Are one-page websites a good idea?

Learn what one-page websites are and whether they’re better for SEO than a multi-page design.

Website design is a big deal nowadays, especially with search engine optimisation (SEO) playing such a prominent role in generating organic traffic and leads.

In fact, 75% of people base the credibility of a company on website design, while a staggering 94% of people won’t trust an outdated one.

And when you consider the fact that it takes just 0.05 seconds to form a design opinion, it’s a fine line between a user clicking a call to action button or the back arrow.

The user experience (UX) plays a huge role in all of this. If your company creates compelling content and takes the user on a journey from top to bottom and from page to page, they’re more likely to take action.

This is one of the integral reasons why one-page websites are very popular right now. The functionality and ease of navigation, paired with the fact that they’re more manageable are making them a more attractive alternative to a complex multi-page website design.

But with so much riding on SEO and Google rankings, are one-page websites a good idea? Let’s explore the pros and cons.

What are one-page websites?

A one-page website is a website that only has a single page. Unlike a multi-page website design, it doesn’t contain any additional pages, such as an About Us, Services and Contact Us page.

The idea of a simple one-page website is to streamline the user experience by putting all of the necessary content all in one place. There’s no added load times involved, just a seamless wave of content and imagery on a long single page.

What are the benefits of a one-page website?

Besides being easy to manage from a busy business owner’s point of view, a one-page website’s key selling point is its mobile-friendly design.

Generally speaking, single page sites convert much better on mobile, making it easier for users to navigate through it on-the-go.

Only having a single page to load means one-page websites load much faster than multi-page sites too, which is important when you refer back to the 0.05 second judgment stat from earlier.

It’s worth mentioning that a recent survey found that 53% of mobile users will leave a website if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. That’s a catastrophic bounce rate if the user has entered your website via a PPC campaign – ouch!

Mobile users often tend to find it difficult to click on additional pages or tabs on a small device as well, which is another reason why multi-page websites might not be the way forward. So, having a single page website gives those people with chunky sausage fingers a welcome break!

From a business owner standpoint, a one-page website takes less time to design/develop and are more cost-effective if you don’t have a big budget to play with. The versatility of it means you can come back and add extra pages when you experience extra cash flow.

Is a one-page website better for SEO?

The whole one-page vs multi-page website design battle in the realm of SEO has many areas to consider. From the outset, it’s hardly surprising to learn that single page sites don’t allow you to consider wide keyword targeting.

The idea of one-page websites is that they’re designed around a single concept or service, which instantly limits your ability to rank for several keywords.

It’s not always easy to tap into advanced SEO strategies with a one-page website too. A key example of this is ‘siloing’.  This is the practice of structuring your website into certain areas of interest to demonstrate authority in these subject matters. In layman’s terms, it’s a way of organising your website into categories and subcategories to best display your content.

On a multi-page website, you can do this effectively by going into precise detail on a service or product on dedicated pages and have further opportunities to include keywords. If you try to squeeze all of that content into a one-page website, it’ll look a mess.

On the flip side, it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to one-page websites and SEO effectiveness. Having the singular focus and streamlined user experience in a simple one-page website allows you to target a specific audience really well.

You can control their behaviour and steer them to certain call to actions. You’ll have no issue of them losing interest and navigating to another page, as it’s all there in front of them. You can treat it like an extended landing page.

In SEO terms, this can be extremely beneficial when you want to rank for one or two keywords. Google will recognise your website as somewhere dedicated to a certain service and identify it as relevant content in that field.

The final thing to consider is that one-page websites can deliver higher page authority. Links are one of the biggest factors to determine how well a website ranks on Google. Having a single page means any backlinks acquired will point directly to your one and only URL.

Multi-page websites can have links directing users to blogs, testimonial pages and so on – which spreads the ratio of traffic and reduces the chances of your website ranking as high.

One-page vs multi-page website

At the end of the day, if you heavily rely on Google to find new customers, then a multi-page website is a better idea as you can incorporate different keywords into each page to attract a wide audience. Similarly, if you provide an extensive range of services or products, a one-page website won’t give you the space to explain and rank highly on Google.

On the other hand, a single page site is a good idea if you want a cost-effective, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate and sales-driven solution.

However, the organic SEO restraints mean that you need to consider spending more on PPC and social media advertising. A one-page website is essentially like running a landing page, where you must use other forms of marketing to generate traffic.

Whatever choice you make, we’re here to help. To see examples of our website design work, take a look at our case studies.

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