Landing pages versus homepages – which should you design and what’s the difference between them? Matter of fact is there any difference between a landing page and a homepage or are they different words for the same thing?
Let’s get the definition out of the way first.
A landing page allows visitors to accomplish a specific goal. All design on the landing page moves traffic to a specific call to action.
A landing page is an umbrella term that includes any web page where visitors arrive at your website. So yes, a homepage is one type of landing page. But there are critical differences that matter to your business.
What’s the difference between a landing page and a homepage?
The main difference between a landing page and a homepage is the design and the purpose.
You design the two with completely different goals or purposes in mind: The homepage of your site sets the stage. A landing page allows visitors to accomplish a specific goal.
Typically a homepage will provide multiple offers, give visitors an easy jumping-off point to different pages on your site, or promote your current marketing campaign or product launch.
Examples of Homepage Versus Landing Page
Let’s look at the tech giant, Apple as a prime example of a homepage compared to a landing page that they use to make product sales.
Apple’s Homepage
Their homepage changes every month or so because they use for two purposes:
- Promote their current product campaign
- As a silo page to navigate to their various products
Their current product campaign is the promotion of the iPhone 14, so the first two sections on their homepage is dedicated to this product.
The rest of the homepage links out to the rest of their products.
This is a typical homepage design and can serve as a cornerstone to a well-designed website.
Image Source: Apple.com, 1/11/2023
An Apple Landing Page
Here’s an example of a landing page that’s not the homepage. It serves a singular purpose: to drive demand for the product.
Actually, this landing page is currently getting traffic from Google Ads, but you can’t navigate to the page using the homepage menu.
It’s not a page where you actually buy the product. But it’s at the phase in the sales funnel where the prospective buyer is considering a purchase.
So you’ll notice that the call to action is clear: Watch a Video (“the film” or the “event”.
It’s the information on this landing page, plus the video that Apple is using to convince the buyer that the iPhone 14 is the correct product for them.
You will notice the landing is different from the homepage in two ways. The landing page:
- Has one objective with a single call to action.
- Includes only content that supports its single objective.
Image Source: https://www.apple.com/iphone-14/
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