Splash Page vs Landing Page: What’s the Difference?
BLOG / Web Design 30 May 2023
Most people know what a landing page is. But the confusion begins when the term “splash page” joins the conversation… This leads many to believe that they are pretty much the same thing.
Truth is, a splash page & a landing page do have a lot in common, but they are still very different.
Think of a splash page as part of a site that greets visitors and says things a webmaster or a marketer wants the visitors to know. It’s a prologue that precedes the book’s actual content.
On the other hand, a landing page is a standalone page used mainly in marketing campaigns.
No need to worry if this is still Chinese to your English!
Today, we will take an in-depth look at the splash page vs landing page dichotomy! And we will also look at some landing page examples and splash page examples to give you some inspiration.
So let’s jump right into it:
What is a splash page?
A splash page is a portion of a website that appears before the user can see the actual webpage. These are basically windows that are used to convey information to visitors. The information can be a welcome message, promotional offer, link to an ebook download, etc.
In other words, the splash page is the first element visitors see upon arrival before they are redirected to the main content.
A splash page can serve many purposes, from promoting an offer to allowing visitors to see a specific site version based on the country.
When to use a splash page?
Now that you understand what a splash page is, the next question is, what purpose does a splash page serve?
Well, it depends on what you want to achieve… You can use them to communicate information, add an age verification gate, promote a product, etc.
But despite the different reasons for using a splash page, all of them share some similar elements:
- Message or a call to action (CTA)
- Links that direct to the main content
- Graphics or images
One of the main things to remember about a splash page is that they are actually part of the main website. On the other hand, a landing page is usually a separate one!
You can think of splash pages as the doorman who stands outside a retail store and greets visitors. And everyone enters the store after receiving greetings from the doorman.
A splash page can be used to achieve any of the following:
- Verify the visitor’s age
- Allow visitors to select a language
- Allow visitors to select their region/country
- Greet the visitors with a welcome message
- Promote a product/service
- Collect email or other personal details of visitors
- Share important information with visitors
And much more.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a separate page that is specifically created for advertising, converting, educating… or any sort of marketing purpose. The basic design of a landing page is built to encourage visitors to take a particular action. Now, this particular action can be anything you have defined, such as making visitors share their email, signup for a trial, make a purchase, like your page on social media, etc.
Since the sole purpose of a landing page is to compel visitors to take action, everything on a landing page would revolve around that purpose.
A cheap, unattractive, or slow landing page would make it difficult for visitors to convert. Since we are talking about the visitors taking action, the landing page has to be almost perfect and speak trustworthiness!
Normally, the factor that is most commonly used to measure the success of a landing page is the conversion rate. A landing page with a high conversion rate is deemed good, while one with a low conversion rate is deemed poor.
Splash page vs landing page: What’s the difference?
If you have made it this far, it means you already have a fair idea of what is a landing page and a splash page. But to make it clear, let’s look at 5 main differences between these two:
1. Purpose
The first difference between a landing page and a splash page is the purpose. A splash page is normally used as a welcome page or to convey important information to visitors.
On the other hand, a landing page is designed to achieve a specific action. Upon completing that action, the visitor converts into a customer or a qualified lead.
2. Design
Landing pages are designed with a strong focus on conversions and thus come with a simple & minimum layout. Such a layout minimizes distractions and keeps the user’s attention on the conversion goal.
A splash page is not a standalone page and usually comes with flashy designs to grab the visitor’s attention immediately. A splash page can include images, animations, or dynamic graphics to create a good first impression on the visitors. The goal of a splash page, in this light, is not conversions. It’s rather providing important information or to act as a gateway to the main content.
3. Content
The next difference between a splash page and a landing page is the content. Normally, a landing page contains information about a product/service along with a call-to-action (CTA) which compels the visitors to take action.
A splash page usually contains very little content compared to the former type. A splash page contains a logo and the information one wants to convey to the visitors. In most cases, a splash page is just an image or a graphic with very little text.
4. Navigation
The next difference between a splash page and a landing page is the navigation. A landing page usually contains no navigation or very few navigation links to other website pages. At the same time, a splash page leads visitors directly to other parts of the website, such as the homepage.
The reason why a landing page has no -or very few- navigation is to keep the visitors focused on taking action. In other words, navigation links would distract the visitor, thus sending them off the landing page. And that’s the last thing a marketer wants from a landing page!
As for the splash page, its main purpose is just to inform the users or to guide them toward other pages present on the page. That’s why the splash page usually contains navigation and links to other parts of your website.
5. Tracking
Another critical difference between a splash page and a landing page is tracking. Normally, a landing page contains code to track the behavior of the traffic, which can then be used for optimization.
On the contrary, no tracking code is added to the splash page as they are merely gateways through which the visitors reach the main content.
Splash page examples
Now that the whole splash page vs landing page debate has become straightforward, it’s time to look at some examples of a splash page…
Let’s look at the splash page design examples from these famous websites:
1. Gimme Some Oven
The first example of a splash page is from Gimme Some Oven.This website induces visitors to signup for an email newsletter while the rest of the website’s content is being loaded.
The email subscription form is surrounded by a background image of food which makes this splash page relevant to the main topic of the website: food. In addition, the CTA says “SEND ME THE RECIPES” instead of a plain “submit” button. That’s yet another unique thing about this splash page!
2. Schmoll Creative
Schmoll Creative is a portfolio website tailored for graphic designers. It uses a minimalistic splash page with a stunning background & a simple CTA button. Upon clicking on the CTA button, the visitor is directed toward information about the designer’s career and experiences.
The best thing about this splash page is its simplicity and the presence of no text beside the heading and a CTA button! But this minimalistic approach to information delivery is compensated for by an artistic background image.
3. Facebook
Facebook is also a good example to illustrate the difference of a splash page vs a landing page.
The Facebook homepage is shown in the form of a splash page for visitors who are not logged in yet. There is very little information on the Facebook splash page; the Facebook logo, login form, and a button to create a new account.
For those users who are logged in, the Facebook homepage shows the activity feed. The latter is the actual Facebook content, and it’s personalized for each user (and therefore, it’s not considered a splash page!).
There’s a lot to learn from the splash page of a pioneering social media platform. For starters, don’t try to accomplish many things on a splash page… Instead, keep it simple, relevant, and to the point with proper branding assets (logo, relevant colors, etc.).
4. Forbes
The next splash page on our list is from Forbes, which informs users about its live events. The basic idea behind this splash page is to get visitors to sign up for their email to get notified about any upcoming events.
There are no catchy graphics but a headline, descriptive text, and an orange-colored CTA button. For a media company that covers news around the globe, it makes sense to rely on their main communication medium: text.
Once again, the thing that stands out on this splash page is its simplicity and achieving more with less.
5. Maaemo
Maaemo is a Norwegian restaurant with three Michelin stars. The website’s homepage is the definition of a “very minimalistic” splash page. The background’s black, with an image blended in it.
In the center of the splash page, there’s the headline (restaurant name) and a short sentence. And right below that, three stars are put to indicate its achievement (it has secured three Michelin stars).
The splash page contains 4 links. Each one is presented on each corner of the page (top left, top right, bottom left, & bottom right). The links lead to information, reservations, gift cards, and contact pages of the website.
6. Garrison Footwear
Let’s pay a visit to one of the UK’s most prominent footwear suppliers Garrison Footwear. Their homepage starts with a splash page that delivers one specific piece of information: what is Garrison Footwear?
The background image presents the manufactory where the footwear production takes place in black & white. In the middle, there’s the brand name and a short description of what the brand does. Right below that, there’s a CTA button that states, “FIND OUT MORE!”
Upon clicking the main CTA, a visitor will be redirected to learn more information down below in the homepage itself. Of course, if the visitor simply scrolls down s/he’d accomplish the same thing…
But if we’re to highlight one awesome thing about Garrison Footwear’s splash page is its ability to tell a whole story with an image. All are present in their background image: depth, passion, history, & transparency.
7. Resn
Resn is involved in the advertising industry and is a well-known digital production company based in New Zealand. Their homepage contains a dynamic splash page with a revolving crystal. The interesting part about this splash page is the movement of the crystal as you move your cursor around.
To view the webpage and other elements present, you have to click on the crystal and then hold it for a specified amount of time (3 seconds).
So in a sense, Resn has created an interactive splash page that immediately catches the visitor’s attention without boring them with words, images, or anything like that.
The only downside to this splash page is that unless you know why you’re on that specific page before you are actually on it, chances are, you won’t know!
Conclusion
The difference between a splash and a landing page must be cleared now!
Basically, you create a landing page with a good user experience to convert a visitor into a customer or to make the visitor complete an action. And a splash page is a portion of your website that leads to other elements or pages of your site.
At Canadian Digital Consulting, we can create stunning splash pages that immediately catch the visitor’s attention. Similarly, we specialize in creating fully optimized landing pages that drive results rather than wasting your advertising budget.
Hamid Nouasria
Hamid is a professional on-page SEO specialist and content writer. He holds a B.A degree in Media Literacy, and he is interested in marketing, leadership, and sociology.
