One page website: when it works, and when it costs you

A one page website puts everything on a single scrolling page: what you do, proof, prices, contact. It is fast to build, cheap to run and easy to read on a phone. It is also the wrong choice for a lot of businesses, and the reason is search, not taste. Here is when it works, when it costs you customers, and what it should cost.

What a one page website is

One page, several sections, a menu that scrolls rather than navigates. Sometimes called a single page website or a one pager. There is no separate services page, no separate about page, no blog. The visitor gets the whole story in one continuous scroll.

It is not the same thing as a landing page. A landing page exists to receive traffic from one campaign and push one action. A one page website is your whole presence.

When a one page website is the right call

• One service, one audience. A single offer that does not need explaining three different ways.
• You are validating an idea. Cheap, fast, and you learn what people ask before you commit to a structure.
• An event, a launch, a portfolio. Content that is finite and will not grow.
• Your customers arrive by referral or social media. They already know who you are; they need the details and a way to contact you, not persuasion.

When it quietly costs you customers

The problem is search. A page can realistically rank for one topic. If you offer five services in five towns, one page gives you one shot at one keyword, while a competitor with five pages has five. Every service you fold into a section instead of a page is a search result you gave away.

The other failure is length. A one pager that has to cover several offers becomes an endless scroll where nothing is findable. Visitors do not scroll to find; they scan, and then they leave.

• Several distinct services: each deserves its own page and its own keyword.
• Local business serving several areas: one page cannot rank in several towns.
• You plan to publish anything: articles, guides, case studies. There is nowhere to put them.
• Long or technical explanations: they belong on their own page, not in a section.

How much does a one page website cost?

Less than a multi-page site, but not as much less as people expect, because the design and the writing are most of the work and the page count is not.

• Website builder, done yourself: $10 to $99 a month plus your time.
• Freelancer: $500 to $2,000 for a well-built one pager.
• Agency: $2,000 to $8,000, usually because the design and copy are done properly.

If a quote for a one pager approaches the price of a full site, ask what the difference is. Usually it is nothing, and you are better off taking the pages.

What belongs on the page, in order

• What you do and for whom, in the first screen, without scrolling.
• Proof: work you have delivered, customers, numbers.
• What it costs, or at least a range. Hiding it loses more enquiries than it protects.
• How it works: the steps from enquiry to delivery.
• Objections: the three questions you are always asked.
• One contact route, repeated. Form, phone or messaging, present at the top and again at the bottom.

Our view, and what we build

We build multi-page brochure websites of up to thirty pages for €299, one payment, delivered in five business days. We do not sell a cheaper one page version, because at that price the saving would be a few euros and the cost would be every search result the extra pages could have earned.

If a single page really is right for you, a website builder will do the job for the price of a coffee a week, and we would rather say so than sell you something you do not need.

Frequently asked questions

Order your website for €299