Website Redesigns Don't Need to Be a Time Suck: Consider the One-Page Website

The website for your business is not meeting your needs. It looks drab and old. Maybe it is hard to navigate or doesn’t work on mobile.

You’ve decided it’s time to rejuvenate it and create a new website.

• You want a more professional look, but budget concerns and a lack of time keep pushing this initiative to the back burner.
• You don’t have time to think through pages and pages of website copy, worry about giving feedback on design, or proofreading your entire site to make sure it is just right.

Putting off getting a website seems easier than adding it to your already overflowing plate. But each time you put it off, the eyesore remains, hurting your brand.

Luckily, there is a way to bypass the headache of commissioning a website with multiple pages.

A one-page website.

This blog post will help decide if using a streamlined, one-page format for your website is the right choice for you.

One-Page Website Explained

The beauty of the one-page website is its simplicity. There’s no need to click around and visit pages on the site to find information. Prospects can scroll to find the information they’re searching for on the homepage (the only page).

A One-Page Website is Like Giving Your Customers a One-Way Ticket to Your Value Proposition.

One-page sites tell a layered story in a linear format. Usually, a one-page website consists of four key parts:

• Hero Tile: a combination of words and an image that immediately conveys what you do and states the problems you help solve (your value proposition).
• Proof Points Section:  2-3 services or proof points supporting the value proposition in the hero tile and elaborating on the solutions you offer.
• About Section: connects prospects to your company’s purpose and team.
• Call-to-Action Section: urges the visitor to convert on an offer.

Here Is an Example of a One-Page We Made for Tomark Industries Inc.

Tomark needed a validation website to talk about the benefits of the Viton product line and to urge prospects to learn how it works. We decided that this was a clear objective that a one-page site could achieve. This hero tile gets right to the point of their value proposition. In the opening message, Tomark displays the benefit of Viton technology to a prospect’s bottom line: increased production output and higher profit margins. They entice the visitor to scroll down for evidence in support of these claims.

This section contains clear examples supporting the value proposition that Viton “smooths [the plastic] extrusion process."

This call-to-action at the end of the page urges prospects to get in touch for more details. They are prompted to contact Tomark via email right on the homepage.

A short “About” section clarifies more information about the company and provides critical contact info, such as the physical address and phone number.

Like a sales pitch, the Tomark website presents the prospect with a point-by-point case why Tomark’s product is the answer to their manufacturing needs. It wraps up with a call-to-action for the prospect to contact a distributor for pricing details.

When It’s Appropriate to Use a One-Page Website

When Your Company Offers a Single Product or Service

Sites that work well in this format sell one product or service, or a suite of products or services, that are tightly aligned in the consumer’s mind.

A plumber, for example, offers two main services: repairs and installations. Those two services are tightly aligned in the consumer’s mind, so using one page works well.

On the other hand, there are companies that offer plumbing, and heating and air-conditioning (HVAC). Consumers do not generally see HVAC and plumbing as similar services. Therefore, each should have its own page and a one-page website is not the best fit.

The one-page site is hyper-focused on a single product or service offering, providing detailed information and a compelling argument without being too wordy or complicated.

When You Need to Prove You are Legit & Open for Business

A validation site proves you exist. It’s an online presence where prospects you meet can verify who you are.

A validation site is appropriate if prospects typically rely on referrals from friends, so they search for you by your company name. They would search for ‘Greer Plumbing’ (we call this a branded keyword search). They might not search at all; they might have the website link from a friend or grab the URL from a business card.  

When You Want a Simple Way to Tell Your Story

Don’t add pages just to have them! I’m sure you could fill a larger website with extra fluff content on your business. But is it necessary?

Sometimes too much information is overwhelming. Sure, your services might solve many many problems. However, quite often, the prospect is focusing on ONE problem.

A one-page website enables you to focus on the prospect’s one most important problem. The other solutions are ‘nice to have’ if you include them, but are not necessary for your prospects.

When Your Sales Process is a Consultative One

Your website only needs to sell one thing when you’re business is consulting: you. It’s all about showing prospects the skills and talents that only you can provide them. That’s a perfect task for a one-page site because you can begin to build interest and trust by telling prospects the story of your process and provide testimonials in one place.

When NOT to Use a One-Page Website

In some situations, a more complex site is more appropriate to meet the needs of your business, and that’s okay! The important thing is that you choose the one-page format if it works for you, not simply for the convenience.

When You Sell Multiple Kinds of Products and Services

Don’t use one-pagers if you sell multiple kinds of products or services that need full pages to explain or purchase.

It isn’t good for your prospect.

A mile-long page that has one product description after another will feel unorganized and be annoying to scroll through.

On top of that, it isn’t ideal for search engines. Search engine results are a list of pages matching to queries, not a list of websites. With many product descriptions on one page, the search engines won’t feel the page is a good match for the query.

When You Want Prospects to Find You Via a Google Search

Above, we mentioned branded search (when a prospect enters your business name). But prospects will also search for you using non-branded, topical keyword searches, aka keywords related to your line of service. For example, they might search for a ‘plumber near me.’

When You Want to Earn Leads From Your Website

If your marketing plan requires that you obtain leads from your website, then a one-page website won’t help you. Lead generation sites require lots of information on multiple pages.

Think a lead generation site might be better for your business? Check out this blog post to learn more about lead generation sites.

When You Have the Ability to Solve Multiple Pain Points Your Prospects Face

You can solve many challenges, but you don’t know which one your prospect is facing today. A one-page website works well in describing one challenge, not multiple challenges. So if you solve multiple challenges, you need multiple pages, each one demonstrating your expertise in solving that challenge.

Benefits of One-Page Sites

They Are Faster to Launch

It costs significantly less time and money to put together a single, well-designed web page than a complex multi-page site. This means that your one-page website could take weeks to launch rather than months. A nice bonus if you have an upcoming business meeting or tradeshow!

Make a good first impression with less effort

When a potential client looks at your site, they should see that you have a passion for your business and expertise in your craft. Lacking a validation site, or a using one that looks like it was created in ‘95, negates your credibility.

The Technical Advisors Company (TACO) website is a blast from the past...literally. You do NOT want to follow their example.

People judge whether stay on the site or navigate away within the first 5 seconds they land on your homepage. It MUST look professional, credible, and modern to pass this 5 Second Test. Winning 5 seconds can win you 10 seconds, which can potentially win you a phone call.

Keep User Attention Without Requiring Clicks

You want your website to be “sticky”—meaning people connect and want to stick around on the pages looking for answers.

66% of time people spend on a page is below the top section, or below the fold. In other words, people tend to scroll down a page. One-page websites increase the site’s stickiness by pulling people through your story rather than having them click away to find further information.

Focus Prospects to Engage With One Call-to-Action

One clear call-to-action on a web page encourages prospects to take the next step.

Whereas multi-page websites offer distractions in the form of clicks and new page load times, single page websites focus visitor attention on content leading down to the call-to-action.

A focused website visitor is ready to act on your call-to-action.

Better Mobile Usability

Another added benefit of having one long, scrollable page is that it’s even easier on to use on mobile devices. 51% of global internet users accessed the web using mobile devices in 2017.

All websites can and should be mobile-friendly. A bonus of the single page website format is that it’s inherently designed for enhanced mobile usability.

Single page websites are read by scrolling which makes it easier for users on mobile to swipe up with their thumb. One-page sites eliminate the need to find the tiny mobile menu in the corner and click other pages.

Tells Your Story in an Easy to Scan Way

When it comes to the web, people don’t read, they scan. One-pagers help you tell your story in an easy-to-scan way—provided you Chunkify your content.

The scannable format of one-page sites helps people understand your message quickly. Of course, the more quickly they understand, the more quickly they can take action.

Drawbacks to the One-Page Format

It’s Hard to Tell Your Story Succinctly

If you’ve ever practiced a 30-second elevator pitch or tried to tweet in under 160 characters, you now that condensing a story is difficult. It can be even harder to decide what you should cut out when you know all the intimate details about what makes your company great. On the bright side, you can get around this by hiring an expert marketing writer to write targeted copy for your website.

Search Engine Optimization Is More Difficult With Fewer Words

1,000 words or more is the optimal word count for a page to rank high on Google. Search engines like sites with many long-form pages of content. With a one-page website, it’s likely your homepage will clock in at fewer than 1,000 words.

The limited content a one-page website has will make it difficult to rank organically in search engines for topical keywords. Despite this, branded keywords, like “Greer Plumbing’ that we mentioned earlier, can still rank highly.

Fewer Analytics

One of the benefits of analytics is being able to see what is important to your prospects. One-page sites make it difficult for Google Analytics, the world’s most popular free analytics tool, to track what information on the page is most important to your prospects. Therefore, analytics are limited to total pageviews and time spent on page, so you might want to consider a tool like Crazy Egg, so you can see how people scroll up and down the page. Of course, this is probably overkill if you’re using a one-page website, but we like to be thorough.

Make a Good First Impression Fast with a
One-Page Website

Having a website that makes a good first impression is important for any business. Now that you know there are options other than a large and complex website, it’s time to put your plan into action!

If you have:

• A solution for prospects’ one main problem
• A small budget for website design
• A network that uses your business cards or personal references to find the site rather than searching it
• A desire for stickiness

Then it is time to start reaping all the benefits that a one-page website can provide!

The Complete Guide to One-Page Websites

One-size does not fit all, even in the case of a one-page website. This guide includes everything you need to know about one-page websites and includes Bright Orange Thread’s 3-tier pricing options to help you set your expectations and budget, no matter where you buy your website services.

Access the Complete Guide to One-Page Websites