Single page vs multiple page website

When it comes to getting a website designed for your company to sell or promote your services or products, you will find many options to think about and important decisions to make. One of these decisions is going to be about the number of web pages you will need. Some people may only require a 1-page website while others may need an extensive web page to sell and list 50 or more products.

So we have put together this article to help you understand a little bit more about web pages and when you should or should not have a 1-page website vs a multi page website. Remember, this is just a guideline only and you will have your own reasons as to what may or may not be the best option for you. But this guide will set you on the right path and help you understand the difference between a one page website vs a multi page websiteใ

Single page website

As single page website otherwise known as simply a 1-page site or a homepage only website can be beneficial in some instances. There are times when a business can use a single page website and there are times when a business simply must not.

Marketing landing page

You may have been on Facebook or Instagram and seen an advert for a product or service that takes your interest. Of course this will happen a lot because all the sites you visit and all your search terms and search habits are being saved. So the (not so) private data from your “searches” and “clicked likes” is logged and saved with the likes of Facebook and Instagram, who can then use that data to serve the customers who pay for advertising space. This way, those who pay for adverting space with adverts will see their adverts get displayed on the devices of those people who have been searching for similar products or services to theirs.

You will often find that a lot of these adverts if clicked, will take you directly to a one-page website with more information on that page about the product or service with a link to click and buy from the company. This is where one-page websites can be beneficial.

Why are they beneficial?

The reason is fairly simple. Most people who arrive at these 1 page websites were in the middle of doing something else at the time such as scrolling up and down on their social media newsfeed and so their attention span is going to be quite short. They were not directly looking for that product or service, they simply saw a link or image and clicked it (clickbait) and thus ended up on that 1-page site. So the chances are you have just a few seconds to keep them there on that web page and make them interested in your product or service with an easy option to buy from you. So in this case, you may not want your customers clicking to visit other pages within your site for more information on that 1-page site. You just want them to order from you with as many little distractions that may put them off.

Other times when a 1-page website is beneficial

If you are selling for example 1 individual product or 1 individual service then having a one page website could also be just as beneficial to you. The same principles could apply to you in that you would want to keep the site pages to a minimum and focus all your attention on one page only in order to sell your product or service without having to find out more information on multiple pages.

The pros and cons to a one page website

The negative side to having a 1-page website is that you are trying to cram a lot of information into one page and sometimes too much information can be off-putting and boring to read – especially if your skills are not in copy writing.

So you run the risk of putting your website visitors to sleep with your web page content because it can appear like you are giving them an essay to read when they only want to know in simple terms who you are, what you are selling and what is the cost.

Furthermore, there are times when having a lot of information on a one page website can make your web page an attractive option to the search engines but equally, and this is important, there are times where it can have the opposite effect and could constitute as spamming. This is because you could be keyword stuffing unintentionally when writing about your product or service in depth on one page only.

So one must always be extra careful when writing content for their web pages and even more so for a 1-page website because it could either make you or break you. So just remember the pros and the cons to a 1 page website and take extra precaution in your choice.

If you have a flash promo where you are paying to bring customers to your website with pay per click adverts on the likes of Google, Facebook or Instagram and you don’t intend to sell this product or service forever, then this is where a one-page website can be beneficial.

Or have a multi-page website but landing pages within your website

If you are trying to build a reputable brand and will use the same website in the future to sell various products or services then you may want to think about having a multiple page website but simply use a special landing page for your website for paid adverts only. What that means is you have an official website with say for example 5 pages, but for any target adverts you may run on social media can easily be configured to land on a specific page within your site that has all the data and information needed for the customer to make a purchase there and then.

Multiple page website

Every single professional company who needs a website MUST have a multiple web page website built and it’s as simple as that. If you as a customer are looking to hire for example a lawyer in Pattaya from a legal firm for your business and you visit their website and find they have a one page site with all their information crammed into one page, it will not make you feel confident in their level of service or abilities.

A legal firm in most cases will offer a multitude of services such as criminal cases, property legal services, will and estate planning, corporate legal services, notary public, marriage registration, prenuptial agreement, personal injury claims, divorce, intellectual property disputes etc. So how can you possible cram all the information about these services into one page? You can, but you can’t and for obvious reasons.

SEO and Usability

Your website visitors will judge you and your business from the very first moment they arrive on your website. If they have to scroll through paragraph after paragraph of text after text to find information that may or may not be there, then they will be very frustrated and likely hit the back button and search elsewhere.

You must of course have a “Services” tab or page with further sub pages to the services you provide. This is common sense. Not only will your websites visitors benefit from navigating with ease to a web page with the specific information they require, but so will you and your business benefit in the search engines.

SEO and how it helps your website

In general, the more pages you have on your website then the more chance you have of getting more hits and more web traffic. More web traffic and hits = more enquiries and sales. It’s a no-brainer.

Having a multiple page website that grows in pages and content will ensure that your website ranks higher and higher in the search results. But remember, content is king and so if you don’t write your information pages well, then you almost likely will not achieve a good page rank for your business so there are many other important points that you must take info consideration when it comes to building your website.

And remember, you always have the option to go back and edit your web pages text, images and data to further improve the page content or add more pages with the knowledge that it will all help your cause.