All You Need to Know About One Pagers

What is a one pager

Before we dive deep into one pagers, let’s quickly define what a one pager is.

A one pager (also called a one page website or a single-page website) is a type of website that consists of only one and no additional pages (such as Contact, Portfolio, About us, or Features, just to name a few examples).

All the content is displayed on a single page in a rather long-scrolling format. It may resemble a main page but with all subpages integrated and listed below the fold, which is the border at the bottom of the screen upon loading. An interactive menu can still allow navigation through content on a one pager.

There are various cases for which a one pager can play the role of an entire website, and various reasons why companies decide to build single-page sites. We’ll cover them later on.

One pager vs landing page

First things first, there’s no versus here.

A one pager can be a landing page, and a landing page can be created in the form of a one pager. You can use, adjust and customize landing page templates to work like one pagers, without extra subpages or elements. A one pager is a landing page usually containing less info in a smaller space.

Also, it won’t be a problem to expand a one pager into a more developed landing page in the future. Conversely, a landing page could be shortened to start serving as a one pager at some point too.

Benefits of a marketing one pager

No content? No problem

A one pager is extremely suitable when you have no content nor a need to produce loads of it. Marketing one pager sites can communicate short and concise offers. Using one pagers prevents a situation where it is evident that the subpages were created "forcibly", their author has nothing to write about, and there is no valuable content across the rest of the site.

Mobile-friendly interface

Navigating through a multi-page site can be troublesome on smartphones or tablets, and having to jump between subpages might put your visitors and potential clients off.

A one pager solves this problem by allowing the discovery of all content by scrolling down, similar to how we browse social media. Everything in one place. 

One pager templates were created with mobile devices in mind, which to some extent limit the freedom to navigate traditional websites based on a home page and subpages design. Users can quickly scroll a one pager to find what they need at any given moment, whereas navigating a site using tabs can be more cumbersome or even impossible on a mobile device.

Better conversion

Although one pagers are not tailor-made for each client, they can make it easier for visitors to familiarize themselves with your offering and eventually confirm a purchase or leave their data. Showcasing a product or service concisely can result in a better conversion rate since there won’t be too much to disturb the process on a marketing one pager.

Lower maintenance costs

One pager websites are often cheaper to maintain due to their simpler interfaces, CMS, and back-end configurations. The simplicity of building a one pager eliminates the need to handle URL routing or worry about the site architecture.

This will usually lower the cost of both building and maintaining such a single-page site, as well as decreasing the admin and tech work associated with developing a multi-page one.

When to use a one pager

There is no universal rule as for when to use a marketing one pager, and when it’s better to develop a fully functional website or a more advanced landing page. However, there are a few use cases for when a one pager may be a better option from a user experience perspective.

A webinar/event page

A lead magnet landing page

Such a site is also known by the name “squeeze page”. The only purpose of this page is to encourage visitors to leave their precious data, often in return for access to a lead magnet: an ebook, whitepaper, checklist, or scorecards, just to name a few examples. Those opt-in email addresses can be used afterwards for marketing campaigns and lead nurturing.

Landing pages are often used for sharing lead magnets that generate leads by requesting information in exchange for a download. CloudTalk does this by sharing useful content on a straightforward landing page. You can see an excerpt of what is offered in their ebook, what kind of information is included, and what data you need to fill in to get free access. Simple as that, without overthinking.

A business card

A small company page

Let’s face it: sometimes robust landing pages are nothing but the superiority of content over form. Local businesses or small companies may not look for their clients or promote their services online. Instead of creating multiple subpages and forcing yourself to fill them in with content, displaying all content on a scroll-friendly one pager may simply be a better idea.

A comparison page

And one pager can be a win-win situation. 

For your clients: finding necessary information will be quicker, which may result in a better customer experience and first impression.

For you: the maintenance of such a site can be less costly, while finding and fixing potential bugs on a single-page application may be easier.

When not to use one pager

If you want to include a lot of information on your website and have an extensive sitemap with content and subpages, a one page website may simply not cut it for you. Adding too many elements or blocks of text on one page might negatively affect the user experience, slow down the loading time, or make it unfunctional, resulting in unpleasant navigation and a high bounce rate.

How to create a one pager: good practices

It’s been decided: you’re going to build your own marketing one pager. Good for you! Here’s how to create a one pager, step by step.

Create and redistribute content (break up content into sections)

Content is at the heart of your one pager – but the structure is its soul. Take care of the content, especially since the amount of it is kept to a minimum.

Create every part of the copy on your one pager with the VASU approach: valuable, appealing, straightforward, and unique for potential visitors. Focus on showcasing your USP and the benefits of taking the desired action.

You’re likely to have a few sections that could make subpages, and that is totally fine as long as you shorten it to make it attractive to your potential audience.

One pagers are very rarely the perfect place for long storytelling, so you better keep it short and sweet.

Choose from one pager templates

There’s got to be more to one pager templates - and there is. Once you structure your content and know what you want to communicate and achieve, it’s high time to put it on your website using a template that suits the content architecture and brings you closer to success.

Depending what you will use your one pager for, you may be juggling between various one pager templates. Some of them put a contact form at the heart of the experience, others include a CTA or business claim above the fold. In almost every landing page creator you’ll find multiple templates that could easily be modified to serve your marketing purposes best.

Anchor menu for the win

Prioritize transparency and user-friendliness over personal preferences. 

Divide the individual elements of the page into clearly named sections that users will be able to easily navigate between. Work on website navigation: it might be a wise idea to include an anchor menu to ensure seamless, smooth scrolling and access to various sections on your one pager.

Select the right CTA

A call to action clearly indicates what you want your users to do on your marketing one pager. If you choose a CTA that is unclear and tries to squeeze too many actions into one button then you may confuse your potential visitors.

Add social media profiles

Who said that one pagers can’t generate extra traffic to social media profiles? They clearly can do that!

Use special widgets, buttons, or social media icons and link them with your profiles to give your visitors the chance to connect with you on social media platforms. In an omnichannel world, it’s best to serve your clients on the channel that they prefer and find most convenient.

Add a contact form

Don’t demand too much info here as it may impact the number of leads you generate. Each extra field (especially requiring a phone number) may decrease the conversion rate, so make sure that you only ask for necessary data at first, then obtain more when warming your leads up. If you don’t have to process data, then you may simply share your own contact information such as name, address, or email instead, if that’s what you prefer.

Verify keywords and SEO

A one pager obviously has a limited space to post content. You can only use a limited number of keywords on such a page, so review those that relate to your business and get searched by users. Then, eliminate the less competitive ones.

When designing a one page website, you can also assign a separate URL for each of the page blocks. All content that’s posted in each section of your marketing one pager will, therefore, be properly detected and indexed by search engine robots.

Best one pager examples

Actions speak louder than words, and we believe that visual examples do so, too. We’ve identified a couple more one pager websites that might just cut it for you, and it’s worth taking a look at them under our magnifying glass.

To wrap up