Landing Page vs. Website: When to Use Each & What Works Best
Quick Summary
Landing pages and websites serve fundamentally different purposes in your digital strategy. While websites act as comprehensive brand hubs for exploration, landing pages are precision conversion tools designed for specific goals. This guide breaks down the key differences, shows when to use each, and reveals how combining both strategically can maximize your marketing results. To explore our resources, visit our blog.
Why This Confusion Costs Businesses Conversions
Landing pages convert at 6.6% median across industries, while homepages typically convert at just 2-5%. Yet 44% of B2B companies still direct paid traffic to their homepage instead of dedicated landing pages. This approach wastes budget and dilutes conversion potential.
The difference here isn’t just semantics; it directly impacts your bottom line, and understanding when to use a landing page versus a website means the difference between maximizing every dollar spent on traffic and watching potential leads slip away.
In this Growform guide, we’ll explain the core differences between landing pages and websites, show when each makes strategic sense, and outline how to leverage both for the highest ROI.
Why Listen to Us?
At Growform, we specialize in landing page optimization, particularly forms, which are the highest-friction conversion point on any page. We’ve helped thousands of businesses understand which page type drives results for specific goals, and we’ve seen firsthand how the right choice transforms conversion rates.
Landing Page vs. Website: An Overview
Landing pages and websites serve different roles in your digital strategy. A landing page is a targeted, single-purpose page designed to drive a specific action, while a website acts as a broader brand hub, offering multiple pathways for exploration.
The distinction is strategic: landing pages maximize conversions for campaigns, and websites provide context, credibility, and ongoing engagement for visitors. Understanding this difference ensures each page type is used effectively to support your marketing goals.
What Is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a single, standalone web page designed to drive a specific action. It appears as part of a marketing campaign, ads, email, or targeted promotions, and removes distractions so visitors can complete the intended goal.
Key Features
- Single, focused conversion goal
- No navigation menu or exit points, but CTAs instead
- Created for specific campaigns or audiences
- Temporary or campaign-specific
- Targeted messaging for a specific segment
Example:
A solar company runs Facebook ads promoting “Free Solar Panel Quote.” Clicking the ad leads to a dedicated page featuring one form, testimonials from homeowners, and a single call-to-action: “Get Your Free Quote.” There’s no navigation menu, no blog links, and no “About Us” section—just a clear path to conversion.
Pros
- Higher conversion rates
- Perfect for paid campaigns
- Highly targeted messaging
- Easy to test and optimize
- Ideal for audience segmentation
Cons
- Not suitable for broad exploration
- Needs multiple versions for multiple audiences
- Not designed for SEO indexing
What Is a Website (or Homepage)?
A homepage is the central hub of your website, designed to guide visitors to various sections like services, about pages, and contact forms. It provides an overview of your business and works for both new visitors discovering your brand and returning customers looking for specific information.
Key Features
- Multiple navigation options
- Broad overview of business and brand
- Serves diverse visitor intents
- Permanent online presence
- Multiple CTAs and paths
Example:
The same solar company’s homepage showcases all services (residential solar, commercial installations, and battery storage), features an “About” page, includes a blog, highlights customer success stories, explains financing options, and offers multiple CTAs like “Learn More,” “See Pricing,” and “Contact Us.”
Pros
- Strong for SEO and organic traffic
- Ideal for multi-product businesses
- Supports returning customers
- Builds credibility and brand trust
Cons
- Lower conversion rates for paid traffic
- Too many options can cause decision paralysis
- Not optimized for single campaigns
The 6 Key Differences Between Landing Pages and Websites
Landing pages and website homepages are distant cousins, and here’s exactly what separates them:
1. Purpose: Single Goal vs. Multiple Objectives
Landing pages are built for one specific conversion action: capturing webinar signups, generating demo requests, driving purchases, or securing downloads. Every element on the page supports that single goal.
Websites and homepages serve multiple purposes simultaneously. They introduce brand identity, showcase your product range, provide educational content, support existing customers, and enable various user journeys.
The impact on results is clear: Landing pages that use a single call to action at an average conversion rate of 13.5%, compared to just 10.5% for pages with five or more CTAs. Every additional option dilutes focus and reduces conversions.
Example:
A CRM software landing page displays one option: “Start Free Trial.” That’s it. The same company’s homepage offers five different CTAs competing for attention: “Start Free Trial,” “Watch Demo,” “See Pricing,” “Read Case Studies,” and “Contact Sales.”
2. Navigation: Eliminated vs. Essential
Landing pages remove navigation menus to keep visitors focused on the primary conversion goal. By limiting exit points, they reduce decision paralysis and prevent distractions. The only links are the primary CTA and legally required links like privacy policies.
Websites and homepages depend on navigation as their backbone. Menus guide visitors through multiple sections, help them find specific information, support diverse user intents, and remain critical for SEO and site structure. Effective navigation ensures a smooth browsing experience but can divide attention if misused.
3. Traffic Source: Paid/Targeted vs. Organic/Diverse
Landing pages are designed for controlled, paid traffic sources like PPC campaigns (Google Ads, Facebook Ads), email marketing campaigns, social media ads, and QR codes or offline marketing. You control the message in your ad, so you control visitor expectations. The landing page matches that specific promise.
Websites and homepages, by contrast, attract a broader mix of visitors: organic search, direct traffic from people typing your URL, referral links, and word-of-mouth visitors. Each arrives with different expectations and intent.
There’s also an SEO difference: Landing pages used for paid campaigns are typically set to “noindex,” which means search engines can’t crawl, index, or rank them. This prevents organic traffic from diluting campaign performance measurement. Homepages, however, are always indexed and SEO-optimized—they’re your primary search presence.
4. Messaging: Hyper-Targeted vs. Broad Appeal
Landing pages speak directly to a specific audience segment. They use the language and pain points of that exact group, address specific objections, and match the promise from the traffic source.
Example: A company selling HR software might create separate landing pages for “HR software for restaurants,” “HR software for healthcare providers,” and “HR software for retail.” Each page highlights industry-specific benefits and solutions, even though the underlying product is the same.
Websites and homepages, on the other hand, must speak to a broader audience. They rely on general value propositions, cover multiple industries, and provide information for various customer segments without assuming specific context or intent. This approach ensures all visitors can navigate and understand the brand, but it lacks the targeted precision of a dedicated landing page.
5. Lifespan: Temporary vs. Permanent
Landing pages are campaign-specific and may be temporary sometimes. They can be created for specific offers or promotions, remain active during the campaign duration, and get retired when the campaign ends. In fact, 48% of marketers build new landing pages for different campaigns.
Websites and homepages, on the other hand, provide a permanent online presence. They are continuously updated but always active, representing your ongoing brand identity with evergreen content and information.
Think of it this way: a Black Friday landing page exists for just one month, while your homepage exists 365 days a year, supporting long-term brand recognition and discovery.
6. Number of Pages: Multiple vs. Single
Landing pages should be created in multiples for different purposes. The data is compelling:
- Sites with 10-15 landing pages get 55% more leads than those with fewer than 10
- Sites with 40+ landing pages generate 12 times more conversions—a 500% increase
Different audiences need different pages. Each campaign deserves its own dedicated landing page.
Websites typically have one per business (though some companies may have sub-brand sites). The homepage acts as the central hub for everything.
When to Use a Landing Page
Understanding the differences between landing pages and websites is one thing; knowing when to deploy each is what drives results.
Running Paid Advertising Campaigns
Every dollar spent on ads needs maximum conversion potential. Landing pages deliver better ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) than homepages. Whether you’re running Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn campaigns, a dedicated landing page will outperform your homepage every time.
Promoting Specific Offers or Events
Landing pages excel for webinar registrations, limited-time promotions, product launches, free trials or demos, and downloadable resources like ebooks or whitepapers. The focused nature matches the specific offer perfectly.
Targeting Specific Audience Segments
When campaigns require industry-specific solutions, role-based messaging (CEOs vs. Marketing Managers), geographic campaigns, or content tailored to different customer journey stages, landing pages allow you to speak directly to that segment without diluting your message.
Email Marketing Campaigns
Email-driven landing pages achieve the highest average conversion rate at 19.3%. Every email campaign should have a corresponding landing page. Message consistency from email to page is critical for maintaining the connection and driving conversions.
Testing and Optimization
Landing pages are perfect for A/B testing specific elements, measuring campaign performance with controlled conversion tracking, and isolating variables for improvement.
Example:
A SaaS company runs LinkedIn ads targeting “Project Management for Marketing Teams.” They create a landing page featuring marketing-specific team use cases, testimonials from marketing directors, and a form asking about team size and current tools. This page converts at 14.2%.
The same company’s homepage, trying to appeal to all teams, converts at just 4.1%. The difference comes down to specificity, focus, and relevance.
When to Use a Website/Homepage
Building Brand Awareness
Homepages work best for first-time visitors discovering your business, organic search traffic, people researching your company name, and establishing overall credibility and professionalism.
Serving Existing Customers
Your website provides support resources and documentation, account login portals, product updates and announcements, and other resources that current customers need regularly.
SEO and Organic Discovery
Homepages function as the primary hub for your SEO efforts, ensuring you rank across multiple keywords. They attract more links than any other page on your website. They’re essential for content marketing, blogging, and long-tail keyword targeting.
Multiple Product/Service Offerings
When you need to showcase your full product catalog, compare different plans or packages, create cross-selling and upselling opportunities, or provide educational content about various solutions, your website handles this complexity better than landing pages.
Unknown or Diverse Visitor Intent
Homepages accommodate visitors arriving through direct traffic, referral links, word-of-mouth, or general industry research. They provide context and multiple navigation paths for exploration, unlike a focused landing page.
Ready to Build Better Landing Pages With Growform?
Understanding the difference between landing pages and websites is just the first step. The element that truly makes or breaks conversions is your form. Whether it’s your first dedicated landing page or you’re scaling to 40+ pages, forms are where visitors either convert or abandon.
Growform’s multi-step forms with conditional logic transform long questionnaires into smooth, conversation-like experiences that capture qualified leads without overwhelming users. Our forms integrate seamlessly with thousands of tools, including your CRM, email platforms, and marketing automation software, so you can deploy dedicated landing pages for every campaign while keeping workflows automated.
Start a free Growform trial today and create multi-step, conversion-optimized forms in minutes; no coding required.