What‘s the Difference Between Landing Page vs Website? The Complete Guide

As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience creating websites and landing pages, one of the most common questions I get is: should I create a landing page or build out a full website?

Both options have important benefits depending on your specific goals, audience, and business model. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll do a deep dive into the key differences between landing pages and websites so you can make the best choice.

I‘ll also provide step-by-step instructions on how to create high-converting landing pages and optimized websites in WordPress.

Let‘s get started!

What Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a standalone web page that has a singular, focused purpose or conversion goal. For example, a landing page may try to:

• Generate leads with an email signup form
• Promote registration for a webinar
• Launch a new product or service
• Display a promotion or contest

According to HubSpot, the average landing page conversion rate is between 2-3%. However, an optimized page can reach conversion rates over 12%.

Landing pages play a key role in marketing and advertising campaigns. The singular conversion focus allows you to craft elements like headlines, copy, design, and calls-to-action to most effectively convert visitors.

Common Types of Landing Pages

Here are some of the most popular types of landing pages businesses use:

• Lead generation – Landing pages with an email signup box, contact information form, or other lead capture element. I‘ve used many of these over the years to collect thousands of leads.

• Webinar registration – Pages promoting an upcoming webinar with registration and scheduling options. Great for driving live event attendance.

• Product or service launch – Pages that exclusively promote and explain an incoming new product, service, or brand. Time these with launch campaigns.

• Discount or promotion – Landing pages highlighting special limited-time discounts or promotional offers beyond what you normally provide.

• App downloads – Pages that focus specifically on getting visitors to download your mobile or web app. App download landing pages have an average conversion rate around 4.31% based on WordStream data.

• Email subscription – Somewhat similar to lead gen, these capture emails exclusively for newsletter signup rather than all contact information.

Optimized, focused landing pages are highly effective at turning visitors into leads and customers. Just be sure to steer clear of overly promotional or salesy language. The key is finding the right balance between selling and providing value.

What Is a Website?

In contrast to a standalone landing page, a website consists of multiple pages covering different topics and conversion goals.

While a landing page has a single focus, website pages can have diverse purposes. A small business website may contain pages like:

• Homepage
• About Us
• Blog
• Services Offered
• Products
• Contact Us
• FAQs

According to BuildFire, the average small business website conversion rate is about 2% on average. However, this varies based on traffic sources and page quality.

The goal of a website is to share helpful information that attracts and engages visitors. However, individual pages may still optimize conversions for things like purchases, subscriptions, content downloads, etc.

Websites allow you to establish a broader, more comprehensive online presence that caters to diverse audiences. Visitors looking for general information can browse your content before converting.

Key Differences Between Landing Pages vs Websites

Let‘s summarize some of the main differences between landing pages and websites:

Landing Page	Website
Single page and conversion goal	Multiple pages with different goals
Focused, conversion-centric design	Flexible design to accommodate diverse content
Quick to create (under 1 hour)	More time intensive to create content and pages
Used for campaigns and promotions	Better for branded presence across topics
Top conversion rate around 12%	Average conversion rate around 2%

When Should You Use Each?

So when should you go the landing page route versus developing a website?

Landing pages make sense when you want to:

• Promote something specifically like an event, new product, sale, etc.
• Run a short-term conversion campaign through ads or email
• Keep the main focus on converting visitors rather than elaborate content

Websites are likely the better choice when you want:

• An established brand presence covering different products or services
• Ongoing content publishing through blogging and news updates
• To share a lot of in-depth information across different categories

The great news is WordPress makes it easy to start with a landing page to test an idea, then evolve it into a full website over time. You can also run isolated landing pages as part of a broader website presence.

Next let‘s go over how to create both landing pages and websites using WordPress.

How to Create a High-Converting Landing Page in WordPress

Let‘s look at how to make an effective, professional landing page using WordPress in just a few steps.

Choose a Domain Name and Web Hosting

The first step is purchasing a domain name for your landing page along with web hosting.

Your domain is the address people will type in to access your page, like yoursite.com.

Web hosting provides the actual server space to host and display your landing page files and site.

My recommendation for beginners is starting with shared WordPress hosting from a provider like Bluehost. The current price is just $2.75 per month if you sign up for a 36-month plan.

Bluehost and other popular hosts like SiteGround or WP Engine will install WordPress for you with one click. I‘ve used Bluehost for many client sites due to their affordable pricing, extensive WordPress resources, and reliable performance.

Install a Landing Page Builder Plugin

You can create landing pages directly in WordPress using page templates. However, a dedicated landing page builder plugin like SeedProd makes it even easier.

SeedProd is my top recommendation for creating WordPress landing pages:

SeedProd lets you build landing pages using drag-and-drop sections and over 180 pre-made templates. You can quickly customize fonts, colors, padding, forms, and other elements without coding.

After installing and activating the SeedProd plugin, go to the admin menu and click "Add New Landing Page" to get started.

Choose a Pre-Made Template

One of my favorite parts of SeedProd is the ability to start with professionally designed templates.

Browse through the template categories like Lead Generation, Sales, Bonus or Discount, etc. to find an optimal one for your goal:

Hover over a template preview then click "Choose This Template" to use it. You can also start from a blank canvas and design your own.

Out of the box, these templates follow industry best practices for conversions. They take care of stylish design so you can focus on personalizing the content.

Customize Sections and Content

Once you select a template, SeedProd‘s drag-and-drop editor makes personalization easy.

Click directly on any content blocks or sections to open the left sidebar. Here you can:

• Change text fonts, sizes, colors
• Swap in your own images
• Adjust padding and spacing

Additional elements like opt-in forms, counters, and buttons can be added by dragging them onto the page:

The key is crafting a page that speaks directly to your target audience and guides them to your conversion goal.

Connect to Email and Analytics

To collect leads from your landing page, SeedProd integrates directly with top email marketing and analytics tools like:

• MailChimp
• Constant Contact
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Pixel

Go to the Integrations panel, select your desired tool, and follow the prompts to connect accounts.

You can then capture form submissions right in your connected CRM or email platform.

Publish and Promote Your Page

Once your new landing page looks perfect, click "Save" then "Publish" to make it live.

You can then start driving visitors to your page by:

• Sharing the link on social media
• Running ads pointing to the page
• Promoting through email lists or partners
• Reaching out to influencers

Monitor conversion metrics to see which referral channels deliver the most leads. Adjust your promotions based on what performs best.

How to Create a Complete WordPress Website

If you need an entire professional website rather than a single landing page, WordPress is my top recommendation, hands down.

Let‘s look at how to make an effective WordPress site for your business or brand:

Get WordPress Hosting and Domain

As with a landing page, your first step is purchasing a domain name and signing up for WordPress hosting. I recommend options like Bluehost that provide optimized WordPress environments.

Once your account is setup, you can immediately install WordPress with a single click.

Create Website Pages and Menus

After logging into your WordPress dashboard, go to Pages > Add New to create your first page.

Some important pages for most business websites include:

• Homepage
• About Us
• Services
• Contact Us
• Blog

The WordPress editor makes it easy to add titles, text, images, videos, and other content to each page.

Arrange your pages into menus that site visitors can use to navigate through your content. Menus are managed under Appearance > Menus.

Install a Theme for Design and Layout

Next, choose a WordPress theme to control the look, layout, and functionality of your site. I recommend exploring both free and premium theme options.

Some of my top picks for business websites include:

Free Themes:

• Astra – highly customizable free theme
• GeneratePress – great minimal theme that loads quickly

Premium Themes:

• Divi – extremely flexible visual builder theme
• Thrive Themes – suite of conversion-focused themes

Check out different demos to find the best visual design and features for your industry.

Install Essential WordPress Plugins

While WordPress provides core site functionality, plugins extend the capabilities even further.

Some essential plugins for business sites include:

• WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads for ecommerce
• Yoast SEO for optimizing pages for search
• Google Analytics for tracking website analytics
• OptinMonster for lead generation popups

Browse the WordPress plugin library for hundreds of free and paid plugins to enhance your site.

Launch and Promote Your Website

Once your WordPress website looks perfect, it‘s time to launch! Here are some promotion strategies:

• Submit a sitemap to search engines for indexing
• Share your new site on social media
• Produce blog and news content
• Run online ads pointing to your site
• Reach out to influencers and past customers

Carefully monitor traffic metrics and on-site conversions. Adjust pages and promotions to maximize results.

The key is continually A/B testing site design and blog content to increase returns from your investment.

Which Should You Choose: Landing Page or Website?

So when should you go the landing page route versus developing out an entire website?

Based on my professional experience, here are some guidelines:

Landing Pages are best when you want to:

• Advertise or launch something new like a product, service, event, etc.
• Run a campaign for a limited time
• Drive conversions without needing a lot of supporting content

Websites make more sense when you want:

• An established online presence with in-depth information
• Ongoing lead generation and sales
• To share company information across diverse pages

Again, the great part about WordPress is you don‘t necessarily have to limit yourself to just one or the other. You may find it makes sense to start with a landing page, then expand to a full website later.

You can also run standalone landing pages for specific promotions as part of a broader website.

Tips for Optimizing and Promoting Either Site Type

Here are some best practices I‘ve learned from managing many websites and landing pages over the years:

For landing pages:

• Keep forms short with only essential fields to maximize conversions
• Limit distractions and keep the focus on your CTA
• Use high-quality lifestyle photos and visuals
• Personalize copy to speak directly to your target audience
• Test different headlines, offers, designs, etc. to improve conversion rates

For websites:

• Regularly publish new blog content and updates to attract search traffic
• Include calls-to-action across different pages to capture leads
• Optimize technical elements like site speed, mobile responsiveness, SEO
• Promote your brand and content through social media
• Send email newsletters with links back to your content

No matter which option you choose, the key is continually testing and optimizing based on performance data. Track critical metrics like load times, lead capture rates, sales, and profit to maximize your ROI long-term.

Next Steps and Additional Resources

I hope this complete guide helped explain the difference between landing pages and websites in WordPress.

To recap, start with a landing page if you want a quick promotion focused on conversions. Use a website when you need an established online presence across diverse topics and goals.

For more tips on growing your online business with WordPress, check out my website and subscribe to receive more exclusive content.

What approach will you take? Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!