Landing page, corporate website or online store: what your business needs

Clients often come to us with a format already chosen: “we need a landing page” or “we need an online store”. Sometimes the choice is right. Sometimes the business needs something else, and the wrong format costs money twice: once to build it and again to redo it. Here is how we help clients choose.

Start with how your clients buy

The right format depends less on the size of your company than on the path a client takes before buying. Ask yourself three questions:

• How many different products or services do you sell?
• Can a client buy without talking to you, or does every deal involve a conversation?
• Does the client compare you with competitors before deciding?

Landing page: one offer, one action

A landing page is a single page built around one offer. It works when you are selling one thing and want one action from the visitor: leave a request, register, call.

• Good for: a new service, a product launch, an event, course enrolment, testing demand.
• Not good for: a company with a wide range of services, or one that needs to appear in search for many different queries.

It is the fastest format, usually 1–2 weeks. The limitation is that one page cannot answer every question. If you keep adding blocks, it is time for a full website.

Corporate website: trust and information

A corporate website presents the whole company: services, projects, team, certificates and contacts. You need one when deals involve a conversation and clients check you out before they call. This is typical of B2B, manufacturing, construction, consulting, education and healthcare.

• Good for: several lines of business, long decision cycles, work with partners and tenders.
• Gives you: room for SEO, since every service has its own page; a place for projects and testimonials; versions in several languages for clients in different countries.

A typical corporate site takes 3–6 weeks. Most of that time usually goes into structure and content, not code.

Online store: buying without a manager

An online store makes sense when a client can choose and pay without talking to you: there is a clear range, clear prices and delivery. It is also the most demanding format to run. Someone has to keep the catalogue and stock up to date, process orders and answer customers every day.

• Good for: retail, a range of standard products, repeat purchases.
• Requires: online payment and often instalments; an admin panel for products and orders; an established order-handling process inside the company.

If you have twenty products and every sale still goes through a phone call, a corporate site with a catalogue and a request form is often more practical than a full store.

Combinations are normal

The formats do not exclude each other. A manufacturer can have a corporate site with a catalogue and separate landing pages for seasonal offers. A store can run landing pages for promotions. What matters is starting with the format that solves today’s problem and can grow later without a complete rebuild.

A quick test

• One offer, and you need requests soon: a landing page.
• Several services, and clients check you before calling: a corporate website.
• Clients can choose and pay without a conversation: an online store.

If the answer is not obvious, describe your situation on a call. We will tell you which format fits, even if it is the smaller project.