Businesses need an online presence more than ever before. In most cases, settling for a Facebook business page is not optimal. The best option is to have a website that is designed to convert visitors to leads and clients. But, what kind of website should businesses use? Should they go with a one-page website or a multi-page website? Which is better?
What is a One-Page Website?
A one-page website is literally a website that is only one page. It may have a navigation menu that makes it look like a multi-page website, but clicking the menu item will take you down the page to the section dedicated to the topic rather than another page. The purpose of a one-page website is to keep visitors focused until they reach the final Call-to-Action.
Let’s look over the pros and cons of both one-page and multi-page websites so you can get a better idea of which one will be better for you.
Pros and Cons for a One-Page Website
Its easy to read. The first benefit of a one-page website is that it is easy to read. Yes, it’s probably going to be quite long (after all you are filling it with a lot of content), but each section is brief and visually identifiable. That means skimming down the page is extremely easy. As the visitor scrolls down, the short blocks of text act like stepping stones that they hop on until they get to the end of the page. The journey is enriching and enjoyable.
It’s fantastic for the mobile experience. Because of the way a one-page website is designed, and because of the way we naturally scroll down on mobile devices, they are fantastic for the mobile experience. In a world that is becoming more and more mobile dependent, this could be a strong advantage.
It costs less time and money. Getting a one-page website online and live is faster and more cost-effective than a multi-page website. There are simply fewer pages to design, less content to write, and less formatting to do.
It has limited space. The disadvantage of the one-page website is simply the shadow of its greatest strengths, which are focus and brevity. When people are looking for information, they want information. One-page websites don’t have a lot of that. People are used to going to a multipage website and browsing. One-page websites don’t offer that expected option.
Basically, a one-page website is a sales page. The goal of a sales page is to capture your attention, keep it, build desire, and then place an offer in front of you. Its strength comes from its focus and brevity, but so does this weakness.
Pros and Cons of a Multi-Page Website
It has more space to work with. There’s a reason that multi-page websites are the norm for businesses. They have more real estate to build on. More pages means more space to display all the ways that you can help potential clients. For example, when it’s time to showcase your signature system, you can dedicate an entire page to it to really reveal all of the benefits and features that clients can experience through it. It’s a powerful way to display your brand.
It’s great for SEO. With more pages comes more SEO opportunity. Each page essentially will function as a sales page. It will have its own focused keyword and the content to support it. As visitors go from page to page browsing your site, they spend more time there, which signals to Google that what you have is a great value to visitors and deserves a better ranking.
Clean navigation is a must. When you start adding several pages to your website, it’s easy for the navigation to become cluttered. Remember this rule of thumb, if people have to click more than twice to get where they want to, they will more than likely click away.
Familiarity is your friend. Multi-page websites have been the norm on the internet for many years. People are used to the format and naturally anticipate having to work with it. When people land on a one-page website and click a menu link and they go zooming down the page, it can be a bit disorienting because it is unexpected. You don’t have to worry about that when your menu structure fits their expectations. This makes them more likely to trust what they find.
How to Decide Which is Right for You
Your number one rule of thumb when making website decisions is always going to be this: how will it affect your users? Always keep them at the forefront of your mind. Step into their shoes and imagine their experience. What would they expect and prefer? What would make their life easier? What would best help them move through the buying cycle quickly? You aren’t designing an experience for you. You are designing an experience for them.
When Might a One-Page Website be Best?
When you can fit everything you need in a small amount of space. When you build a website, you are creating a platform to get information in front of people. Can you get all the information you need to get out there effectively on a single page? If so, then do it. If not, use a multi-page approach.
When SEO isn’t that important. If you know you are planning on driving traffic to your website primarily through paid ads, then SEO isn’t that important to your marketing strategy. If that’s the case, then you might be interested in a one-page website
When time and money are tight. Do you need to get your website up quickly? Is your budget tighter than you would like it to be? If so, then you might want to start with the one-page option just to get yourself online. Then, when you have more time and resources you can expand on that and turn it into a multi-page website.
When Might a Multi-Page Website be Best?
When you need more space. Some businesses are more complex than others. Maybe you want more space in order to detail your services. you might even like to have individual pages dedicated to all of your products and services so that you can really get into the benefits and features of what you offer.
When you need to break things up. Consider your signature system, for example. What if your signature system is so awesome and so unique it breaks the mold for your niche? In that case, you definitely don’t want to gloss over it in a little highlight on a one-page website. You will need to dedicate an entire page to it. Or, what if you are a major leader in your niche with many years of experience? That’s a selling point. Again, you will want to dedicate an entire page to your bio rather than glossing over it in a quick snippet.
When you want to leverage SEO. Multiple pages means more content and more keywords. The general rule of thumb is to focus on one keyword per page. This means your website will be able to target multiple keywords for search.
The Verdict
Whether you should go with a one-page or a multi-page website ultimately depends on the expectations of potential clients and the needs of your business. (Note which one I listed first.)
If you’re thinking a one-page site may be the perfect fit for your business (or you’re ready to upgrade to a larger multi-page site) we’d love to help! Schedule your free website strategy session today to learn more!
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