Overview

"Should I choose a single-page or multi-page website?" is a popular question among web designers. One-pager is the predominant type of website that suits the needs of many website owners. However, to make informed decisions, it is essential to understand the difference between a single-page and a multi-page site. Each type of website has its advantages and disadvantages; in this article, we will look at both.

Many factors go into different decisions when building a brand new website or rebuilding an existing one. Although most of the population probably thinks it's as simple as choosing colors and fonts and loading graphics, people in the industry know a lot more goes into the process. This article will discuss the various factors influencing the choice of single-page and multi-page websites. But first, we need to break down what exactly a one-page website even means.

What is a one-page website?

A single-page website, as you may have guessed, is where everything is on the page you land on when you come from a search engine or simply type in a URL. Links usually placed to lead to other pages direct your attention to different parts of the same page.

Sounds pretty simple. Not so fast. A one-page website means something other than throwing everything on one page and focusing on cuteness. There still needs to be everything that a multi-page website offers in terms of usability and features but elegantly displayed on one long page. You must do more than cram everything you have queued up in your content planner into your website builder. There has to be flow, architecture, and all the other necessary elements of a solid place, and it has to be pleasing to the eye. But above all, whatever site structure you choose must be functional and usable, otherwise, you're driving people straight into bounce town. If the content is too big to fit into your one-page web design, it might be time to consider a multi-page website.

What is a multi-page website?

Multipage websites consist of many different pages and subpages. For this reason, they make up the vast majority of websites. The fact that they are so flexible and suitable for many other purposes makes them equally appealing to people, brands, and companies.

You can find them everywhere - want to buy something online? The store will have a multi-page website. Want to check your bank account? Your bank will also have one. If you're going to read the news or get informed about a topic, the website you visit will undoubtedly be a multi-page website. 

Benefits of a single-page website

• Easy navigation and content consumption. A one-pager is a long, scrolling page. This site creates a linear user journey – all users must do to consume content is scroll the page. Scrolling is more convenient than clicking so we can expect a higher level of user engagement.
• Easily organize information according to users and business goals. The page's visual hierarchy can be designed according to user goals (what the user wants to achieve) and business needs (the page design can motivate the user to convert). For example, once a user lands on a specific part of the page, they have all the information they need to make a decision, and you can offer them a call-to-action button to convert.
• All information is available on a single page. Users can find everything they're looking for on a single page, so they can easily get everything. To simplify the user's task, you can offer anchor links to help users navigate a specific page section.

Downsides of single-page website

• Try to achieve multiple goals on one page. One of the goals of web designers is to focus on each page. Each page should help you achieve one specific purpose. When creating a one-pager, you're trying to do several things simultaneously so that the design will be less focused.
• Not a scalable solution. If you have a lot of content on your site that you need to display, there are better solutions than a one-pager. This is because you want to ensure the user is aware of the information. For example, if you offer X range of products and each has its long description, it is better to go multi-page.
• More complex data analysis. When you have more than one page, it can be challenging to analyze user behavior (i.e., understand what content is more attractive to your users or why users behave in a particular way).
• Bad for search engine optimization. When you do SEO, you optimize pages for specific keywords. But since you only have one page, you can only choose one set of keywords (one primary and several secondary) and optimize the page according to your choice. It is impossible to optimize a page for many different primary keywords.

Benefits of a multi-page website

• Good scalability. You can have as many pages as you want. For example, you can create a separate page for each product you offer. If you have the right hierarchical structure for your site, your design will scale well.
• Easier data analysis. When you have several products that you showcase on your website, and each product has its page, you can quickly tell which product is more popular simply by checking the number of visitors each page gets.
• Good for SEO. If you have multiple pages, different pages may rank for different keywords. For example, if you have a separate page for each product you offer, you can optimize each page for various keywords. As a result, when people Google your product, they will see a link to your specific product page rather than a home page with a bunch of other content.
• Disadvantages of a multi-pager

Downsides of Multi-Pager

• Any page can be an entry point to your website. You can optimize your home page to communicate what your business does, but when people search for your business on Google, they will only sometimes land on your home page. They can land on any page of your website, and it's essential to ensure all pages communicate your primary message. Users should understand what your business offers, but it can take time to get the message across when users come to a blog post on your website.
• Navigation can be confusing. You need to ensure that the navigation you use on your website is crystal clear for your users. Again, the more pages you have and the more complex the structure of your site, the harder it will be to design a solid navigation system. Creating navigation based on the mental models your users have is essential.
• More content management work. The more pages you have, the more difficult it will be to maintain content. You need to ensure all the content is up to date, but when you have many different pages, it's easy to overlook something.

What is better for me, a multi-page website or a single-page website? Our conclusion

You may have already guessed that the golden rule here is that the type of website you choose, single-page or multi-page, depends on your content and what you want to achieve. How much content do you have, and what can fit on one page without looking crazy? Think about the mobile user, navigation, SEO, etc, and ask how it will all work on one long page vs. on multiple pages.

What would you like when using your site?

Go through the pros and cons of each item listed about your product or service and make decisions to cast it in the best light. Choose CWS, the best web desing company in Dubai, create both single-page and multi-page page website.