TOP REASONS YOU SHOULD USE A ONE PAGE WEBSITE (5 minute read)
What is a one page website used for
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A one page website will certainly be something you’ll encounter, or have encountered when searching the web, but when should you use a one page website and when should you use a traditional website? This page aims to answer those questions and provides tools to find answers you may need to make the right choice for your next web project.
One Page Website
One Page Website
One page websites are an excellent tool for marketing smaller websites, blogs, or portfolios
Reasons for using a single page site range from maintaining simplicity to keeping hosting costs down. One page websites provide a full experience of your project, company or idea to the end user just like any other multi-page website would in a much more compact manner. Save the end user time, which is an added value for your customers and costs nothing additional from your website. Having a smaller website takes less time to launch, has a very specific focus, and allows the end user to save time in their decision-making process.
Let’s go over the key points for a one page website, and the value it provides:
Navigation is simple
Allowing a user to simply scroll to find the content they are in search of instead of clicking a network of links to get to where they are intending on going is invaluable. Time is arguably the most valuable asset anyone has, a one page website provides this value automatically.
Reduce Phone Calls For Questions
Your company can effectively reduce the number of questions customers may have because the information in much easier to find on a one page website. Simply scroll to learn more, as opposed to using a support desk or the search function. Many times a client may look for a specific word on a page or website. A one page website allows the fluent use of the “Find” functions available by pressing F3 while in the browser. They can type in the word or phrase they are looking for and find it without needing to navigate deeper into the website.
Maintenance and updates are simpler
Deployment and integration of a one page website can typically be completed much faster than a multiple page website, and achieves (generally) the same results, depending on your product, service or content being displayed. A strong example of this is if someone clicks an ad on their search engine of choice for a product you are selling, and all they have to do is scroll a little then click “Buy”. Simplicity goes a long way to end-users.
A one page site will have a few more limitations
All of the elements loading in need to be optimized or the page will load slowly. Not having to complete this optimization process on multiple pages saves a lot of time, which in turn costs less to build, and saves money that can be used to build more landing pages, or in this case, full websites displayed as one page.
One page websites will allow you to template for rapid deployment without losing the aesthetics of the design
It is much easier to make the one really cool looking page, save the code and re-use it later on for another project.
Preventing Scope Creep
A one page website needs to get to the point quickly, effectively, and allow a conversion to be made all in one compact interface. This will allow you to define a set scope of the page and be understandably strict as far as what goes on the page and what does not. This will help when a client is unsure of what they would like on a page – simply show examples of how it is used by companies like Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn and why staying within the scope of the initial design, as shown here, is a proven methodology that shouldn’t be changed, since there is significant data behind the companies that utilize it for their own business.
Inbound Links
If anyone links back to your webpage, it adds value to your whole website or message, since it all points to one page with your full message instead of just one page with part of your message. This can be invaluable if many backlinks are created, and will raise the importance level of your website in search engines.
Organize and Standardize
A one page website can be organized and standardized to direct users to where they need to go much more efficiently than a multiple page website for a few reasons:
- Navigation on a One Page website is condensed
- You can use “scroll to” links instead of loading another page
- You can troubleshoot and template at the same time
- Employ and automate proven tactical engagement
- Launch mobile and desktop views in the same instance
Who Should not Use a One Page Website
One page websites can be used in too many ways to list. Instead, of describing when your best option is to use a one page website I will describe when you shouldn’t use a one page website
- Customer Support Websites
- There are simply too many moving parts, and simplicity will be lost, making navigation difficult. You will need multiple pages for a support website.
- Glossary
- If you have a glossary defining elements or phrases being used on your website it will most likely be classified as spam for “keyword stuffing” if you build a one page website with your glossary on it. This is penalized by Google and Bing, and it is automated so it’s not a human double checking to see if it is, in fact, a glossary. It will be ready as a list of keywords unrelated to the target content since definitions vary widely in how they are defined.
- Blog
- A blog is intended to display one post per page, as it should. While it is beneficial to provide a snippet of an article with a catchy title and image listed on one page, they should link to their own blog entry page.
- Multiple Products
- A one page website is a great tool for one product, but not for many products. It will make scrolling a bit more work than it should be and will cross the line of what is a valuable backlink and what is not. It is too much of a gamble to put multiple products on one landing page unless they are directly tied to one another, an example of when this is ok to do is if you offer hosting and another service related to hosting, not if you sell spoons and forks. Forks need their own page, and so do the spoons. That isn’t to say you can’t create one page to land the user on a choice of spoons or forks to click on for navigation, however.
- Multiple Services
- The same can be said for multiple services as can be said for multiple products, and the same fundamentals exist. If you are an audio engineer and are selling microphones, do not also put video services on the same page, they should be displayed, and linked to a new page for further explanation.
- A store or E-Commerce site
- Imagine if E-Bay displayed all of the auctions of the entire site on one page – it would be a mess. Do not turn an e-commerce or store website into one page unless you only sell one to ten products of identical properties, with small variations (T-Shirts with different colors and sizes, for example). This can be achieved using variables in the cart interface much more effectively.
What is the Difference between a One Page site and A Landing Page
What is the Difference between a One Page site and A Landing Page
A one page website has the objective of keeping the end user on the one page. A landing page does not have this limitation and is designed to have a user perform an action. A landing page is typically used for conversions, while a one page website can be used for conversions, it does not have to. It can simply be an information page.
Conclusion
One page websites are perfect for many projects, and can be utilized for smaller budgets, or build as you go budgets. Design plays a huge factor in a one page website, keep that in mind with your budget if you decide to go the one page route. The simplicity a one page website provides can captivate a larger audience in many ways, since mobile and desktop optimizations are much easier to complete. If you need some more information, feel free to reach out – always happy to help.