Creating a website can be a painful process. First, you need to look for well-priced hosting – there are lots of hosting providers to choose from, including Siteground. Next, you have to configure your website. We all know WordPress is easy to configure, but you can easily spend hours writing content, playing around with different themes, and downloading plugins. Before you know it, days have passed and the cat thinks you have lost the plot.
At this point, a simple one-page website is probably starting to look rather attractive. One page is easy to create, right? After all, there is not much room on there, so you do not need to write much or worry about SEO. Yeah, Google will love your cute little one-page website for sure. Or so you think. But is this true, or are you being horribly optimistic?
When One-Page Works
One-page websites definitely have their place in the grand scheme of things. If all you need is an online brochure, a one-page website can work really well. It isn’t difficult to fit the necessary information on one page, as long as you are fleeting in your description of company services and there are not hundreds of customer testimonials to include.
However, if you want your website to be the focus of your marketing efforts, a one-page affair is unlikely to perform as well. This is not to say you can’t make a one-page website rank highly – with the right SEO, it is possible – but one-page websites do not suit the majority of businesses.
Why Multiple Page Websites Rock
Google (and other search engines) love quality content. If there is one thing we learnt from the Panda updates, it is that. The main problem with one-page websites is that you can’t fit much on there, unless you create the world’s longest page. When you only have one page to work with, the decision making process on where to fit your best bits is a lot harder.
Like most businesses, you probably have a fair amount to say about what you do and why customers should buy from you. Trying to fit all that in to a few sentences is tough to say the least. Working with multiple pages helps the content to flow better. Short, concise bullet points can flow into separate pages of more detailed content. This creates a better user experience, which is crucial for search engine performance.
Keyword Performance
To rank well, you need to include targeted keywords in your content. It is hard to fit a list of keywords seamlessly into content when all you have to work with is one page. If you are not careful, the content will feel like a block of keywords instead of a useful piece of text.
A website should primarily be there to create a useful user experience. Focus on this when deciding what type of website your business needs. If one-page is enough to give your customers the right information, then great, but if you have a lot to say, consider upgrading to a multi-page website.
