8 Tips and Guide for Ultimate One Page Website
Viva One Digital : web design company Bangkok is here to take you through the one page website design. Let’s explore what it actually looks like, its upside and downside, as well as the tips and what to keep in mind when designing a one page website.
What are in this article:
- What is a one page website?
- Advantage and disadvantage of one page website?
- Tips and guide for designing one page website
- Final Thoughts
What is a one page website?
One page website or single page website sounds straightforward enough. It is a website that has only one page. Additional pages like about page, contact page, and such are not included in one page website. Every information that you want to present to the visitors will be put in one page only.
One page website usually uses a long scrolling design to create connections between each section of the website as well as adding gimmick using movement and animation when scrolling down the website.
One page website only uses one HTML page, which is why when you visit a one page website, you will not be able to travel to other pages for each menu. Instead of going to another HTML page, you will be sent to each section within that one page.
One of the reasons why one page website is now gaining more popularity is businesses these days like to use one page website for a preview website, products or project launching, and landing page for application and software download as well. Another reason is that one page website is considered mobile user friendly.
TooDeep use one page website for their application download
Advantage and disadvantage of one page website?
Advantages
Great for Responsive Design
As mentioned above one of the reasons why people choose a one page website is that it is mobile user friendly. This is because a single page design has only one page, preventing the users from jumping from page to page which may cause confusion on mobile devices.
Increase User Engagement
With well designed and calculated use of media and text, single page design can grab visitor’s attention easily and will be able to make them stay engaged and focused. This will make the visitors stay on your website longer.
Make the Content Shine
One page design is a great way to put visitors eyes and mind in focus with your content since there will be no other page for them to jump to and the content will be present in logical order like a journey.
Great User Experience for Better Conversions
When designing and creating content for one page website, messages and media like video, picture, and slideshow will be arranged into a story that takes the reader from the first to the last chapter. This creates a great user experience which has been studied to be directly related to a better conversion rate.
Easy to Use
Also, using the scrolling method and simple navigation, one page website is the easiest website to use no matter which devices the users are using. It diminishes any chance of the users getting confused and lost in the website.
Disadvantages
Limited Keyword Optimization
Since one page website only has one page and only one URL, it is not good for keyword optimization since you can only use a few keywords for the websites. However, there is a good side to this, because SEO also loves websites that focus on one specific topic. What you could do is to pick the keywords carefully.
Limited Scalability
If you are a business that plans to expand or a project that plans to add more content in the future, one page website is not for you. You can only change the content and media if you want to make adjustments. If not you will need to redesign the whole website.
Fewer Analytics
With a single page website, the analytics you get is a lot fewer compared to multi page websites. You can still see how many people are visiting, how long they stay, but you will not know which section works well or not. This might be a problem if you need that information to improve the website.
Difficult to Share Specific Content on the Page
With only one URL, it is impossible to share the link to a section of the website to social media and other methods. Most of the time people will only get to see the top part of the website, not what the sharer really wanted to share.
Tips and guide for designing one page website
Now that you know what’s good and what’s not about the one page website, you might be able to decide whether you want to use this design or not. Stick around for tips and what to keep in mind for one page website design.
Simple is the best
When designing the single page website, simple is the key to a lovely and comprehensive website. Remember that you want the reader to stay focused. Keeping the design simple rather than complicating will help draw the visitors’ eyes to the texts and media you want them to see.
The simplicity should apply to the messages on the website as well. Keep the information simple, no need to go overboard by adding lots of content since it is not an ideal amount of texts for one page website.
Easy to understand content
It is very important to carefully and thoughtfully arrange and create the content on the page to be easy to follow and understand. Arrange the content in logical order is a must for one page website design. For example, you want to start with who you are and what you do before how you do it and why.
Another great tip is to put more important and must-know information on the topper part of the website and more specific and clutter information below the essential information. This will guarantee that the visitors get to read what you really want them to read.
Easy to follow navigation
Even if we have only one page, it is still very important to include a navigation bar or menu to keep the visitors guided and navigated. Make sure you have the navigation tools that are easy to spot and can be accessed at all times.
One thing you could do is to have a sticky navigation bar or menu icon that will always stay at the same position of the screen no matter how long people have scrolled down. A back to top button is also helpful for the visitor to go back to the starting point of the website as well.
See how Canale Salon uses sticky navigation bar and back to top button on one page website below.
Effective Call-To-Actions
Another thing that you should never miss whether you are designing one page or multi page website is to have the effective and attractive Call-to-Actions (CTAs). The words that encourage visitors to take any desired actions such as buy now, subscribe now, or sign up.
CTAs should use the wording that is persuasive and ,at the same time, compelling. The position, style, color, and font also play the part of CTAs effectiveness as well. The design for CTAs buttons should use color that standout and the font should be easy to read and look stable and bold as you want them to be compelling and irresistible.
Carefully position everything
When you want to present everything on one page, it is crucial to position everything carefully to make sure that each element has its own space and spotlight to shine and make the visitors look at them.
Use different layout patterns to guide you through how to place media such as pictures and texts for maximum exposure and guide the eyes of the visitors to the important elements.
Make it responsive
It is true that this website design is good for responsive design. But you must also not forget to make images, texts, and other elements responsive and able to resize to fit every screen size as well.
Use colors and fonts to impress
Even though the layout and arrangement of the one page website is already impressive and allows the visitors to focus more deeply on your website and content. The design of the website itself still plays an important role in impressing the visitors.
To keep your single page website simple and easy to the eyes and encouraging for the visitors to look at and keep reading, you might want to avoid using too many colors since it can be distracting. Avoid fonts that are too arty and hard to read too, it’s boring and frustrating for the readers.
Use multimedia to tell story
The last tip we have for you today is to play with multimedia. Use the combination of texts, images, videos, slideshows, and sound or music to make the website more interactive, attractive, and fun to stay around and explore more.
Look at the example below of Wedding Art from Italy using multimedia on their one page website.
Final Thoughts
One page website has its own perks and drawbacks. It suits certain types of business, needs, and objectives. Important thing is you need to know what you want your website to be like and what you want to use it for. If you decide to create a one page website, do not forget to keep these guidelines in mind in order to create a website that works well and looks good.