Guides

What is a Splash Page?

Published on March 23, 2021

A splash page is the first thing you see before entering an interactive site. The difference between it and other types of pages (homepages, landing pages, squeeze pages) is that it doesn’t offer any content besides a short phrase or image to catch your attention and make sure you stay on the site. Ready to learn more about how this works?

They often have one of these two purposes:

Improving the user experience.
Generating leads.

It’s important to remember that splash pages are often perceived as obstacles by website visitors and therefore may be counter-productive to developing an online business.

That having been said, there are instances where your company may benefit from adding a splash page to its website….

When Should You Use a Splash Page?

Here are three scenarios in which you should consider using a splash page:

Your Website Offers Age-Restricted Content

You could be legally obliged to request visitors to verify their age before allowing them to enter your site.

But even if you aren’t legally required to do so, it might still make sense to make a bid to dissuade minors from accessing your articles.

For example:

Firms that sell alcohol often have splash pages where they ask visitors to supply their dates of birth.

Check out this Carlsberg splash page:

As you can see, before you can go to the corporation’s website, you want to enter the year of your birth.

Note that there is also a useful”Remember me on this device (don’t tick if this is a shared computer)” option that allows you to tick a box so you would not have to enter the same data each time you visit this website.

Your Website Offers Multiple Languages

In actuality, even people that are fluent in English will appreciate a website that’s in their native language, because that proves that the company values them as customers.

But how can you set up your site in a way that caters to people who speak different languages?

One potential solution is to offer an option to change the site’s language on the homepage (this is typically done with a button that displays the flag of a country where that language is spoken).

However, people might land in your homepage, see content in a language that they don’t know, and leave without recognizing that they can change the language settings.

Another way to do address this problem is by automatically displaying the content in the language of the country the visitor is connecting from.

However, the flaw of this approach is that it neglects to account for people who are linking from a foreign country.

Saya British tourists on a vacation in Spain may not speak Spanish, but your site will be shown to them in that language.

That is why you may want to consider allowing individuals to pick a preferred language themselves before they enter your website.

Like that, you won’t need a complicated technical setup, and you will make certain the content is displayed in a language that the visitor understands.

For instance:

Here’s the splash page of this Zara clothing brand:

Notice how:

The country option field displays the country name both in Lithuanian and in English.
The language is English by default.

This makes sense when you consider that someone connecting from Lithuania may not necessarily speak Lithuanian.

Imagine that somebody who doesn’t speak Lithuanian went to Zara’s site and only watched”Lietuva” and”Lietuvių” from the option fields. They may not recognize these words.

Consequently, they may not understand that they could change the language settings to English, in which case they would leave without checking out the site.

Situations like that are worth considering when you are creating a splash page for speech settings.

You Need To Grow Your Email List

Including a splash page where you ask site visitors to provide their email addresses in exchange for a lead magnet can help you increase the size of your email list.

However, it is important to understand that when it comes to lead generation, there’s always a trade-off between lead quality and direct quantity.

A splash page to create leads is likely to increase the number of your email subscribers, but it may also decrease the level of your email list. Why?

When somebody has just landed on your site, they probably don’t know much about your company yet.

Sure, you can get them to give you their email address if you provide a lead magnet that is enticing enough, but the choice to subscribe to your email list will likely be an entirely impulsive one.

That means that this man isn’t yet convinced of the value your emails might provide, so they might not be that interested in them. Don’t be shocked if they don’t open your emails in any respect.

And then there’s also the simple fact that everybody hates pop-ups. There is no doubt that they interfere with consumer experience. Nonetheless, there’s also no denying that they work, which is the reason why online businesses use them despite them being universally detested.

All that said, a direct generation splash page may still make sense, but you want to be smart about it.

For example:

Blue Apron company has this splash page on their website:

As you can see, it’s a $60 discount offer that you can either reject or accept, with a timer set to expire in 20-minutes that helps to bring an element of scarcity.

When you click on the”Get $60 Off” button, you are taken to a page where you can set up your Blue Apron account:

As you can see, instead of simply collecting email addresses, the company uses the $60 discount to encourage the visitor to set up an account.

Presumably, this results in higher lead quality, because a person who is interested in a $60 discount and is prepared to create an account to get that discount is most likely highly likely to purchase.

Attention: Always Give a Way Out!

Have you ever had this experience:

You click on a link.
You are presented with a splash page.
You can not figure out how to shut that splash page and proceed into the site.

If this has happened to you, then you know how infuriating it can be.

Some companies assume that not allowing the visitor to get their website until they have provided their email address will help build their email lists faster.

But this tactic is sleazy, manipulative, and annoying, so the visitor is likely to leave and never return. They may even go to vent their frustration on social media. That can do serious harm to your brand image.

Don’t ever do this.

What Is the Difference Between a Splash Page and a Homepage?

Homepages are often mistaken for pages.

But there is a difference between a homepage and a splash page:

A homepage serves as the central hub of your site. It has navigation that links to the main pages (this may include pages such as”About”,”Features”,”Pricing”, etc.).
Its purpose is to get the visitor to choose the desired action (verify their age, select a language, subscribe to your email list, etc.). It will not have any navigation aside from the choice to proceed to the site in the case of a lead generation splash page.

Bear in mind that just because the homepage of a site is minimalistic it does not imply that it is a splash page.

For instance:

Take a look at this one-page site of the web designer and web developer Marc Thomas. Is it a splash page?

As you can see, this site features five links:

A connection to the InVision Site.
A link to Marc’s Instagram profile.
A link to Marc’s Twitter profile.
A link to Marc’s Github profile.
A button that opens an email program so you could send Marc an email.

Incidentally, the logo is also clickable, but the link is to this exact same page, so if you click it you don’t go anywhere.

You can not click through to his site. This is his website. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a dab page just because it is a one-page website.

Also, bear in mind that because a splash page is shown to the visitor before they get into the homepage, a splash page and a homepage can’t be the exact same thing by definition.

What’s the Difference Between a Splash Page and a Landing Page?

Another point of confusion is the difference between a landing page and a splash page. And that’s understandable since this one is somewhat tricky.

You see, traditionally, a landing page was a standalone page using a single conversion target, say, to find the visitor’s email address.

But with the increasing popularity of pop-ups, some marketers began talking to pop-ups as landing pages too (e.g. a squeeze page is Regarded as a type of landing page Though squeeze pages are often exhibited as pop-ups )

Meanwhile, if you go by the more recent, broader definition of a landing page, then a splash page is a type of landing page.

Don’t assume that they are referring to splash pages if they haven’t specified it.

What’s the Difference Between a Splash Page and a Squeeze Page?

Alright, so what’s up with squeeze pages then, are they the same thing as splash pages?

A squeeze page is a type of landing page that’s designed to get the visitor to supply their email address, usually in exchange for a direct magnet.

Squeeze pages may be different pages in addition to pop-ups.

In the case of the latter, a squeeze page can be a splash page if it’s shown to the visitor before the visitor accesses the homepage.

However, if the squeeze page is displayed to the visitor at any other time (e.g. as they’re browsing the content, as they are about to leave the website, etc.), then it is not a splash page.

What’s the Difference Between a Splash Page and a Pop-Up?

So what’s the difference between a splash page and a pop-up, then?

Just like squeeze pages, splash pages can be different pages as well as pop-ups.

However, it is important to understand that”pop-up” is a class, since there are several kinds of pop-ups:

Welcome pop-ups. These pop-ups are shown to the visitor prior to the visitor accesses the homepage. In other words, they are splash pages.
Timed pop-ups. These pop-ups are shown to the visitor as soon as they’ve spent a certain amount of time on the site (e.g. 2 minutes).
Exit-intent pop-ups. These pop-ups are shown to the visitor when they’re going to leave the website.

…and much more.

However, out of all of these pop-up kinds, just welcome pop-ups are splash pages.

Conclusion

You’ve probably seen the word “splash page” thrown around and wondered what it meant. Splash pages are an important tool that can help get your business in front of new customers, but they’re not for everyone. Read on to find out more about this powerful marketing strategy!

So don’t hesitate to bring a splash page to your site if you think your business would benefit from it.