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  • Writer's pictureKrista Frahm

Home Pages, Sales Pages & Landing Pages... What's the Difference?

Updated: Feb 3



Home pages, landing pages, sales pages... oh my!


😵‍💫 These terms are thrown around online and VERY frequently confused. Just like any industry, marketing has a lot of jargon. It's easy to mix up these three pages and what they're used for.


Here's a little secret - even inside one of my copywriting communities, sales pages and landing pages are confused on a weekly basis! It's a real problem.


Fear not, by the end of this blog, you'll understand each one of these pages and when you would use them... and more importantly, how they'll help your business!


Here's the main reasons you should know the difference between these website and sales funnel pages:


➡️ You want to be an informed consumer and avoid getting hoodwinked by the less-than-ethical marketers. You also run the risk of getting the wrong type of page that won't help your funnel if you're not clear on what you need.


When you're not clear about what you want or need, it's easy to have a project go sideways. It's not fun for the copywriter or the client.


When I was a brand new copywriter (fresh outta the hospital and trying to hang up my isolation gown in exchange for a non-clinical career) I was asked to write a sales page for a company.


I was excited about the company -- they totally aligned with my values and I could promote them without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. I dug in, researched, grabbed templates and outlines and wrote the very best sales page I could muster.


But unfortunately I hadn't paused long enough to ask them exactly where this sales page was going to live in their sales funnel... and it turns out they actually wanted a website page. Womp womp... it's a time-consuming mistake. (But you won't have to fall into this trap -- because you'll know better!)

You probably don't want a marketing terminology course... so I'll keep this snappy.


What's the difference between a Home Page, Landing Page, and Sales Page?


 

🏠 The Home Page:


This is the first page of your website. It's job is to pique the interest of visitors and make them want to learn more about you and your business.


Most likely the way your home page does this is by encouraging people to join your email list where you can connect with them, nurture, and eventually sell your services.


Your home page also acts like a very detailed business card -- it's there for people to refer to and remind themselves what you're all about in case they forget.

We can put it in this context to help it make even more sense:


It would be weird to ask someone to marry you when you first meet them, right? Yeah... don't ask new website visitors to immediately jump into your program. Ask them on a date first - aka your email list.


Your home page is like your front yard. It's representing your business and hopefully feels like a place they'd like to come visit again... or maybe step up to the front porch and get to know you.


 

✈️ The Landing Page:


This is a catch-all term for various pages that are slightly different — which is probably why it's the most confused page I know.

(Hmm... maybe a bit like occupational therapy. Does anyone *actually* know what we do?)


A landing page is literally a place where people "land" after they click a link or button from somewhere in internet-land.



But these aren't crash-landings.

Landing pages are strategic — their job is to get the visitor to take one small action, which is one step further into the marketing funnel.


You can have a landing page as a stand-alone opt-in page where you offer someone a free webinar, download, or resource in exchange for their email address. People landing on this page don't have to think too hard about putting their information in -- we're all used to subscribing to email lists and then unsubscribing later.


A slightly longer landing page is a squeeze page. It's names this because it "squeezes" information from people... kind of a gross name, but you don't have to gross about your marketing. You can create ethical squeeze pages. This type of page may ask a bit more about people including birthday, ages of kids, state you live in, occupation, or any other bits of information that the business owner wants to be able to use.


Other landing pages include check-out pages, sales pages, joining a challenge, waitlists... there are almost endless variations of landing pages.


Yep -- a sales page is a type of landing page... but not all landing pages are sales pages!


 

💸 The Sales Page:


This one's my favorite... am I allowed to choose favorites? 😉


A sales page is one specific type of landing page.


Think back to geometry class for a minute. "All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares?" <-- sound familiar?


All sales pages are landing pages... but not all landing pages are sales pages!

I'm sure you know basically what a sales page does, but it actually goes beyond "making a sale."

The sales page explains exactly how a course/program will solve a problem and bring the person to a better, brighter future


OR...


Help that person understand that they're NOT the right fit for the program/course.


🛑 WAIT — The sales page's job sometimes is to NOT sell someone???

Yes!

➡️ Sales are important, but what's ALSO important is ensuring customers are informed and make the best decision for their situation.

The sales page empowers people to take positive action and change their situation... or self-select out and find something else.


It's a delicate balance, but oh so worth the time and effort to get it right.


 

That's it in a nutshell!


Home Pages — Landing Pages — Sales Pages

Each one of these serves a specific purpose in your marketing funnel, otherwise known as the client journey. (That's just marketing lingo for all the times people see your content or hear about you before they take action and hire you.)


I'm curious if you learned something new and how you'll apply this to your marketing... drop me a DM on Instagram.

Krista Frahm bundled up with snow, ice and a lake in the background. Looking skeptical.

Does funnel and sales page talk make your head spin?


Do you wish someone would tell you exactly what to do to get more sales... or just take the whole thing off your plate completely?


Good news— that's what I'm here for.


Done-for-you, or done-with-you copywriting and marketing consultation.

Click here and use the button at the top of my home page to apply to work together -- I can't wait!


 

 

Curious about copywriting as a non-clinical career?


Skip over to this blog to learn how I became a non-clinical writer, or read this Write Your Way to Freedom Course Review for a deep dive.



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