21Oct 2017

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Single Page Website

Single Page Website as you know is the fancy name used to describe Parallax Websites.

A lot of businesses and website designers are awed by the awesomeness of single page websites.

They prefer these parallax websites for their people love them.

A recent study conducted over the internet says that people prefer to stay and scroll across the same page rather than having to click through multiple pages before they find what they are looking for.

People expect to find the result sooner. Visitors stay on your website for a longer time when they realize a surprise awaits them at the bottom of the page.

Scrolling no longer is an annoying experience for people. The delight of staying on the same page is million dollar worth without having to click through multiple pages even when there is no guarantee that they are going to find what they want.

It is a kind of psychology that works here.

Also Read: UX Design: Psychological aspects of User Behavior

People trust parallax websites to carry solution to their problems.

Important components of a website:

• Users’ experience of a Single Page Website:

The working speed of any website is a very important factor which affects the experience of the users. Nobody likes waiting for long. That will not be very good to lose a visitor on your website just because you can’t offer him few more seconds’ faster speed. But, when it is about the web these some moments can cost a lot to the website. That is where a single page website design has the advantage as compared to the multi pages variants.

Single Page Website User Experience

The single web pages load faster, and they have a very simple structure as compared to the conventional ones.

Simplicity matters a lot in the case of the single page websites. Thinking about the design of a one-page website, you need to consider the limited space that is available on the website as well as the arrangement of content.

It is quite obvious that the single page websites aren’t a good choice for large scale corporations. So, these companies need multi-page websites to accommodate the large quantity of data.

Obviously, the time for loading is longer and also the maintenance of the multi-page website takes much more effort.

Also Read: 16 Reasons for Website Running Slow

But, this does not mean that you would take the risk of sacrificing your successful and ready made website just because you wish to adopt the latest trend. Just think twice before taking a decision for rebuilding your website. It is quite a difficult task.

In case you’re already worried about the thing that a single page website would not be able to fulfill your requirements or vice versa, then you need first to determine your purpose of getting a website built.

In case you are getting prepared for a single page website for your company, don’t hesitate about your conclusions, as there’re certain criteria which may change your decision such as Single Page Websites and its SEO.

• Usability of a Parallax Website Design:

It is required at one place. The visitors on the website would definitely like to watch some videos, listen to some audios, check out the photographs located on the one-page website rather than doing the similar kind of actions on its multi ages variant.

Usability of Parallax Website Design

A user does not have to go through millions of pages of searching the required content. By clicking on the single page website’s menu options, the website would automatically take you down towards the area desired.

This is also one of the positive features of the single page websites. The number of clicks is reduced to a minimum.

So, it’s time to do some scrolling. There’re a number of single page website designs which have a wonderful appearance due to the parallax effect. The Parallax scrolling is not the only way of browsing a website.

Along with a picturesque web design, appropriate photos, video and audio accompaniment Parallax is an all-time means for the visitors who engage and also for diverting their attention towards one or the other topic.

As it is a significant part of the storytelling process, this wonderful effect transforms a simple visit to the website to an exciting and atmospheric adventure.

Irrespective of the aim of the single page website with Parallax, it’s completely worth scrolling it down till it reaches the end.

But, you need to be very careful, since it’s not recommended to construct a one-page website just for Parallax which looks amazingly cool. You might unnecessarily just overload the representative of your business online.

The Parallax effect would also influence the functioning of the one-page website. So, there’s a dilemma whether the Parallax effect is required for making your one-page website look fancy, or it may be neglected, for relieving the mobile versions.

Another very good reason which favors the choice of single page websites is mobile friendliness. Each and every person related to the design of the website or building the website recognizes well all the importance of a responsive web design.

Also Read: 6 Rules To Follow While Designing The Perfect Mobile Website

This thinking took the mobile devices to the similar level with the desktops or maybe even more, altered the priorities of the web designers as well as web developers, who started thinking in completely different directions.

The technologies change very quickly. It is possible that in coming few years, we might not witness even one desktop.

There’s no secret about the fact that browsing the web on smartphones or tablets is quite handy as well as practical as compared to the old times desktops domination.

Responsiveness is a major factor for multiplying the amount visitors on the single page websites. The users would enjoy as well as appreciate a perfectly adaptable, mobile or tablet version of your web page.

A multi pages website may also be responsive. So what is the difference? It’s all about the efforts.

The simpler the design, it is easier to adjust to the resolutions of the screen of the mobile. You may be sure that a single page design is much faster than the multi pages one if we talk about their functionality on the mobile devices.

There is a 50-50 probability of finding the solution to a problem when it comes to clicking through multiple pages.

As always, the next thing that I am going to tell you is that everything has a positive and negative side and the same applies to our parallax websites. Though it provides a great user experience, there are some disadvantages too of using single page websites.

Here we will discuss the pros and cons of single page websites so that you can make a wise decision when you design a website:

➣ Pros of Single page Websites:

#1. Mobile friendly:

While we are in 2016, talking about mobile friendliness or mobile responsiveness is out of the question.

You cannot consider it as a strategy for website designing anymore.

But let me tell you when it comes to designing single page websites without any hesitation you have to optimize it for mobile phones.

When it comes to the user side, they love to scroll through parallax websites over their mobile phones rather than clicking through multiple pages.

#2. Users will like the way it is designed:

Our primary intention is to satisfy users. The aesthetic feel and the experience that a single page website contains are what prompts users to stay on a single page website.

In fact, when you have to click through pages, the process becomes too annoying. But when you are moving from top to bottom, it is more like an unending journey that you are going through.

Also Read: 5 Neuroscience Tips to help you in customer acquisition

Rather than moving your eyes across each single word, you just have to keep on scrolling. You can even skip content that seems to be uninteresting.

You can enhance the beauty of a parallax website by embedding some creativity.

Let the text or images slide in or out while the visitor scrolls through or moves via a particular point.

#3. Need not be rich in text:

When it comes to a scarcity of content, parallax websites are great.

You do not have to create 10-15 pages that contain less than four sentences each.

One page with a description for each of the product is sufficient.

By the way, who has got the time to read volumes of text unless the person is here to read a novel?

You can create paragraphs with a title by using a horizontal background that helps to divide or provide spacing in between the information.

This contributes to enhancing the readability of the content allowing users to scroll across the topics that matter to them.

#4. What do designers like?

If I start thinking from a designer’s perspective, I would, of course, prefer single page websites as it provides me the freedom to utilize all my skills and apply it to one page rather than dividing it across different pages.

When it comes to designing multiple web pages, we do not want to take a risk. So, we follow a standard design structure.

The reason why all websites look alike.

But, again parallax websites provides you with an opportunity to think outside the box.

And, the outcome is splendid.

Also Read: Fine Tuning Creative Approach of Web Design Process

You have a unique website design that your people will like to scroll through.

#5. What about images?

When you are designing a single page website, you have the freedom to include any number of images as you wish.

You are usually asked not to include a lot of images as this can harm the appearance of your site and also it might increase the site loading speed.

#6. Breaking all myths of scrolling above the fold:

There was a time when we were told to limit our design as people do not want to read what is written below the fold.

Do you still believe in these myths?

Then, my dear friend it is long before you thought of reinventing your ways.

People love to read what lies below the fold.

So, why not give something for them to read and enjoy below the fold?

Read Next: Call-To-Action that works: Above or below the fold?

#7. Fluidity in design:

When it comes to designing multiple pages, as we have already discussed designers find nothing new to think out of the box.

But when designers create parallax websites, they do not have to think of embedding in unique styles for each of their pages.

And, also, visitors do not have to worry about what are the kind of pages that they will come across as they move forward.

So, you can maintain consistency in your design throughout the website.

➣ Cons of a single page website:

#1. A lot of scrolling:

It is not necessary that all people would like to scroll through like others. If it takes a lot of time for scrolling, visitors will never want to stay on your website and within a blink of the eye, they leave the site.

Suggested Article:  15 Reasons Why People Leave a Website

#2. Loading time is longer:

A single page website takes a long time to load. It is because of the size of these pages that they take longer to load than those websites that come with multiple pages.

Now, let me slip a tip here: be careful if your site is a single page website and if all your attempts to bring it to the first page of Google’s search engine results have been failing.

Google does not like such pages that take longer to load.

And, so what Google will do?

It will push these pages towards the back.

#3. Meta Descriptions:

It is not something that needs an explanation now.

Just because you have just one page, the meta descriptions and title tags that you can use are limited.

Yes, this comes as an advantage if you have only one product or service.

But, you are in trouble if you have multiple products or services as you can use only limited keywords.

#4. Where is the engagement happening?

It is a one-page website, and so your Google Analytics report will not provide much idea of what section of your page’s content is attracting visitors.

So, you have no idea of what kind of content is bringing visitors to your website.

#5. Content sharing is difficult:

As you know, there is only one page with different sections of content. This makes it difficult for people to share content from each section differently.

They have to share the same URL for any section of content on your website.

Again, it is not something people like to do.

#6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Though Google likes pages that have frequent visitors, when it comes to the SEO part, you have a very limited choice of keywords.

You can use these keywords for just one page as in the case of Meta tag description.

You cannot optimize multiple pages for a variety of keywords.

Recommended Article: 6 SEO Tips for One Page Websites

#7. Is it good for blogs?

I will never recommend a single page website if your site runs on a blog.

It is not an ideal choice for businesses that churn their income from blogs.

These are some of the basic pros and cons that you need to consider when deciding between a single page or multiple page websites.

What kind of a website do you own?

Do you have frequent visitors?

What is Google’s rating for your website?

Share your thoughts, comments and feedback with us.

Do you want a single page website? Or do you want to convert your website into a single page site?

Acodez IT Solutions is a web development company in India. We design and develop websites that are simply awesome and trendy yet professional.

We also provide digital marketing solutions for our clients to help their businesses reach great heights.

Whether you need a single page website or a website with multiple pages, we can develop one for you.

There are really very few best ux designing companies in India that produce international standard works

Contact us today and get a free quote.

 

 

 

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Rajeesh PK

Rajeesh PK

Rajeesh P.K. is the Director and Creative Head at Acodez . With an experience of 10+ years in UX Design & User Interface Design, when coupled with his expert coding skills in HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript, makes him one of the top UX Architects in India, with more than 15 international awards to his credit.

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1 Comment

  1. Globik

    About what kind of an user expirience are you talking? SPA is a memory leakable, content are jumping around the site, jittering by scrolling. And that all downloading gif pics are awsame.

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