Are you thinking of a single web page for your website? Found a really nice WordPress theme you would like to use? This article discusses single web page sites and issues to consider before making that decision.
A number of years ago I decided that our web design studio (based in Brisbane) would be best represented by a single webpage. The reasoning behind that position was multifaceted in that I wanted it to achieve several outcomes including:
- demonstrating our experience,
- acting as a call to action to generate new business,
- to set our web design agency apart from our competition, and
- to provide a simple website for us to maintain.
This approach worked really well. Not only did our business continue to grow, we received global recognition from people all over the world. We generated enquiries from music labels looking to create dynamic single pages for their artists and Seth Godin, an American author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker blogged about our simple yet effective site.
Single page, scrolling, well designed websites are now back very common. In fact they have become a real trend of late. The issue I see now though is that the web is significantly different to how it was in 2007. While a single web page can still provide benefits there are a number of problems that are apparent. The main concern is around search engine visibility given how the search engines have changed and the sheer volume of web sites and web pages on the internet.
Whether or not a single web page is designed and developed for your business or organisation will likely depend on several factors and will include:
- your target audience,
- your existing marketing techniques,
- your expectations, and
- the objectives the website is designed to achieve.
Target Audience
Do you know who your customers are or are likely to be? Having a solid understanding of your customer base is relevant not only to how you position your business and marketing message but also to the design and layout of the website itself. Different customer groups will have different expectations of your website. If your market is mid teens then you can expect a certain level of technical knowledge and as such a cutting edge website design may be required. If however your market is mainly comprised of retired “grey nomads” then their expectations of your website will be different. A larger typeface may just be the difference between buying from your website or a competitors. One main consideration here is to determine how the website content should be organised and whether it can be contained to a single page or needs to be divided into several sections.
Existing Marketing Techniques
Does your business rely on search engine results? Whenever I meet with a new client to discuss their web strategy and online requirements I ask them how their customers find them. More and more frequently when I meet start up businesses the response is that their customers will come from Google. Let me tell you that relying on search engines is not a formula for success. Sure, it is an element of a complete marketing strategy but it is not a marketing strategy in itself. If you are driving traffic to your website through multiple marketing techniques such as social media, print, radio, email campaigns or tv then your reliance on search engine results may not be significant. A purely online business may need to generate more results from search engines where budget constraints make traditional marketing difficult. If you fall into the later category then it is likely that a single web page will not deliver the traffic you desire.
Your Expectations
What do you expect from your website? An increase in sales revenue of $5000 per annum? An annual sales volume of $2,000,000? Determining your expectations of the website will be a relevant factor in deciding whether or not to reply a single page website for your business. It’s likely that if you are selling any more than a single product you will need a different format of website. A service based business on the other hand may be well suited to that option.
Objectives of the website
Finally, the end result or purpose of the website will need to be considered. Is the objective simply to generate more sales calls? Is it to book online appointments? Do you have a catalog of several thousand products on offer? Work out exactly what you want the site to achieve and then reflect on whether that can be achieved in a single web page. Sometimes even what appears to be a complex product offering can be completed in a single web page with cutting edge web development techniques.
If you are considering designing and developing a new website and a single web page is an option feel free to contact us to discuss your individual requirements. Every business and organisation is different and our approach is always a custom one.
This article is part of a series of blog posts designed for two main reasons including improving the position of this site for our core phrase “web design Brisbane” and to provide our knowledge and experience to others on the web.
