Outdoor Grills and Web Pages
So if you are beginning to build a website for your tabletop game, you might have come across two terms that seem to be the same:
“Home Page” and “Landing Page”
Marketers seem to make a big deal of each…but it also seems like they kiiiiiinda do the same thing.
So what is the difference?
Well, its kind of like different cooking grills…
Let me begin this illustration by stating the obvious:
I LOVE grilled meat. If that makes me basic, I don’t care.
Chicken and vegggies kind of sucks.
But if you grill them? And get that good char on the outside?
Oooooooo baby! Its my favorite healthy dinner!
So for the past few years I’ve been grilling with the small, two-person charcoal grill.
But this year, my laws got be a gas grill for my birthday, and I’ve been having a blast using it all summer.
But only sometimes.
Because while both grills heat meat…
The gas grill stays hot with the lid CLOSED. You want to fire it up with all the burners and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes. Only then should you put your meat and veggies on, and then quickly close the lid. You want to keep the lid closed and then reduce the heat by lowering the amount of gas with the dials
The charcoal grill is the opposite. You heat coals in a chimney stack and them dump them in the grill. They are already super hot… and will get HOTTER if you leave the lid off. That is because the coals are actually burning, and fire requires oxygen. To reduce the heat, you put the lid on and open/close the vents. This will also slow how fast the coals are reduced to ash.
In summary: both cook food, but function in very different ways.
Likewise, Landing Pages and Home Pages are important for sales, but in different ways:
A Home Page is the pillar that holds up the entire site. It introduces visitors to your site to your brand and explicitly states how you promise to help them make life easier, happier, safer (etc.). It answers any initial questions and redirects them to other pages on your site. Those pages can be products and services, or information focused like an about page or blog. Customers will reach your home page many different ways: random search, ads, emails, SEO. It is generic and focused on your BRAND.
A Landing Page is much, much more specific. Its job is simple: customer conversion. It turns potential customers into first time buyers and previous customers into repeat customers. Or, if you don’t want to make a sale, it gets them to sign up for something, like an email list or Patreon subscription. It is a long scroll with no redirects; you do not want the customer to go anywhere. You want to lead the customer as they scroll and show them why they should purchase/sign up NOW. It is extremely sales oriented, full of social proof, FOMO, urgency, CTAs, and benefits.
Both are essential for sales… but do it in very different ways.
Is that kinda like outdoor grills?
I think so :)
In general, my gas grill tends to cook meat longer. Like a home page, it is playing the long game. It is easier to move food around and control the heat so it doesn’t burn.
But my charcoal grill gets HOT. It overwhelms with heat and is designed to cook fast, kinda like a landing page.
So… yeah… that’s the difference!
And I can write both for ya!
Hit the contact button in the top right hand corner, and we’ll sit down and see if I’m a good fit!
