When is a 1 Page Website the Right Move?
A One Pager is a Single Page website with no additional pages like About, Services or Contact. All the content sits within the same webpage, traditionally in a long-scrolling layout. The beauty of a One Page website is that it tries to promote one thing in an uncluttered, direct manner.
Single page websites aim to provide just the right amount of information for a user to make a decision and act on it. This is why single-page design is often used for landing pages, portfolios and event-related websites.
Limitation number one
One of the most significant impediments to single page websites is keyword ranking. SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, relies heavily on keywords, and any website page can most times, be only optimized for a single phrase. Single page websites are designed around a central topic or theme, so such single page websites can only target a single phrase.
Lack of specific content
Single page websites are generally harder to find specific content, as there isn’t space or possibility to create a separate page for each topic; everything has to be shown on a single page. Should a visitor need to know more about a product, idea or content displayed on the site, it will be challenging for a single page website to show more needed content. This lack of relevant content can be frustrating for a visitor who may want to see specific information on the site. Another factor would be the metadata of a single page website.
Lack of Links
SEO favor sites with enough links, both internal and external links. Single page websites are limited in their ability to include many internal links, as the website consists of only one webpage. The links on their page only have the ability to jump to another section of the same page. The ability to link to another page is not possible with a single page website. Single page websites also frown against having external links, as this could quickly take the visitor away from their website.
Multi-Page websites are not bogged down with this disadvantage as multi-page websites have the ability to include lots of internal links as they are not limited to the number of pages the site has. Also, having external links increases the sites SEO ranking.
Though single page websites can be patchy and are in vogue, they do have their place in the market, but it is important to note they are not so good for SEO. A lot of thought should be put into considering a single page website. Factors like the target audience, the market and the need for the website should be put into consideration.
Businesses like to be ranked high in search engine result pages as most web users rarely search more than the first or second search result pages. This means that if you don’t rank high in the search result pages, your presence on the web may not be felt.
Key Takeaways
Multi-Page website are more SEO friendly as they are more flexible, can contain more content, should you wish to have them, and can reach a wider audience. You can be more detailed about a product, even dedicate a whole page to a product. This is something that a single page website will find impossible to do.
