Can a one-page website really work for your business?
Yes, if your site exists mostly to communicate information about your business and one or two products or services. (Of course, if you run a giant eCommerce store or an online marketplace, you’ll still need a multipage site.)
For your website visitors, one-page sites:
- Load fast
- Don’t require navigation between pages to find what they’re looking for. All they have to do is scroll down!
- Make browsing on mobile so much easier. No tiny Menu and Back buttons to fumble with.
For you, one-page sites:
- Are fast and easy to build. You don’t have to worry about site structure, optimizing URLs for every page, or creating metadata for multiple pages on your site.
- Are so much easier to maintain and update than multiple pages.
- Make it easier to create an effective sales funnel because you can design the page as the funnel without having to hope visitors will click through to each next stage.
If you’re looking for a fast way to get your site up and running, a one-page website is just about the quickest way to go. There are hundreds of single-page themes for WordPress that you can download, install and customize to create a professional-quality site in a few minutes.
Because it’s so fast to make a single-page site, you can always build one, see how you and your customers like it, and change it into a multipage site later if you reach a point where that structure works better for your business.
What belongs on a one-page website?
Even though a one-page site is simple, you need to include the key information your customers need to know they’re in the right place, find what they’re looking for and take some kind of action, whether that’s calling you, buying your product, booking an appointment or something else.
You can use this checklist to make sure your page has everything it needs to work well.
8 must-have elements every one-page website needs:
- Your business or company name
- Your services or products
- An about section that explains who you are and how you help customers
- Contact information. Stick to the methods you use most often, like your phone, WhatsApp or email. That way you won’t miss out on customer inquiries that sit in your Instagram DMs for days.
- Customer reviews or testimonials. If you can embed third-party reviews on your site, they can enhance your business credibility. Customer testimonials that include names and photos, they can be very effective, too.
- Your call to action. Do you want them to call you, send a text, buy something? Make the ask.
- Social media buttons-but only for the platforms you update regularly. Linking to a feed that you don’t have time to update any more can erode trust in your brand, so keep it fresh or leave it out!
- Great images. You need at least one image for the site header that features your logo. It can also feature your product or reflect the type of services you provide.
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Other, nice-to-have elements your one-page site may need:
- Product images. Even if you only sell one product, make sure to include lots of photos so customers can get a feel for it before they buy.
- Portfolio images. Whether you design websites, take pet photos, decorate cakes or sell waterfront homes, an image or video gallery can show customers what you offer.
- A shopping cart. Your customers need to be able to buy what you’re selling.
- An appointment booking button, if you run a spa, salon or other service-focused business.
- Navigation links or buttons placed in the middle and at the bottom of the site so visitors can jump to the top or another section without scrolling forever. This is helpful if your single-page site is long.
To give you an idea of how many options there are for making a single-page site that rocks, we’re going to take a look at some of the most common use cases.
One-page websites for real estate agents
If you want to create a website to feature a single property, a one-page website is the way to go, because there are no other pages or properties to distract visitors from the property you want them to virtually explore, fall in love with, and ask you to show them.
For example, the Skyview real estate theme for WordPress is a single-page-only theme that allows you to include sweeping images, slide shows, lists of amenities, neighborhood information and floor plans.
Note the CTA button at the top, where visitors can book a showing.
Of course, you can create a great single-page site for your real estate business with a general-purpose one-page theme, too. Zakra’s One Page theme for WordPress is Gutenberg compatible for easy customization and it gives you plenty of space to showcase property photos.
And the Hotelone single-page WordPress theme from Britetechs includes an image-slider header so you can show off a featured property’s many angles or display multiple properties on your single-page site.
You get the idea: Pick a theme with the structure you want, decide if you want to feature one property or multiple listings on your single page site, and customize to make the theme work with your content.
One-page websites for eCommerce
Got something to sell but don’t need a heavy-duty eCommerce theme that’s designed for hundreds or thousands of SKUs? A one-page site layout can let customers focus on your product and help you save time getting your product online.
Shapely is a popular one-page theme from Colorlib that’s compatible with WordPress and WooCommerce, with a portfolio section you can use to showcase your product. It’s regarded as one of the best free single-page themes available, with a clean, simple design that keeps visitors focused on your content.
If you want something that’s a little more clearly set up like a traditional eCommerce site, Themeisle’s Hestia Modern Material Design Theme is hard to beat. Like Shapely, Hestia is WooCommerce compatible. It also works with Gutenberg for easy page building and customization.
One-page websites for freelance portfolios
If you’re a freelancer with images of your work to show off to prospective clients, you know you need a portfolio site that focuses visitors’ attention on those images without any distractions. You also know you need that site to load fast, so visitors don’t get bored or frustrated and leave before you can stun them with the quality and creativity of your work.
Themify’s Ultra WordPress theme gives you pre-made demo sites you can download and customize, plus skins you can swap out to change the design. Here’s a screen shot of the Agency 2 demo site for Ultra. Find the one-page demo that works for you and you can personalize it fast.
Then there’s OnePage, a theme from MyThemeShop that offers parallax scrolling, floating menu options and a nice, big portfolio section where you can showcase your work.
Which theme should you choose for your one-page website?
If you find a theme you love immediately, go for it. If you’re having trouble deciding, check out the demos in detail, download and play around with the free versions, and see which one is the easiest to customize and use.
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Casey is the Senior Director of Marketing for Hosting and has been in the web hosting space for 7 years. He loves the slopes and hanging out with his kids.