The real difference between them is their purpose. So let’s take a deeper dive into each of them.
A Website
A website is a really and online brochure, an eCommerce website is a place to browse and buy products – both are supposed to be full of content and encourage the audience to view, browse and seek information. The website is made up many pages that sits in a menu and should include the “About Us” section which is for brand building as well as other pages such as and explanation of your services, showcase different categories of products (depending on what the purpose of your website is), Contact us – all this belongs on a website.
Landing Page
Now landing pages were created when online marketing started to boom. A landing page is solely focused on a specific campaign or offer with one goal in mind. No distractions, no extra anything. A clear and direct message with a desired result of click the call to action (that the business owner wants) and there is no other option!
The Main Difference
So, we can say the main difference between a website and a landing page is the intention behind why it’s created. Because both tools are great if used properly, but can also prove a huge waste of time and money if used wrong.
A website will always be better for explaining your brand to the audience and provide them with information that would answer any question they might have for you. But, by being filled with lots of general information, it’s very hard to customize it, or to have a single call to action or message directed to a certain group of people.
But a landing page will let you do just that: have a dedicated link where people will only receive one message, one call to action. Whatever you want them to take away the second they click on that link, they will. And nothing else.
Functionality
as websites normally feature scroll down menus and multiple modules, in opposition to landing pages, which usually has very specific text and images that relate to one storyline related to one item and will include a a sign up form related to that call to action.
Now a landing page could seem to have several pages, but this could be a multipage form that collects data and offers clickable otoins but it is still a landing page
due to the purpose behind it.
Navigation
With a landing page, the navigation is limited compared to a website because the goal it to set to one outcome. The landing page woudl stil lneed to be hosted, so it often on a website but it is not part of the navgiation.
A landing page could, in fact, be the whole website if you chose not to create a website. Again, the website is for branding purposes and is not intended for quick sales.
Measurement
Google Ads would like to use a landing page for its advertising. The reason being it can set event and tracking to help with assessing the ROI (return on investment). Code is added to the page and is set to be the “landing page” for the advertisements link to “land” when someone clicks on the CTA.
So in conclusion, it is the purpose of them that makes them different. However, since that is the case so should the design and communication of each tactic. They should be treated differently when creating them, so they align as a cohesive piece of digital marketing that achieves the set objectives of the business.
If you would like to discuss how to use a landing page in your digital marketing strategy, please reach out by completing the Get Started form and we can book a Discovery Call