One-Page vs Multi-Page Website: Which One Is Better?

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If you're looking to build a website, you might have come across the term of one page website. And you might be wondering what the heck a one-page website is, and what is the benefit of it anyway, and what even is the purpose of it, and how can a one-page website be even useful for my business?

So if that's the case, this video is for you. In this blog post and video, I’ll explain the difference between the two, share the pros and cons of one-page websites, and explain when a one-page website makes sense for your business.

pros and cons of using a one page website

What Is a One-Page Website?

Like the name implies, a one-page website is a website that consists of one page. And that one page lays out your mission statement, who you are, what you offer in your business, and showcases the testimonials or your portfolio or both, if you have both.

It then ends with a call to action for people to contact you. One-page websites don’t have a typical navigation but rather the menu links you see at the top jump to corresponding sections on the page.

So, for example, when someone clicks on the About link, the website immediately scrolls to the About section. If they click on the Services, it immediately scrolls to Services.

In some cases, the navigation is a sticky navigation, which means that the menu is always visible, no matter how far down the user scrolls on the page.

Contrary to that, we have a multi page website, which obviously has multiple pages. You have a separate page for your story and about information, a separate page for your Services, for your Blog, for your Contact, for your Portfolio, and anything else that you need to present relevant information on your website.

What Is The Benefit of a One-Page Website?

The biggest benefit is that it's usually very quick to launch, so you don't have to spend a lot of time building it. It's just that one simple page and it can be launched pretty quickly.

Another benefit of a one-page website is that it can boost your conversions... potentially.

I say potentially because it, honestly, depends on what you use the one-page website for. If you're using it as a short, informational brochure on what you do, and if you structure it in a very logical, conversion-focused way, then yes, you can see an increase in inquiries and leads. That’s because there's only one thing for them to do — get in touch with you.

But, at the same time, you need to consider that some people will not be ready to reach out immediately. This means that just having very sparse information on a one page may not be enough for them to actually take that first step towards working with you.

That said, I will say that if you're just getting started with your business and you're not really sure what you're offering, a one page website is a good way to test out your services or your idea and to see if there is any interest for it.

The third benefit of a one-page website is that it can load fast — depending on how you build it. Bear in mind that if you have a lot of background videos or if you’re using large images that haven’t been compressed, or a lot of fancy effects such as parallax on zoom, then you run the risk of your website loading slowly.

But if you take the time to optimize your images and you don't really have any special effects going on, then it can load faster than a regular website. Typically, one-page websites have smaller stylesheets and less JavaScript to load which contributes to those types of websites to load fast.

Are there any drawbacks to having a one-page website?

The biggest drawback of a one-page website is that when it comes to ranking in search engines, you're not going to get very far. One-page websites are considered “thin content” by Google. In essence, this means that you don’t have enough content on your page to rank high. When you think about it, it makes sense. Given that you have just one page on your website, you don't really have a lot of opportunities to optimize for different keywords. This means you're limiting yourself in the potential keywords that you could be ranking for.

One way to go around this is to create a blog page and then publish blog posts regularly. This will give you more opportunities to include additional keywords but then you’re no longer dealing with a one-page website, right? And if you go ahead and do that, you might as well add other pages.

When to Use a One-Page Website?

As I mentioned earlier, you can use the one page website when you're just getting started and you want to get something up and running quickly as a way to show people your services and offer them an easy way to get in touch with you.

Another way to use a one-page website is as a sales page for your signature course or program that has a brand of it’s own. You can also use it to sell a single digital or physical product that you want to be known for. The reason why one-page websites work well for that is because you can remove the main navigation and leave a singular call to action. This can significantly boost your conversions.

Similarly, if you want to generate leads in your business by having people sign up for a webinar or an even that your hosting. In that case, this is known as a landing page and it's what you would use to increase the number of leads coming into your business.

Lastly, it makes sense to use a one-page website every time you have a new business idea that you're toying around with, or that you want to test and see if there's any demand for it. If there is, great, you can move on to building an actual website around it. Or if there isn't, you can quickly take it down.

Final Thoughts: Should You Build a One-Page or a Multi-Page Website?

Ultimately, that depends on you. If you are just getting started with your business and if you have an idea of what you want to offer, but you're not really sure if that's the direction you want to go for, or if you want to test, if there is an interest for your services; then one page website is a good way to start.

It's also a good way to start if you're pressed for time and you want the website, but you simply do not have the time or the resources to build a multi-page website; then a one page website is a good starting point.

If on the other hand, you know you have the time and you're short in what you want to offer; and you're sure in your mission statement, and your strategy, and your overall messaging, then go ahead and build out a multi page website because as I mentioned earlier it'll set you up for longterm success.

So those are my tips on one page and multi page website. Now, if you're looking for some extra help and guidance on how to build your website, I have a free training that walks you through the entire process step-by-step so click the image below to sign up for it and watch it.