Why I Love One Page Websites
One page sites have been around for awhile but it’s this year that I’ve really seen them take-off in numbers.
Here’s why I love them and recommend using them:
- Easy to navigate
Everything is hosted on one page so there’s no need for breadcrumbs. This event site from the Bay Area Humane Society makes it simple to get the information you need quickly and easily.
- Great for mobile viewing
The best sites are those that have a mobile version, but for those that don’t one page sites are really easy to navigate on your PDA.
- Ideal for big and small sites
While initially one page sites were great for short content, recently I’ve seen some built to accommodate heavier messaging and image. Some great examples include this portfolio site from Phil Renaud and this business site for Tower Inspection. If you click through to the site, you can see some of the creative aspects of their navigation.
What do you think about one page websites? Have you used them? Seen any really good ones?
Great examples!
Speaking as a one-pager owner myself, there are definite pro’s and cons that I’ve encountered.
The pro’s include the creativity you can bring to bear on solving the inherent navigation problems associated with being restricted to one page, as well as the fact that all your content is right there for the user, so there’s less of a burden on them to drill down to get to the good stuff. It’s also a lot easier to focus on SEO-ifying (real word, honest!) one page, as opposed to an entire site, so long as you’re focused with your keyword choices.
The downside is that if you’re not careful, the page can end up getting very bloated, which slows down loading time – something that Google recently let slip factors into their search rankings.
In terms of great examples, here’s a gallery of awesome ones: http://onepagelove.com/
I personally like them (coincidence that my own personal portfolio website is a one page design). It is just a shame that it hurts SEO.
Thanks for your comments Jason and Ryan, these are awesome. It does make sense that a really big, slow page would hurt SEO. And Jason, love that gallery—lots of goodies.
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