Single-page websites have grown in popularity in recent years, especially among companies advertising a single product and those Target a specific niche.
The question is whether a single page website is good or bad for SEO. Can a one-page website hurt your chances of ranking on Google?
Let’s look at some examples of one-page websites, discuss the pros and cons, and see if we can find the answer.
What is a single page website?
A website is called a single page website (SPA) if all its content is on one page and there are navigational links to scroll down the page to see more content.
The user clicks the navigation link to jump (or scroll) to the destination further down the page. This interaction gives the impression that the page is changing; however, there is no page refresh.
The following diagram shows the difference between how a traditional page interacts with the server and how a single page interacts with the server.
Note: A one-page website is slightly different from a one-page website. A one page website is actually one page. No navigation links give you the illusion that the page is changing.
One-page and one-page website examples
Not sure what I’m talking about? Let’s see some examples of how to use this style of web design.
Application’s one-page website
momentum is an example of a one-page website for the application. A seamless user experience lets users focus on a single goal: downloading the app.
Screenshot of Momentum, March 2022One page website for e-commerce
Kukla Kit is a great example of how e-commerce sites can take advantage of single-page website design.
An online store can sell the product line by using a landing page while focusing on a single call to action: Buy Now (Download), thus including a lot of information about the product.
Screenshot of the Kukla kit, Macrh 2022Active one-page website
you have to love the front end is a non-profit event for developers.
What I like most about this example is that the main details (about, schedule, contact) are all on one page, while information about past events can be found on subdomains.
Screenshot of You Gotta Love Frontend, March 2022Niche one-page websites
start up Fig There is a service for a niche audience, users looking to convert Figma designs to WordPress.
This stylish site uses the main navigation to scroll users to the most interesting part of the single page, while controlling the user’s conversion process: requesting a quote.
Screenshot of Figma, March 2022Search Engine Optimization Pros and Cons
As you can see, single page sites look great and are fun to build, but are they good for SEO?
There appear to be two schools of thought on this issue. So, I will explain the pros and cons of having a one-page website.
advantage
First, let’s take a look at some of the advantages or benefits of using a single page web design.
better mobile experience
In 2019, Google announced that they were working on switching to mobile-first indexing Therefore, having a website that performs well on mobile devices is a must.
One of the main advantages of single-page designs is that websites are often easier to convert to mobile devices, and users find them easy to navigate.
They also load much faster than multi-page sites, which is a huge benefit for most users who don’t have the patience to wait longer than a few seconds for a site to load.
Also, some people find it difficult to click on other pages or tabs on small devices like smartphones, so having a one-page website is a blessing for those with less thin fingers.
Target a specific audience
One-page websites are great for targeting specific audiences and providing them with some type of user experience.
If you don’t have to worry about them clicking through to different pages (possibly in the wrong order), it’s easy to control their behavior on your site and direct them in a particular direction.
With a single-page site, you want all the information your users visit can be presented to them on a single page, no matter what order you choose to meet your business needs.
In SEO terms, this can be important if you’re only concerned with targeting a keyword or group of keywords.
Links are one of the biggest factors in determining a site’s ranking, and the benefit of a single page site is that every link you get points to the main URL, so there’s always a 1:1 ratio of links to pages.
shortcoming
Given the nature of all your information on one page, there are bound to be downsides.
Here are some ways that having a one-page website can be bad for SEO.
Limited keyword targeting
Unfortunately, single page websites have some SEO flaws – keyword ranking is one of them.
One-page websites should generally be designed around one main concept, which limits your ability to rank for various keywords.
If you rely heavily on Google to find new customers, then you’re better off creating a multi-page website that incorporates different keywords into each page to reach a wider audience.
However, if Google search isn’t your company’s main priority, the lack of keyword rankings shouldn’t be a problem.
Content lacks detail
Another disadvantage of single-page sites is that their content is usually not as specific as what is published on multi-page sites.
You don’t have the luxury of having a separate page dedicated to each topic you want to cover; instead, all your information needs to be on one page.
It is impossible to cover the same amount of information on one page as on multiple pages.
Visitors looking for detailed, relevant content on a specific topic may be disappointed by the lack of relevant content.
Minimal Advanced SEO Strategies
Advanced SEO strategies and best practices are not available when using a one-page website.
Take silos for example.
Content silos It is the practice of structuring your website into primary areas of interest to demonstrate authority in those areas.
Simply put, silos are a way to organize your website into categories and subcategories to best display your content.
Trying to cram a lot of specific topics all onto one page can lead to confusion.
Traditional multi-page website designs are great for content silos.
One-page website key takeaways
So, are single page websites good or bad for SEO?
In my opinion, a single-page website is not as good for SEO as a traditional multi-page website. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a time and place for a one-page design.
When deciding whether your website should be single or multi-page, you need to consider your business goals and what you want to achieve with your website.
Things to consider:
- Do I have one target audience or multiple target audiences?
- Do I need to rank organically for multiple keyword topics, or for one primary search intent?
- Which website design will give my users the best web experience?
More resources:
Featured image: KatePilko/Shutterstock
