the right place and spark their curiosity. Just enough information to make them want to navigate through your website to find out more!
Landing Page
The aim of a landing page is conversions, conversions and more conversions!
A landing page is typically part of a sales funnel (I will go into detail on sales funnels soon!) where a visitor will arrive when following an advertised link, where by clicking said link, they have shown an interest in one particular product or service.
Having declared an interest, the landing page can be wholly optimised to focus on that one specific interest, guiding the visitor to carry out one specific action.
A Landing Page will generally be a single page, with a single offering and a single call to action. This helps your visitor to understand exactly what they need to do to achieve the results they have already showed an interested in, with no distractions.
What makes a great landing page?
- A clear and punchy headline
This is the first thing a visitor will read – so make sure that this both reiterates what they have seen on the link they clicked through from and keeps them hooked, wanting to find out more!
- A description of how your product/service will help them
You have probably heard this before, but sell the results, not the product.
Tap into the psychology of why your visitor would want to buy your product or service. What is it going to do to make their lives that little bit better?
- social proof
Share experiences that others have had with your product or service before. People love reviews and testimonials to help them know that they are making a great choice!
- A Clear Call to action
This is absolutely key to a great landing page. Choose one single action that you want your visitor to take on your landing page. Just one.
This will make sure they know exactly what they need to do to move forwards. For lead generation, this could be a simple form to fill in. For a purchase, it would be a buy now button (even better if you can buy the product on the same page!).
Most importantly here – your visitor has just one thing to do.
- No Distractions!
A great landing page doesn’t have a navigation menu at the top. It doesn’t have buttons to take you to other pages to find out more. It doesn’t offer up multiple options. It is clean and simple and keeps the visitor from choice paralysis.
So which one do you need for your business?
The answer is probably both!
Having a great website with a great homepage is really important. Especially if people are looking for you and your business in the online marketplace to find out more about who you are and what you do. A great website gives you the credibility your business deserves.
Landing pages on the other hand form a crucial part of a wider marketing strategy. They can provide huge success when implemented as part of a wider sales funnel.
