Many people confuse landing pages and homepages as the same thing since most people have their perspective from an external website. Since the two serve a similar purpose of directing online users to your website, their differences may seem small and redundant. However, the two perform vastly different functions in driving the success of your business website.
Although these pages have different ways of getting online visitors’ attention, all websites will always start with a homepage that splits to other landing pages. However, there’s a third page that not all business owners are familiar with: the splash page. The splash page is a critical component of your website that will either contribute to your conversion rates or increase your bounce rates.
Differentiating, homepages, landing pages, and splash pages
It’s not uncommon for people to mistake homepages, landing pages, and splash pages as the same thing. Though these three formats share similar identities, they perform different functions from each other. A landing page is strictly a destination that you drive your online visitors to reach. It’s how you lead them further in your sales funnel to end in a transaction.
In contrast, your homepage is the starting point where your online visitors can navigate through different parts of your site’s pages, including your landing pages.
A splash page is an opener that introduces people to your website instead of heading directly to your homepage. Although it introduces more clicks for your online users on their buyer’s journey, it can serve different practical applications to benefit your business.
Realizing the potential of a splash page
Splash pages can provide various functions to aid your business’s appeal to online visitors. Unlike other parts of your website, its impact is largely due to its short and compact message that focuses on one or two goals
A splash page can charm the users’ attention, making it a useful primer for creatives’ websites that offer photography services and web design. This initial glimpse of what you can do can be a compelling hook that separates you from others in your industry. It can remind your users about an event launch for future products, which you can show in poster format or with a countdown timer.
Lastly, it can benefit companies who are servicing an international audience. A splash page can allow users to select a language or region that fits their preference in browsing the site.
Although web browsers have plug-ins to perform automated translations on foreign websites, it doesn’t always give accurate results. This is why companies working with international users develop multilingual websites with precise translated and localized content for their clients’ benefit.
Conclusion
The compact nature of splash pages allows web designers to focus on one key goal instead of handling multiple aspects of a website. This sense of creating independent yet related content on your site makes splash pages effective for mobile devices that prioritize optimized spaces.
If you want to make a compelling splash page, you need to start strong and end with a compelling call-to-action (CTA). Provide a brief message through visual and textual elements that inform your online visitor of what they should expect. Then, use an easy-to-spot exit button that will allow them to continue to your website immediately. This small window of interacting with your splash page can be an excellent way to strengthen your other landing pages’ effectiveness.
Utilizing splash pages can be a high-risk, high-reward strategy, which is why you should have experts that know what they’re doing to design them. Springboard Labs is a digital agency in Idaho that can assist you in SEO, web design, and other digital marketing services to enhance your brand’s online presence. Schedule a free website consult with our marketing experts today!
