Quick answer: build a landing page first if you are sending people to it from an ad, a message or a link on a van, and you want one thing from them, like a call or a quote request. Build a website first if people find you by searching, if you sell more than one thing, or if they look you up before they get in touch. Most small businesses end up with both. What changes is the order.
Below is what each one actually is, a table that settles the choice for most situations, what both look like when they are done well, and the mistakes that cost the most.
What is the difference between a landing page and a website?
A landing page is one page with one job. Someone arrives, reads it from top to bottom, and either calls, fills in the form or leaves. There is usually no menu, because a menu is a way out. A website is several pages that each answer a different question: what you sell, who you are, what your work looks like, how to reach you.
Same business, same phone number, different jobs. The landing page is a conversation with a person who already knows why they clicked. The website is the shop front for everyone else.
When a landing page is enough
A landing page is the right first build when three things are true.
- You know where the visitors come from: an ad, a message you send, a QR code on a van, a link in your bio
- You are selling one thing, or one thing at a time
- The next step is simple: call, book, ask for a quote
It is also the faster build. One page means one set of photos, one block of text and one form to test. What holds most builds up is waiting for content, and one page is a week of waiting instead of five.
What a single page does badly is get found for more than one search. One page can rank for one service in one town. It cannot rank for nine services in six towns, because each of those searches needs a page that answers it.
When you need a website
A website earns its extra pages in three situations.
- People search for what you do. Each service and each town you cover can be its own page, and each page can answer one search
- You sell several different things, so one page would either squeeze them together or leave most of them out
- Your customers check you out before they commit, which is common for anything that costs real money or means letting someone into their home
The third one is easy to miss. Someone about to hire a plumber, a builder or a photographer will often look at the work, the reviews and the about page before they pick up the phone. A landing page tells them what to do. A website helps them decide whether to. We wrote about that gap in why people still ask for your website even when your social is doing well.
Your situation, and what to build first
| If this is you | Build this first |
|---|---|
| You are about to run an ad or send a campaign for one offer | A landing page |
| Your customers search for what you do and where you do it | A website |
| You offer one service, or one offer for the next few months | A landing page |
| You offer several services, or cover several towns | A website |
| People ask to see your site before they hire you | A website |
| You need enquiries this month and have nothing online yet | A landing page, then the website |
If your answers point both ways, that is normal. It usually means you want the middle path below.
The middle path: one page now, the rest as it earns its place
The plan that suits most small businesses is the boring one. Put up one strong page this week, aimed at the people you already reach. Then add a page for each service, then each town, then the questions people keep asking, in whatever order the enquiries tell you.
Two things make this work. The landing page should sit on the domain you will use for the full site, so nothing you build is thrown away. And it should be built as the first page of that site rather than as a separate thing, so the later pages slot in around it instead of replacing it.
What it looks like on a real one
Alex runs a plumbing and heating business in Almelo, in the Netherlands. His site has nine service pages, a separate page for each town he covers, a gallery of photographs from jobs he actually did, and a Dutch and English toggle. It is a website, not a landing page, because his customers type what they need and the name of their town into a search bar, and every one of those searches needs a page to land on.
He did not start with all of that. He started with the pages that answered the questions he heard most and added the rest as each one earned its place.
And the other end of the scale
Villa Serayu is a concept we built to show what a single page can do. It is not a client. It has no menu. As you scroll, a drone film moves from the pool through the living room to the sunset terrace, and then the page walks you through the rooms, the specs and the location. One property, one decision, one page. You can open it here and judge for yourself, or see it next to our other work on the portfolio page.
Four mistakes that cost the most
Sending ad traffic to a home page. Someone who clicks an ad is not looking for your menu. A home page with eight options sends them in eight directions. Send them to a page that matches the ad and has one button.
Building a landing page and expecting Google to find it. A single page is a poor place to be found for several services. If you want search traffic, plan for the pages that catch it.
Hiding the way to reach you. Whichever you build, the phone number or the button should be visible on a phone without scrolling. Nobody hunts for it.
Waiting for the perfect version. A good page live this week beats a full site next quarter. The enquiries you miss while you wait do not come back.
Your checklist before you decide
- You can say in one sentence what the page or the site is for
- You know where the visitors will come from
- You know what you want each visitor to do next
- There is at least one photo of real work on it
- A phone number or button is visible on a phone screen without scrolling
- The page people land on matches the ad or message that sent them
- You have decided who answers the enquiries, and how fast
- You have a way to count calls and form submissions, even if it is a paper tally
Questions people ask
Is a landing page a website?
Technically it is a one page website. In practice the difference is the job. A landing page has one goal and usually no menu. A website has several pages for several jobs.
Can a landing page replace my website?
For some businesses, for a while. If you offer one thing and your customers come from referrals or ads, one page can carry you. It stops working when you need to be found for more than one service, or when people check you out before they call.
Which gets me enquiries faster?
A landing page, because it is quicker to build and built around a single action. It depends on you sending people to it, though. It will not collect visitors by itself.
Do I need a landing page if I already have a website?
Sometimes. If you run an ad or a campaign for one particular offer, a dedicated page usually works better than your home page, because the visitor lands on exactly what the ad promised.
Is a one page website good for SEO?
It can rank for one service in one town. It cannot cover several services or several towns, because each search needs a page that answers it.
How long does a landing page take to build?
The building is quick. The content is what takes time: the photos, the text and the one clear offer. When those are ready, a page comes together in days, not months.
Where to start
Write down where your next ten customers will come from. If the answer is an ad or a message you send, you need the landing page. If the answer is Google, you need the website. If you cannot answer, start with the website, because it covers more ground while you find out.
If you would rather not build it yourself, the websites and online stores page sets out what each size includes, the pricing page has the costs, and the portfolio shows finished ones. If the page is live and nobody is landing on it, the problem is upstream, which is what video ads and UGC content are for. Everything is at giusmastery.com.
