One Page Website vs Multiple Pages Pros & Cons: Which is Best?

When building a brand new site, or even rebuilding an existing one, a lot of factors go into making many of the different decisions along the way. Although most of the population probably thinks it’s just as simple as picking colors and fonts and loading graphics, industry folks know there’s a lot more that goes into the process. In this article, we’ll be discussing the different factors that go into picking a one-page website vs multiple pages. But first, we need to break down what exactly a single-page website even means. Let’s get into it.

What is a one-page website exactly?

A single-page site, as you might’ve guessed, is a site where everything lives on the page you land on when arriving from a search engine or simply typing in the URL. Links ordinarily placed to lead to additional pages reroute your attention to different parts of the same page. One page website example

It sounds pretty simple, right? Not so fast. A single-page site doesn’t mean tossing everything onto one page and aiming for cute. There still needs to be everything that a multi-page site has to offer in terms of usability and features but elegantly displayed on one long-form page. You can’t just go stuffing everything you’ve got queued up in your content planner into a website builder. There needs to be flow and architecture and all the rest of the must-haves of a solid site, and it needs to be pleasing to the eye. But most of all, whichever website structure you choose needs to be functional and usable, otherwise, you’re bringing people straight to bouncetown. If the content becomes too much to fit onto your one-page web design, even by a little bit, it might be time to consider a multi-page site.

One-page website vs multiple pages comparison

Comparison	One-page website	Multi-page website	Best option
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)	Since less content is available there’s less to optimize to improve SEO.	More content means more chances to pack in the SEO strategies.	Multi-page
Conversions	A single page requires getting to the point a lot quicker as you funnel down the page.	Multiple pages allow for more content to be passed on to potentially gain more conversions.	Depends on needs or circumstances
Load time	Usually a single-page will load at the same rate as a multi-page but there’s only one page to load so overall it’s faster.	Multi-page will load around the same time but you’ll also be navigating to other pages which means more load times.	Usually single-page
Design	By fitting everything onto one page, the design needs to be impeccable to get the job done.	Design for multi-page sites needs to keep a lot of things in mind for it to be a success. Keeping people’s attention can prove to be difficult.	Depends on needs or circumstances
Navigation	Hands down, single-page sites have the best navigation (but it does need to make sense for it to succeed)	Navigation is extremely key here. People need to be able to find their way around, with the least assistance possible, for it to be a success.	Single-page
Mobile Experience	On a mobile device (excluding tablets), single-page sites just perform better for a laundry list of reasons.	Multi-page sites can still perform well on mobile, a lot more goes into the process though.	Single-page
Simplicity	For the sake of simplicity, single-page sites win here because less is more on most screens.	You can still have a simple yet elegantly designed website with multiple pages. Simple is good in most situations.	Single-page

One page website vs multiple pages for SEO

SEO is essential to the success of any website, and both single and multi-page designs have their advantages. The problem with a single-page design is that you’ll end up with limited content and no additional pages for Google to index. There are, of course, other options to improve SEO but content is a pretty big one. Yeah, yeah, we all know the old adage — content is king…but that expression is around for a reason. Google can’t index web pages that don’t exist. Single-page website SEO can be an option for a lot of sites, but it’s a decision that should be made with great caution.

Best option:

There can be plenty of issues, structurally and architecturally speaking, when there’s a lot of content, but when it’s done right, SEO-optimized content is spread across different pages and not packed into one, giving search engines more to work with. For this reason, we’re siding with multi-page websites being the best option where SEO is concerned. That doesn’t mean one-page website designs are trash — as you’ll see in the rest of this list. To add to that, using a multiple-page website template to increase SEO ranking is easy. We’ve even got a list of templates for both single and multi-page sites!

No matter the type of site you end up with, single or multiple pages, you’ll want to make sure it’s safe for all those that visit. To that end, making sure you understand how to secure a website is a crucial part of the planning process.

Multi-page website vs one-page website for conversions

Conversion rates are important for nearly every website, whether that’s ecommerce, newsletter signup, account signup, etc. A call to action (or CTA) can appear on both single and multi-page sites but getting to the call is what makes conversion work or not. If a CTA falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it lead to a conversion? Endless scrolling can put the CTA too far away while not providing enough information makes it tough to create the motivation to actually take the action. Striking the right balance is key.

Best option:

We’ve selected both options in this instance because it depends on what you’re doing. Amazon could never be on one page, so conversion happens on multiple. Does a local artist need to be on multiple pages? Not always. An art dealer with multiple portfolios? Probably best with more than one page. There are pros and cons to both routes but converting prospects into sales is generally dependent on the complexity of your offering, your audience and how much info a person needs to get over the objection hump. To decide what’s best, consider how much content you have, who you’re trying to convert and how to prevent churn. The answer should become clearer as you go along.

Multi-page websites vs single-page websites for load time

Load time is unquestionably a major factor when deciding between these two options. You can bet your bottom dollar that load time is important for the end-user; even if it’s subconscious. This has been studied up, down and sideways, anything longer than a 2-3 second load time for a webpage is as worthless as gum on a boot heel and people will leave your site faster than green grass through a goose. There are some intricacies and nuances to consider though. A single page could (in theory) load faster but also keep in mind you have the entire site on one page. Having everything you offer on a single page means how that page is engineered is extremely important. Multi-page sites don’t load every page in the lot, they load the page you’re on and then page by page as needed.

Best option:

As we mentioned, usually single-page sites will be faster because it’s loaded up and you’re done. Multi-page sites load pages as you get to them, meaning collectively, you’ll spend more time loading pages. Hopefully not too long for everyone’s sake, but potentially less information needs to load per page, so, in theory, it may load faster. That’s a lot of conjecture, so taking into account your goals and what content will be on the site becomes important. Can it fit on one page? If it can, can it be optimized to load quickly enough to satisfy your end-users?

Single page vs multi-page websites for design

A good example of this can be found in a complex environment. Although design, in general, is pretty subjective. There are some really beautiful ways to create a site that lives all on one page. There’s a fine line that can’t really be defined until you reach it that describes what is too much for one page. Things can go from solid to artsy, kitschy to cluttered pretty quickly. Having too little on the pages of a multi-page site can be irritating because people need to navigate through many pages to get what could’ve probably been a simple answer.

If you’re trying to sell products online, your website should always be straightforward, accessible, and easy to navigate.
Inkbot Design

Apple’s website is a multi-page site, but its individual product pages are like mini websites. You can click to other pages, but for the most part, everything you need to know about a product is shown in beautiful, dynamic and visually stunning form — all on the same page but within a multipage website. Animations, plugins and advanced functionalities with responsive design all fit onto one product page. The user experience is off the charts and they know it. So does your wallet.

The purpose of mentioning Apple’s site is that it’s a lot of information that requires living on multiple pages, but it also is an excellent example of how design can make things living on one page look really good.

Best option:

You might think we’ve exclusively chosen single-page sites as the winner, but they both have their pros and cons; again, your content really matters. Apple isn’t a one-page site because there’s just too much content. This example merely illustrates how a product lives on one page. Whether you only have one product or a dozen, designing a website is a very subjective undertaking and the best option will always be dictated by your content. Flat out.

Multi-page website vs one-page website for navigation

In short, if people can’t get around quickly, on their own and with little to no assistance, you’re already dead in the water. Your content needs to be organized in a way that it can be consumed quickly and efficiently. People have things to do and your site is only one part of their day, so it’s best that the experience is as pain-free as possible.

Best option:

If your site’s content can fit comfortably onto one page and be arranged in a way that makes navigation enjoyable and straightforward to use, then single-page is the clear winner. If navigation becomes complex or you just have too much content, you need to break it up into subpages.

Multi-page site vs single-page website for a mobile experience

Mobile devices are fast becoming a main concern for web development. As of 2021, an estimated 15 billion mobile devices are running free in the wild, nearly all of which will connect to and utilize websites for all sorts of reasons. Social media and digital marketing are abundant and attract a lot of attention from those devices and in turn, hopefully, your website. From small businesses to major league players in the game, having a website that functions well on mobile should be a massive concern to all involved. Multi-page sites can function well on mobile devices, but it takes some finessing to make scalability work for every device. It’s quite a task, but it would be foolish to think packing a website into a mobile-friendly form is unimportant.

Best option:

Both options are viable here, but the clear winner is a single-page site. If you have a more extensive site, look for potential ways to boil it down a bit into a single-page version. Of course, this isn’t an option for everyone; some content just can’t fit on one page, so it really matters what the purpose of your site is.

One-page website vs multi-page website for simplicity

Simplicity has a lot of advantages in the webpage game. Think of a time when you’ve gone to a site, blog or app and it’s just a clusterfu… well… a cluster. How hard was it to read? How hard was it to follow along and get the information you came for, or how difficult it was to complete the task you came for? It makes it pretty easy to walk away and find an alternative. Simplicity is not always going to mean minimalist, though. When pages get too busy, it’s a problem that needs to be caught and fixed before it gets out of hand. With that being said, this works both ways. If we know we’re aiming for simplicity, this can help you choose between single or multi-page sites. Do you have so much information that it would look too busy on one page? Then it’s probably time to consider multiple pages.

Best option:

For the best simplicity, single-page sites beat out multi-page every time. But because it isn’t for everyone, you really need to take into account all the facts before deciding the winner.