So…maybe you have heard the term landing page thrown around, but you are not quite sure what all the fuss is about.

I mean…do you really need one?

What are they even used for?

How can a landing page actually help you?

How does it even work?

I get it. The first time I heard about landing pages, it was something new that I had to learn.

Having questions is a normal part of any learning process. But don’t worry, you are not alone.

Let’s take a journey into the world of landing pages.

What is a landing page?

A landing page should be defined clearly and simply. According to LeadPages, a landing page is “a page on a website that is specifically designed to prompt visitors to take a single next action.”

If you look at a website, and focus on a single page, that would be considered a landing page. A website is made up of many landing pages. Each page has a specific purpose.

The biggest difference between a website and a landing page though is when a visitor lands on a website, they have multiple options. These options could distract the visitor and then the person ultimately leaves without taking any actions.

Let’s take my website for example. We can do this because I have a goal to update my website soon.

Plus, taking the time to go through this will only help me to improve my site design.

So, let’s say you land on my website…

You can see a lot of options (and potential distractions) on this website.

Let me count the ways…

• Business Resources Membership site – The first thing you may see is the banner offering the membership site.
• 9 Options to choose from – Along the top of the website, you have your choice from the Home page to books to “I want to” options. Overall, there are 9 to choose from.
• Video – With the video, you could watch my intro where I explain my website and how to navigate it.
• Business Resources newsletter – Across from the video, there is an option to sign up for this newsletter.
• Articles – Then you have your choice of recent articles to choose from.
• Social Media – In the top of the website, you have social media buttons that could show you different social media pages from Facebook to LinkedIn. Then in the bottom left, you can see my Facebook page feed for more options.
• Search Box – In the bottom right, you have a search box so if you still don’t see what you are looking for among those options, you could search the whole website.

Of course, I like for you to stop by and spend time on my website. But, with that main page, do you see how a visitor could lose sight or be distracted?

Then add in the fact that people spend “47 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they are doing” (Healthline).

With all that, it may be hard to…umm…focus. 😉

And this is why landing pages are important.

When you use a landing page, the goal is…focus. You want to guide the customer (or potential customer) towards a specific action. And you don’t want any distractions taking away from that.

With attention spans growing shorter, you must engage while you have their attention.

Next, we will explore ways landing pages can be used.

What are they used for?

What are landing pages used for?

When you use a landing page, you typically have one goal in mind. These pages help you to focus your messaging to your audience to meet that goal.

So, we explored an website example. Now, let’s look at a landing page example.

This is just one example. You can find even more templates when you visit the LeadPages website. This will give you an idea of all the various types of landing pages available.

But back to the example…

There is more to this template, but we are just looking at the top portion of the page. This is also called “above the fold”. It is the part of the page a visitor sees before they scroll down the page.

This is where you make your first impression and focus your message.

In the example, the company is selling a business card template. You can see this right away.

They start with a headline to capture your attention.

Then they display the price.

They provide some additional information to explain how the business card template could help you.

Last, they provide a button with a call-to-action, Buy Now.

When you compare this example to the example of my website, you can really see the difference in the focus.

This example has no distractions and a visitor immediately knows the goal of this page.

The landing page guides the visitor towards making the purchase.

This would be an example of a sales page.

But, that is not the only way to use a landing page.

You can use landing pages for…

• Lead capture or opt-in pages – Capture visitor contact information to build an email marketing list or gain email subscribers for your newsletter.
• Launch – Introduce a new product or service to your customers.
• Sales – Like the example above, to sell a product or service.
• Webinar – Use to get visitors to sign up for a webinar or watch a webinar replay.
• Video – Create a page to display videos or even use multiple pages to create a video training course.
• Thank You – After visitors take an action, you can use this page to thank them.
• Facebook Ads – Create landing pages for Facebook Ads and easily turn them into Facebook ads, keeping your message clear. See more information and get ideas about Facebook Ads here.

You could begin with some ideas like these. You may find more when you explore all the LeadPages templates.

How can I learn more?

You should have a better understanding of landing page uses.

If you want to learn more about landing pages, you can explore these resources…

• Landing page design – This article guides you in designing a landing page.
• Do I need a website for a landing page? – We answer this question in this article.
• DIY Web Design Handbook – Use this design guide to create your own websites and landing pages.
• 50+ Best Landing Pages – Get this lookbook with real world examples to inspire you and ignite your creativity.
• LeadPages quick tour and demo – See how easy it is to create landing pages here.
• LeadPages blog – Find more articles about landing pages here.

How can I create landing pages?

When it comes to creating landing pages, the design is very important. That’s why I devoted an entire article about landing page design. In the article, we explore design with a tutorial to guide you.

You could also use a software such as LeadPages to create great landing pages (and more) online.