Landing Page or Homepage – How to Choose the Right One?

Your website is more than just a digital storefront. A well-designed website helps you get more sales. Before that, you need to understand what you have and the difference between a landing page and a homepage.

Many businesses pay a large amount for landing page design services yet still send all their ad traffic to their homepage. This small mistake lowers sales and wastes ad money.

In this post, I will help you learn what each is, when you need one, and how a good web UX can grow your business.

What Is a Homepage?

Let’s get things clear first. A homepage is the main/core page of your site. The first thing visible upon entering your domain. It works like a front door that welcomes all visitors and helps them find what they want.

A homepage comes with a navigation menu, links to other pages, and a general overview of your brand. It tries to speak to many visitors at once. New customers, returning customers, job seekers, and people who just came and want to learn more about you.

The homepage serves too many goals at once; it displays what you do, what you offer, and your brand messaging. A home is not built for pushing one single action. It gives a general idea of the brand.

What Is a Landing Page?

On the other hand, A landing page is a single page made with one goal in mind. The purpose of the landing page is to make visitors take one clear action. It can be sign up, buy, download, or something else.

Unlike a homepage, a landing page most of the time doesn’t include any navigation bar. This is done to keep visitors focused on one action. Landing pages are often used for ad campaigns, new product testing, email promotions, or special offers.

For a landing page, every word, microcopy, image, and button is placed with meticulous strategy to guide users toward one purpose: getting the visitor to click that one button.

Landing Page vs. Homepage: Which One Converts Better?

This table will help you clear up confusion between a landing page and a homepage.

The table paints a clear picture. A website’s homepage tries too much and has many functional elements. While a landing page focuses on one job and does it well.

This is the reason landing pages are better for conversions than homepages. Landing pages achieve that by removing extra choices and friction.

When Your Website Needs a Landing Page?

Statistically, landing pages convert better, but not all websites need a landing page. There are more caveats in choosing a landing page and homepage.

• You need a landing page when you are:
• Running paid ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads)
• Launching a new product, service, or special offer
• Sending an email campaign and need a place for people to click
• Testing new messages or designs (A/B testing)
• Hosting a webinar or event and need sign-ups
• Checking a Minimum Viable Product

For context: If a clothing brand is running Facebook ads for a summer sale. Visitors from that campaign will get confused on the homepage.

This is where a landing page shines; it is built just for that sale. Landing pages provide clear messaging, a clear discount code, and a “Shop Now” button, and will get far better results.

When Is a Homepage Enough?

Most of the business runs on homepages; it provides a well-rounded answer and helps users browse before buying.

• A homepage works well when:
• Brand needs to build trust and awareness
• Visitors want to check out different parts of your business
• People search your brand name on Google
• Returning customers visit your website by typing the domain address

For example: If an internet user Googles “XYC Design Agency” after a friend referred them, they expect a homepage. In this type of situation, visitors can explore your menu, location, and story, not just one single offer.

Can You Use Both Together?

Yes, and most successful brands do so on their websites. You can do that by building your homepage around the brand and letting it help visitors explore freely. Publish a landing page specifically to capitalize on ads or campaigns.

Place them smartly, add a short element on the banner of your homepage that points to a current offer’s landing page, helps both pages support each other, and improves your overall SEO

Bottom line

Choosing between a landing page and a homepage is not that hard. If you want your visitors to do one thing or a specific action, then a landing page is the answer. Likewise, a homepage is a better option if your website has multiple purposes and you want to build trust by letting users roam.

Furthermore, you can get the best of both worlds. But having a homepage and a landing page for the same site can be tricky. I suggest you contact landing page design services; they can help you turn clicks into customers. Regardless of whether you need homepage design or landing page design.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is landing page are harder than the homepage?

Yes, landing pages are harder to make. A homepage has multiple elements and information to provide an idea of the business or brand. In contrast, the purpose of a landing page is to capture leads and convert. A good landing page design requires extensive UX research and expertise to work.

Is a landing page part of a website?

Yes, a landing page is one of the parts of a website, but in some cases a landing page is the full website.

Should my homepage be my landing page for ads?

No. Ads work best on a less crowded page. Your ads should have a dedicated destination or landing page to fully articulate the offer.

Does SEO help landing pages?

Yes, SEO not only helps landing pages but every webpage. Especially when done correctly, with proper SEO and keyword placement, landing pages can rank and bring in targeted traffic.

How many landing pages should a business have?

There is no fixed number. Many businesses create a new landing page for each major campaign or offer.