Over recent years, there has been an increase in popularity of single page websites. At first, it isn’t always obvious that you’ve landed on a single page site, as there will typically still be navigation buttons at the top of the page. However, you might notice that, as you click on these buttons, you are simply taken up and down the same page and sent to anchors in the page.
If you are considering a website for your business, it’s sensible to first consider why you have decided to get one. Put simply, if you have a business that does one thing well and you have a clear USP and call to action, then a single page website could be all you need. It could include a photo gallery of some of the projects your business has been involved with, a list of services and a contact us panel.
Equally, you might have developed a mobile app which is available through the Apple Store or Play Store. In which case, you might want to have a website available for the app – including what it does and some testimonials, but then you just need a link to the appropriate store to buy it.
The ability to scroll up and down does makes a one-page website more mobile friendly. A single page website offers a different user experience but one which most of us are familiar with, as we have become used to simply scrolling on the popular social media channels.
Sometimes, the clicking around searching for something on a multi-page website can seem quite frustrating. So, in many ways, being easier to navigate, a single page website can boost user engagement – because you won’t potentially lose visitors as they search to find information.
Remember though that, even if you only have a single page, you shouldn’t just run it as a long page of information. If you have a menu bar at the top of the website, then you’ll already have it broken up into sections. Think about which sections you want and maintain some structure on your website, making sure that elements visitors are used to finding on a traditional website are still there – such as a home page section, ‘about us’ and contact details.
Single page website are, in theory, much quicker to develop and launch – so if you want a presence on the internet quickly, then it’s worth considering a one-page website. Moving forward, it will also be easier to maintain, as everything is on one page – so it’s more straightforward to add or remove content.
It's absolutely possible to make a single page website really attractive, with an engaging design – so don’t ever think that it’s just the simple option. For this reason, they can be useful if you need a website for a one-off event or campaign (if you decide for some reason to keep this separate from your main business website).
How quickly a page loads is down to lot more than what’s on it – it’s typically more to do with how it’s hosted. However, if you ‘overload’ your one-page website with lots of photos, links, video and content, then it could take a longer time to load. Load time matters, as visitors will quickly get frustrated and leave if a page doesn’t load promptly. If you are concerned about SEO, then Google is likely to penalise you as well.
If you do have a single page website, people will tell you that it’s no good for SEO – as you need different landing pages and it will also restrict the amount of keywords you can include. However, there are ways to be creative with SEO and ways to drive traffic to a single page website.
While you only have one page, as we said above, you can make it into an engaging site and if SEO matters to you, then you need to make sure that the content and design is as engaging as possible. The content on your website needs to be ‘great content’ and something which others feel compelled to share! While you can’t rely on SEO as much as on a multi-page site, excellent content will drive organic traffic.
You can still include keywords – but don’t do it to the detriment of your content and be selective with the keywords you choose. You won’t be able to include them all, so do some research, opting for the ones which are likely to bring you the best results.
In the absence of traditional SEO tools, link building is important. Use your social media to drive traffic to your website and encourage others – your customers perhaps – to share links.
Your site will rank better with Google if you keep it current and updated, so update any copy and photography and replace older testimonials with more current ones.
If you have a number of products or services, host an online store, or intend to produce a fair amount of content and are keen to make the most of opportunities offered by keywords and SEO, then you will most likely need a multi-page website. Put simply, if you have lots of content to share or products to sell, then you’ll need pages to put this on.
Both multi-page and single-page websites have their pros and cons and it depends on your business and what you what your website to achieve, as to which option you go for.
You will probably find that, as your business grows and you potentially take on more staff or add more products or services to your repertoire, then there will come a time when you feel a multi-page website will work better for your enterprise. This is particularly true if you require a dedicated landing page for a campaign, or you start to share blogs or news items and need somewhere to put them.
If you want to talk to us about where a single page website would work for your organisation, then contact Lake Solutions today.