Are low cost one page websites a good idea?
I’m inspired to write this after a long spate of clients wanting 1 page websites. One page websites can be absolutely brilliant depending on the niche in which your business operates. Here I’d like to take a look at the pros and cons of one page websites.
Pros
Price
The cost of a one page website is often the driving factor in why some people choose it, rather than a larger site. I charge £200 for a one page website. A recent customer in Bristol said that the cheapest one page website he could find locally was £350! £200 to get have a professional online presence is a bargain really and is a great entry point if you’re on a budget.
Content
Another great reason for having a one page website is if you are short on content. This may be because your business is new or perhaps you just don’t know what to write. A one page website is great for this because there is nothing worse on a website than a page without enough content. Providing the content is something that many clients struggle with, so a one page website is absolutely perfect from that point of view
Time scale
For larger sites, the time frame to the first draft is 10 working days from when I receive the content. For a one page site, because it’s a quicker build, the time frame is only 5 working days. This means that if you’re in a hurry for your site (you might have a promotion on or an opening date for the business) a one page website is perfect.
Cons
Content
Yes, content is a pro and a con. The reason I have listed it as a con also is because Google loves content. The more content that your site has, the easier it is to rank the site, depending on the niche. A one page site is always going to be short on content, so depending on which niche your business is in, having a one page website is never going to rank you on page one in Google. However, there is some good news. I have several clients with one page sites ranking on page one of Google (even number one on page one)
One page websites on page one of Google examples
I completed this one page website just a couple of months ago during the Summer. It already ranks number 3 in the map pack for “pilates Blackpool” and I’m sure this can be improved once the client gets reviews. The site also ranks number 5 in the organic results. Not bad for a one page website that’s only a few months old.
Another one page website is ranking on page one of Google for sun bed hire Coventry. The site went live around 8 months ago and again is ranking both in the map pack and the organic searches for several search terms.
Another one page website ranking on page one of Google can be seen below. This ranks for search terms such as “hypnotherapy st annes”, “hypnotherapy for stress st annes” and several other search terms. The site ranks number one in the map pack and number three in the organic rankings, beating sites such as Yell.com and other directories.
There is also good news, which is that if you’re happy to write a blog, then you can really improve your chances of getting to page one with a cheap one page website (OK, officially it becomes more and more pages as you add new blog posts, but you still only paid for a one page website). So how does writing a blog help you rank in google? Google loves content. Quality content was a main focus of an algorithm update a couple of years ago and I believe that this is always going to be a strong ranking factor. Unlike link building (another ranking factor) it’s impossible to fake blog posts. Yes, you can pay people to churn them out, but they still need to be of a decent quality (Google is clever like that and knows if the content is rubbish). So you provide quality content in the form of blog posts for your site visitors and Google rewards you. As long as you are consistent and commit to writing so many posts per week/month.
Perception
I’m going to add this as a con because I’m guessing it might put some people off. People are generally used to website with more than one page, with a menu (the links to other pages) that will let them navigate around the site. A one page site doesn’t give the site visitor that option and so they might feel that the website is “lacking” in some way. However, as long as you ensure that the visitors have all the information they need, then this shouldn’t really be a problem. I design all websites from scratch around my client’s content in such a way that it presents all the information that they might need, in a natural and easy to read way. Hopefully being able to find the content quickly and easily on a one page website could actually be a pro, rather than a con.
So all in all, if you are short on money or content (or both) and your business needs an online presence then I would recommend a one page website. I offer cheap one page websites for only £200. Examples of affordable one page website include
https://www.pamspilatesblackpool.co.uk/
https://www.rapidresultstherapy.co.uk/
https://www.oasissunbedhire.co.uk/
https://www.globalexpresscouriers.com/
https://www.electriciannorthsomerset.co.uk/
If you’re thinking of getting an affordable one page website, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
