What Exactly Is a One-Page Website?
As its name indicates, a one-page website, also called a long scrolling website, is a website with only one page. All the website content is then gathered in one place. Your visitors must then scroll the website page to discover its content instead of clicking on the different pages or buttons as it is the case for a regular website. Designers sometimes use one-page websites to make outstanding creations. Moreover, as you can guess, there is no blog or online shop on one-page websites.
When Should You Use a One-Page Website
To begin with, before making a choice you should take the time to plan what you want to put on your website. Do you have a lot of information to share with your visitors or is it more minimalist? Are you planning to do an ephemeral website or a long-lasting one? You need to know your needs before starting your website. One-page websites are often used to showcase websites with one main goal. This can be to present yourself or to advertise something. For example, this kind of website is perfect to present events or online resumes. One-page websites can also be good landing pages if you make a contest or want your followers to subscribe to your newsletter.
Its Advantages and Disadvantages
First, let’s talk about the advantages of making a one-page website. If you have not a lot of content to put on a website, the one-page website is surely an option to consider. You will only need to make one web page and not many. Therefore, it should be easier and quicker to do. Moreover, as mentioned above one-page websites can be a complementary tool to your social media if you want that your followers make a specific action. Indeed, it is said that one-page websites have a better conversion rate than regular websites.
Also, you keep control of the way people visit your website with one-page websites since they need to scroll down to read the content. They then do not need to check many pages to find the information they are looking for. It is also a format liked by mobile phones.
There are, however, a few disadvantages to one-page websites you need to know before making your mind. As we said above, one-page websites are for showcase websites. You cannot add a blog or an online boutique if you want to have a one-page website. It is also not the best option if you have a lot of different information to put on your website. Moreover, you need to make sure that your website page will not be too long or too heavy since it might affect the loading speed. You can use JPEG files instead of PNG since they are often lighter. Try also to avoid the mistake of having a too long scrolling website.
Moving to another issue, it might be more difficult to index your one-page website on search engines since it has only one web page. Your bounce rate might be higher than if you have a regular website with many pages. Make sure your visitors stay on your website as long as possible, add call-to-action buttons to send them on different sections of your website, and do not forget backlinks. Do not hesitate to check our blog articles on indexing to help you appear on search engine results.
A Few Tips for Your WebSelf Website
Keep in mind to gather all similar information in the same sections when you will create your website. Add and customize the texts, titles, and pictures, and then create your header and your footer. We also suggest you fix the header of your one-page website to help the browsing. Furthermore, create the number of sections you need by clicking on the ADD tab located top left and then on SECTION at the bottom.
When it is done, use anchors to bring your visitors to where they want to go from the header. Here how to do it: first, you must drag the anchor on your website. Click on the ADD tab and choose the anchor tool. Then, drag it where you want your visitors to be sent. You can link your buttons, pictures, menu to the anchor by choosing the link to a page of your website option and by selecting the right page and section for the anchor.
A Few Examples of WebSelf Templates Made for One-Page Websites
Resume
Wedding
In conclusion, we hope that you will now know when to use a one-page website. One-page websites can be masterpieces, especially when they use storytelling. Have fun and try different options when you will create your WebSelf website. Your imagination is your only limit!