GetOnWeb
When you just want to get online quickly, a one-page website is tempting. Everything - who you are, what you do, how to contact you - fits on a single scrolling page. It's quick to build, cheap to run and easy to keep up to date. But is it enough for a small business? The honest answer: sometimes, yes. Often, it holds you back. Here's how to decide.
What a one-page website looks like
A single-page website stacks everything into sections on one long page:
- A headline saying what you do and where
- Your services, briefly
- A few photos or examples of your work
- Reviews
- Contact details, a map and a form
The menu at the top jumps to each section instead of loading new pages.
When a one-page website works well
- You offer one main service - a mobile dog groomer, a wedding photographer, a single café
- You're just starting out and need something credible quickly
- Most customers find you by name, through referrals, social media or your van
- It's for an event, a launch or a single product
In these cases, a well-written one-page site can do everything you need: look professional, answer the basic questions and make it easy to get in touch.
Where a one-page website falls short
It's hard to rank for more than one thing
Google ranks pages, not websites. One page can rank well for one main topic. If you offer several services - say, boiler installs, bathroom fitting and emergency plumbing - each one deserves its own page to have a real chance of showing up in searches for it.
There's no room for detail
Customers often want detail before they get in touch: what's included, prices, areas covered, FAQs. Cramming it all into one page makes it long and hard to scan.
It's harder to grow
Adding a gallery, a blog, a new service or an area page means redesigning the whole page. A small multi-page site grows more naturally.
Middle ground: a compact site of four to six pages - home, services, about, reviews, contact - gives you most of the simplicity of a one-page site with far more room to be found on Google.
How to make a one-page website work harder
If a single page suits you for now, get the most from it:
- Put what you do and where in the very first line
- Make your phone number tappable and visible at the top
- Use clear headings for each section - Google reads them
- Link it from your Google Business Profile
- Keep it fast: compress photos and avoid heavy video
Our small business website checklist covers the essentials whatever size your site is.
Start small, grow when you're ready
We build and write your site, then add pages as your business grows - all for £39.99/mo. No setup fee, no contract.
See what's included →The bottom line
A one-page website is a perfectly good start for a simple business, and far better than no website at all. But if you offer several services, cover several areas or want to win customers from Google, a small multi-page site will serve you better. Start with what you need now, and choose a setup that makes it easy to add pages later. Thinking about cost? See what UK web design packages include.