One-page website or full site?

[computervision]

Why is a one-page website better than a full site? i'll be selling some cool computer glasses and i really don't trust one page websites, i think they make you look like all the rest of money hungry marketers out there. Does anybody have a good reason for using a one-page website in my case? I just had napoleon design my intro graphic and i loved the way it looks. I might change it into a header though if I can find a reason not to use a full site.

[clanshrapnel]

Why is a one-page website better than a full site? i'll be selling some cool computer glasses and i really don't trust one page websites, i think they make you look like all the rest of money hungry marketers out there. Does anybody have a good reason for using a one-page website in my case? I just had napoleon design my intro graphic and i loved the way it looks. I might change it into a header though if I can find a reason not to use a full site.


I'm sure it has to do with the many cost vs. benefit analyses already done out there. Sure, you can make a full-fledged website that will definitely give you more credibility (that's the approach I took, myself), but it will cost you more and you may not get THAT many more sales.

You are increasing your risk (because it costs more to produce a full website) without guaranteed increase in sales -- that is the bottom line.

If you can put your face, company mailing address, and company support phone # on your 1-page website, and you still have a convincing sales copy, definitely forget the full blown website: it's all a matter of conveying trust and establishing your company/credibility.

[Sven]

I think it has more to do with the fact that it is hard to get lost in a one page site.

And that goes for both the owner and the visitor!

As a result I am trying hard to reduce the number of pages on my windvane site. And I've started a community for (potential) users where the realy detailed info will find it's place.

But off course it has something to do with the product too. The more expensive, the more detail may be required by the customer.

[dvdwlsh]

Always think in terms of your sales funnel. With a one-page site, you have more control over the path someone takes towards (ideally) purchasing your product. You'll notice a lot of one-page sales letters, at the very end, include some link saying "If you've decided not to purchase and are about to leave, click here!". They're assuming someone has either read to the end, or skimmed to it, and has not been convinced. You can make this types of assumptions on a one-page site. The more pages you have, the more variance in user behavior and less predictable your funnel becomes.

Don't confuse the quality of the page content with the distribution of it (one page vs. multiple). If you can convey your entire offering in a clear, compelling way with one page - do it. Don't give people the option of "exploring" their way to a less compelling section of your site.

Control your sales funnel and give someone a reason to work their way from top to bottom. Additional pages should be reserved for ancillary tasks such as contact forms, refund requests, etc.

Another way to look at this is product vs. company. Generally a single product (or multiple packages of one product type) work well on a single page site. Someone either buys or doesn't. They aren't their to "learn about your company" or casually browse. Your product page is a call to action, whereas a multi-page site is generally more focused on informing the user of the products or services available.

Keep things as simple as possible until you absolutely must add more.

David

[Sven]

Great explanation David, thanks!

[italian_job]

hello

whatever you do, make sure you have the following pages too, which are extremely important for google (both adwords and SEO):

- contact us
- sitemap
- terms and conditions
- privacy

ciao