Website or landing page?

Some businesses that say "we need a website" would be well served by a single page. For others a single page is too tight. The two are not the same thing, and the wrong choice means either paying for more than you need or rebuilding a few months later.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is one page with one job: explain one thing and lead the visitor to one step. That step can be filling in a form, calling you or buying. The menu is short or missing; the visitor reads from top to bottom and decides at the end.

What is a company website?

A company website has several pages: home, services, about, work, contact. Each page answers a different question. The visitor goes where they want from the menu.

When is a landing page enough?

• You have one product or one service.
• You are just opening and first need to say "we are here, this is how to reach us".
• You want a separate address for a campaign, an event or a product launch.
• You are going to advertise and want to meet the people who click with a single offer.

When do you need a full website?

• You have several distinct services and each deserves its own explanation.
• Customers search for you on Google by the name of the service. A page per service makes you easier to find for that search.
• You have a lot of work, references or team members to show.
• You will add articles, announcements or new work regularly.
• You will publish in more than one language.

Three questions to decide

1. Can you say everything to a visitor in one continuous story? If so, one page is enough. If different customers need to hear different things, split it into pages.
2. How do customers find you? If they come by recommendation, from social media or from ads, a single page does the job. If you want them to come from search, you need more pages.
3. What will you want to add in six months? If the list is long, starting with several pages is easier than converting later.

Two common mistakes

Cramming everything into one page. Five separate services, the team, the references and a blog on one page turn it into a long list nobody scrolls to the end of.

Opening pages you cannot fill. An "About" page with two sentences or an empty "News" page looks worse than no page at all. The content you have should decide the number of pages.

Can you start small and grow?

Yes. A well-built landing page can be extended into a multi-page site later; the design stays and new pages are added. Say so at the start and the site is built with that in mind.

Selling online is a different matter: an online shop with products, a basket and checkout is a separate job.

What we deliver for each job and the starting price for a website are on the Services page. What to prepare before you start is covered in this guide.