What is a one page website?
A one page website is just that…one page. Each section of content is separated by a design element so viewers know they are on a new piece of content. One page sites are most effective when you have a few sections of content you wish to highlight; Home, About Us, Service/Product, Contact Us. When a viewer clicks on the navigation link (let’s say About Us) at the top of the page it jumps or slides down to that section (the About Us section).
When is a one page website appropriate?
Trends are always coming and going. In 2013 one page websites hit the scene, then took over but that doesn’t mean you should just on the band wagon. So how can you tell if you business would benefit from a one page website.
-You have a few navigation links. Five at most.
-Those navigation links DO NOT need drop downs or sub-navigation
-Your website needs to tell a story
-Your content does not change often
Pros and Cons of One Page websites
Pros
-Many users find it easier to navigate a one page
-SEO benefit, your google page rank applies to your entire site
-Your designer can focus squarely on the one page, adding UI and unique effects
-Your one page site will easily translate to a responsive (mobile) site
-The user has less time between landing page and content
Cons
-Because your site is all on one page, the load time may be longer (ask your designer to use AJAX to load individual sections to load times wont take so long)
-It may be hard to effectively optimize your content for one of two key words
-Not for sites that need to be updated often. If you blog often, update news, add many new products, this is not for you.
-If you do not focus on UI, the long site can become boring