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    Pros & cons of single-page design

    Guide
    by Billy Sunderland Partnership Executive

    Minimalism is in this year, and what is more minimal than a single-page design website? Single-page websites are innately mobile-friendly and offer a clear and fast reading experience, but they aren’t always a suitable option.

    Here we will go through the pros and cons of single-page design as well as when it is appropriate to use and how to get it right.

    Let’s start with the pros

    • Quick to build, single-page designs naturally take less time (and budget) to build. Perfect if you are sticking to a budget.
    • They’re easy to use
    • Linear content means that there is only one direction for your visitors to go and that is to scroll down; with a single-page design, there is no danger of your visitors missing something because they couldn’t navigate to the correct page.
    • They’re mobile-friendly, which – in this day and age – is a necessity.

    But what about the drawbacks?

    • They aren’t ideal for SEO. As you probably know, SEO best practices require a lot of detail as well as internal and external links and a level of depth that cannot truly be achieved with a single-page website. One-page websites also don’t allow for wider keyword targeting as they are usually limited to a single topic.
    • Page-load speed can be significantly slower on a single-page website due to the fact that that page tends to contain more data than a single page on a classic website. This is particularly affected if you have a lot of elements like media, parallax effects, and web fonts.
    • There is less to analyse. A great thing about Google Analytics is being able to see user behaviour across the site, which pages are popular, where users are dropping off… if your entire website exists only on one page it is tricky to find out what parts are working for visitors and what aren’t.

    Is a single-page design right for you?

    Sometimes, a single-page design is ideal. For example, if you are a freelancer or a small business with limited services to showcase. Sticking to one page can be a succinct way to convey all the necessary information and lead visitors to a clear call-to-action.

    As single-page designs are typically more image-heavy and contain less text, if your planned website contains a lot of content (be that products, blogs, or different services), a one-page website probably isn’t for you.

    With a classic, multi-page website, you have the option to include pages such as FAQs, blog, services, and more to support and expand your core home page and allow users to navigate through each section of your website as they please.

    How to create a single-page website

    Planning and organisation will be your best friends when it comes to creating your single-page design. You will need to organise the content of your website strategically, bearing in mind that visitors will be scrolling from top to bottom.

    There is some core information that you need to include in order to let visitors know who you are, what you do/sell, what the purpose of the website is, and how to get in touch.

    Creating clear sections is a great way to differentiate different elements of your site – using page-builder is helpful for this.

    Ideally, the contact information and call-to-action will be presented early on so that users don’t have to scroll all the way down your site.

    • Keep your branding consistent throughout the page
    • Know your core focus and goal before you design
    • Ensure you tell visitors about you
    • Include a very clear call-to-action so visitors know what to do
    • Add your contact information (including social pages if you have them)

    Need help bringing your design to life? Gooey are a team of expert white-label web developers and we are happy to work on projects of any size or budget. Get in touch to find out more.