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Today we would like to share some tips on professional one-page website design which are especially useful for small and medium sized businesses, freelancers, and those who want to showcase ad-hoc projects or events. The success of one-page website design hinges on order, simplicity and conciseness that give a unique user experience. Designing a website on only one page can be challenging.
What Is One-Page Website Design?
It literally means your website has one page. A one-page website showcases all the website content in a single page. It has many advantages.
First, it saves viewers’ time because they wouldn’t have to jump from one page to another and the site only loads once.
Besides, it makes the user experience more continuous and fluid especially scrolling on mobile devices, which in turn leads to increased conversions without distraction or possibility of getting lost.
Thirdly, a one-page website is easy to maintain and much less resource-centric.
Nowadays, with more and more people using mobile devices and social media, simple, speedy and responsive single-page websites have become one of the most popular web design trends, especially sites for landing pages, portfolios, apps or events that are not content heavy.
Read what Wikipedia says about Single Page Websites.
Is One-Page Website Design Right For Me?
Depending on the type of business you are in and what website content you have, one-page website design can be potentially a good fit for any business from creative to traditional businesses so long as your website is not content heavy.
The reason is that one-page website design has more images and minimal text. Both vertical and horizontal scrolling makes it easy to get creative like storytelling with animations and illustrations.
One-page website layout looks especially amazing on landing pages, personal websites, freelance websites, photography or designer portfolio websites, mobile apps websites, event websites like wedding, anniversary, graduation, newborns, etc.
However, this is certainly not a good fit if your website is content heavy such as a great variety of products or services, portfolios, FAQs, blog posts, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, webinars, guides, and checklists. It is simply because you need multiple pages to organize each type of content on its own page with detailed descriptions.
What a One-Page Website Can Do for Me?
First, it allows your potential viewers to find you more easily.
Secondly, you can showcase your works on your professional website.
Thirdly, a professional website allows you to build credibility and brand awareness.
Additionally, you can share your posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. This can funnel your social media visitors and followers back to your website.
Lastly, one-page website design can tell your audience a lot of information about your work. It can educate your viewers who will spread the word.
Available Options
Deciding which content management system (CMS) to use is the very first and yet the most critical step. However, there are tons of options available. Below is a summary of the most popular CMS you may use to create a professional one-page website.
- Hosted platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and WordPress.com where you can find one-page templates
- Self-hosted platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
WordPress is the world’s leading content management system (CMS) trusted by over 35% of all the website users worldwide.
A WordPress one-page website has the following main features.
- Simplicity
- Flexibility
- Publish with Ease
- Publishing Tools
- User Management
- Media Management
- Built-in Comments
- Fully Customizable
- Browser Compatibility
- Multilingual Blogs
- Own Your Data
What Should A Professional One-Page Website Have?
Fundamentals
First, you should also ensure the following in your website design.
- Good UI/UX in terms of design, colors, fonts, and navigation
- Simple and clean design
- Minimal text, sections, and menu items
- Use the flow i.e. content order to tell a story
- Short and concise calls-to-action that stand out with short but compelling words
- Professional animated images or illustrations
- Animated parallax scrolling that creates a 3D illusion
- Sticky menu and “back to top” button (if the scrolling is long)
- Website performance optimization
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
- HTTPS secure
Sections
Secondly, depending on your type of business, a one-page website typically includes the following pages.
- Top/Header
- A slider with professional animated images or illustrations
- Strong call-to-action buttons
- Social media icons
- About
- Write your story with compelling words that set you apart from others
- Gallery / Portfolio
- Showcase your complete, current, and/or future projects, works, events, etc.
- Testimonials
- Customer reviews
- Footer
- Contact information with a Google Maps
- Social media icons
- Business hours, privacy policy, and terms of use (if any)
Conclusion – The Best Solution?
Which is the best solution to have professional one-page website design? If you are just starting up with zero budget and you have plenty of free time, you may try DIY hosted solutions like Wix.
If you want to get creative with animations and illustrations, you should consider WordPress which allows you to scale up your website project with loads of customizations and add-on features.
Here are some professional One-Page Website Design Examples for Your Inspiration.
