What We Love and Hate About One-Page Websites

The mobile revolution has made scrolling more preferential than clicking so the one-page website trend is here to stay. Do not be fooled by the simplicity of single-page websites, because they often have all the components of a multi-page website like full-page images, description of products or services, testimonials, photo gallery, testimonials and a contact form. Thanks to web development technologies like CSS3 and AJAX, you can conveniently direct your visitors to specific sections similar to a multi-page website. We are sure that you have seen them out there and we wanted to discuss some of the things that we love and hate about one-page websites.

Love: More Mobile-Friendly

With the rise of touch technologies smartphones and tablets, scrolling is easier and more comfortable than clicking or tapping. Users do not have to flounder around a sea of content to find the necessary information. Mobile users tend to get lost in information dense websites with complex navigation.

Love: Slightly Faster Browsing

Since the different parts of the website are located on the same page, browsing is a bit quicker. Users simply scroll or click the menu to jump to the desired section. Everything is on one page and there is no way to get lost.

Love: Increased Engagement

One way to increase engagement and conversion is to implement parallax scrolling on your one-page website. Parallax scrolling is when the background moves slower than the foreground, creating a 3D effect as you scroll down the page, which adds depth. It is important to note that not all one-page websites are parallax scrolling websites. Here are some parallax scrolling websites that will blow your mind.

Love: Control Over Information Flow

Instead of having users bounce around your website, you can carefully plan the flow of content that they will view and more effectively lead them to your call-to-action.

Love: Less is More

If all of your content can fit on one page, why add more? Short pages are awkward. With the limited real estate, you are forced to only display your key messaging and only include what really matters which is also better for conversion.

Hate: Kills Your SEO

You can only focus on one or two keywords on one page so it will be really difficult to rank organically for sub-topics that would rank better if they had their own pages. Even if you separate your single-page website into sections with anchors, Google and other search engines do not index them individually.

Hate: Very Limited Content

With just one page, you have to severely limit your content to telling one simple, short story. This is perfect if for a landing page, portfolio, event or product launch. For anything more beyond that, it would be better to create a multi-page website.

Hate: Not Scalable

If you ever want to expand past one page, you would have to redesign your website because one-page websites are not scalable. With multi-page WordPress websites, you can create an infinite number of new pages using existing page templates.

Hate: Expensive to Maintain

Adding a section with a custom one-page WordPress website requires a web developer because it involves modifying the page layout and JavaScript. Also, one-page websites are usually more creatively designed with animation and content filled to the brim so adding a section is usually not that simple.

Hate: Potentially Slower Loading Times

Because there is a lot going on and one-page websites tend to be long, this increases loading times. Even a one-second delay could dramatically reduce conversion rates.

Hate: Difficulty Sharing Specific Content

Because there is only one page, it is very difficult to share specific content. Every time you share a page, you have to force users to scroll through all your content to find what they want.

Hate: Difficulty Understanding Web Traffic

One-page websites make it very difficult to analyze traffic with web analytic programs like Google Analytics. You cannot see where users are entering or exiting to improve your website.

In Conclusion

Before you go running off creating your one-page website, you need to thoroughly evaluate and test to see what works best for your website content and goals. If you have limited content and the majority of your target audience are mobile users, then a one-page website may be for you. Please speak with one of our San Francisco web designers to find out what will suit your needs.

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