A website is the entrance through which people get to know your company and your services as a whole. A landing page (LP) is a single page that persuades visitors arriving from ads or social media to sign up for one specific product. If you want to sell a particular product through advertising, build the LP first; if you want to be trusted as a company and found in search, build the website first.
The two differ in their role and in the mindset of the reader
The difference between a website and an LP is not how they look, but their role and the mindset of the reader.
A website is where you build trust in your company. Across several pages, it conveys your company profile, services, track record, recruitment information and frequently asked questions. Readers arrive via your company name or through search, and take their time to compare and confirm.
An LP is where visitors decide to sign up for one product or campaign. People who arrive from an ad or a social media post read straight through and reach the sign-up button, all on a single page. These readers have just seen an ad and become interested, and they are still hesitating.
| Point of comparison | Website | Landing page (LP) |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Builds trust in the company and its services as a whole | Secures sign-ups for one product |
| Number of pages | Multiple pages | Basically one long vertical page |
| Readers | People who arrive via search or referral and want to compare and confirm | People who arrive from ads or social media and are still hesitating |
| Menu | Yes. Visitors can move to other pages | No. Paths other than signing up are kept to a minimum |
| Main traffic sources | Search, referrals, searches for the company name | Ads, social media, email campaigns |
| Update frequency | Regularly adding news and articles | Reviewing the numbers and improving headings and button wording |
| How results are measured | Number of visitors, number of enquiries | Sign-up rate |
Differences in structure lead to differences in results
A website should be built so visitors never get lost, whichever entrance they use
A website has many entrances: people who land on a service page from search, people who reach the top page via your company name, people looking for recruitment information. Whichever entrance they use, the menu and related links should be arranged so they can move on to the page they want to see next.
An LP should be built to reduce the exits that cause hesitation
An LP does not include a menu or links to other pages. The more exits there are, the more people leave before signing up. The flow of the page moves from the customer's problem, to the solution, the content of the product, the track record, frequently asked questions and finally the sign-up, so that reading through naturally leads to the sign-up button.
The writing style is different too
A website conveys information accurately across several pages. An LP creates, within a single page, a flow of writing that moves the reader emotionally. The focus is on headings and lead text that make readers feel it is about them and keep them reading.
Decide which to build first with four questions
You can decide which to build first with the following four questions.
- Do you have plans to run ads right now?
- Can you narrow down the product or service you want to sell to just one?
- If someone searches for your company name, is there a page to show them?
- Are there situations where business partners or job seekers judge you as a company?
Here is a guide to judging by your answers.
| Situation | What to build first | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| You will run ads soon. You are selling one product | LP | You can create a destination for your ads in the shortest time |
| There is no page to show when people search for your company name | Website | Without a foundation of trust, even people interested via an LP will leave |
| A new product launch or campaign has been decided | LP | The period and objective are narrowly defined, which suits an LP |
| You want a steady stream of enquiries from search | Website | You need to build up articles and pages |
| Business partners judge you as a company | Website | They can see your company profile and track record |
In many situations you need both
Most companies end up needing both. People who become interested through an LP search for the company name to check it before signing up. If there is no company website at that moment, they hold off on signing up. Conversely, if you run ads pointing only to your website, you end up showing all of your services, and it becomes harder to secure sign-ups for one specific product.
Common mistakes with websites and LPs
Using the website as the destination for ads
If you send people from an ad to your top page, readers have to search through the menu all over again, and they leave. The destination for an ad should be an LP that matches the content of the ad, or a service page.
Trying to convey the company's credibility with the LP alone
If you cram company information into an LP, it becomes far too long. Put detailed explanations of your company profile and track record on the website, and show only the minimum amount of credibility needed for a sign-up on the LP.
Putting several products on one LP
An LP delivers results precisely because it focuses on one product. If you include several products, readers cannot choose and they leave. Create a separate LP for each product.
Treating the build as the finish line
Both LPs and websites grow their results when you look at the numbers after launch and make improvements. For an LP, check what percentage of visitors from ads went on to sign up, and revise the headings and button wording. For a website, look at visitor numbers and enquiry numbers, and keep adding articles and pages.
How to think about cost
Because websites and LPs differ in scope, the way you think about costs differs too.
For a website, the cost depends on the number of pages. For Merci Ltd.'s made-to-order production, the initial cost starts from 250,000 yen (about 5 pages), from 500,000 yen (about 10 pages) and from 800,000 yen (about 20 pages), with a monthly fee from 3,000 yen. For AI-led site-factory, the initial cost starts from 30,000 yen and the monthly fee from 7,000 yen (excluding tax).
For an LP, the cost varies with the content and the volume. A guide to pricing when combined with website production is given on our pricing and plans page. We also accept requests for an LP on its own, or as an addition to an existing website.
A guide to the right order
If you are building for the first time, the following order is the easiest to work through.
- Decide what you are selling. If you can narrow it down to one product, make that the subject of the LP
- If you are going to run ads, build the LP first. Before spending on advertising, confirm that the LP can win sign-ups
- In parallel with the LP, prepare a minimal website. Four pages are enough: top, services, company profile and contact
- Look at the LP's numbers and apply the angles that got the best response to your website's top page and service pages as well
- To attract visitors from search, keep adding articles to your website
Once you know which angle tested on the LP works, you can polish the wording on your website to match.
Examples of combinations by objective
How you combine a website and an LP changes with your business objective.
| Business examples | Role of the website | Role of the LP |
|---|---|---|
| Schools and courses | Conveys the atmosphere of the school and its instructors | Wins sign-ups for trial sessions |
| Construction and housing | Shows past projects and the company's credibility | Wins sign-ups for free consultations or open house events |
| Mail order | Shows the brand's philosophy and the full product range | Gets visitors to buy one flagship product |
| Professional and advisory services | Conveys areas of expertise and the character of the firm | Wins first consultations aimed at a specific concern |
| Careers | Conveys what the company is really like | Invites people to attend an information session |
In every example, the LP focuses on one action, while the website's role is to show a wide range of credibility. People who want to look into the company before pressing the sign-up button on the LP move on to the website. Making it possible to move between the two means you will not lose people who are hesitating. That said, do not place a menu inside the LP; simply add a small link to the company information at the very end of the page.
Using the numbers to spot when to add more
If you already have one of the two, the numbers can tell you what to add.
- Your website gets plenty of visitors, but few enquiries. Add an LP aimed at sign-ups for a specific product
- Your ads get plenty of clicks, but few sign-ups. Review the LP's copy and structure. If that still does not improve things, your company's credibility is lacking, so strengthen the track record and case studies on your website
- You get many searches for your company name, but few enquiries. Review the company profile and track record on your website
Deciding what to add based on the numbers lets you avoid spending on pages you do not need.
FAQ
If you are selling a specific product through advertising, you will get better results with an LP. A website is built to convey several kinds of information, so people arriving from an ad find it harder to get as far as signing up.
You create an LP for each product or campaign. You can also create several LPs with different angles on the same product and compare the response.
Yes. The usual approach is to place it in the same location as the website, as an independent single page with no menu.
Even without advertising, it can be used as the page you send people to from email campaigns or social media posts. However, for being found naturally through search, a website or articles are better suited.
Yes. If you order website production and LP production together, the pages that build your company's credibility and the pages that win sign-ups can be created under the same approach.
You can see how LPs are built and how the process works on our LP production page
A website and an LP are tools with different purposes. We will ask about what you want to sell and your advertising plans, then advise you on which to start with in your case. You can find full details of the LP production process, how design proposals are presented and post-launch improvements on our LP production page.
