Move over, bulky websites! The latest trend in website design is the one-page website, also known as the scrolling design. At Web Design Relief, we know many authors are making the switch from multiple, crowded web pages to this sleek, minimalistic design where readers can easily scroll through the content. But before you jump on this web design bandwagon, check out the pros and cons to decide if a one-page author website is right for you.

One-Page Author Website: The Pros

Very Easy To Use: One-page websites are incredibly user-friendly. They eliminate the need for confusing navigation and prevent your important content from getting lost within countless pages.

Mobile-Friendly: The scrolling website was specially designed for mobile devices. A one-page author website displays your information in a way that’s perfect for a typical smartphone screen. It scraps clunky design elements like menu bars with an overabundance of submenus, endless rows of columns, and overlapping images and graphics—all things that don’t work well on a cell phone display.

Fast Load Time: Once your one-page website loads—that’s it! Your audience won’t have to wait for each page of your website to load, so your content is more accessible without any downtime, buffering, or lagging.

High Engagement: When all of your content can be found on one page, it’s more likely your readers will stick around to explore the entire website, rather than picking and choosing only some of the information. Plus, your author website will have its own narration, scrolling from one point to the next like a story. Your visitors will be more likely to follow your content from start to finish.

Simple To Maintain: With only one page to work with, you won’t have to put in the time and effort to update separate web pages individually. This can be especially daunting if you plan to update the design scheme of your website by changing your background and fonts on multiple pages! Single-page websites also allow for quick updates and fixes if technical issues should arise.

One-Page Author Websites: The Cons

Not Optimal For Long-Form Content: Single page websites are not the best choice if your content exceeds one or two paragraphs. Your website visitors won’t want to scroll endlessly through blocks of text in order to reach additional content like your contact form. If you want to feature full stories, excerpts, or poems on your author website, a one-page design might not work for you.

Lowers SEO: Your search engine optimization (SEO), or how high you rank on Google and Bing searches, will be lower with a one-page website. If you have multiple pages, people will have to click more often to access your content—and searchbots will read this activity as more traffic and thus rank the multi-page website higher. And unlike a multiple-page website, which allows you to track which content is engaging the most visitors, a one-page website lumps all of your different information together in one place.

No Adding, Only Replacing Content: Most single-page websites feature rigid design schemes that use a variety of colors within a scheme to indicate a new section. The sections are usually locked into a specific size in order to keep the site uniform. Unfortunately, these limitations mean you can’t really add new content to your design—you can only change the existing content.

No Blogging: Again, long-form content doesn’t work well on a one-page website, so a blog is also a no-go. If you had your heart set on having a blog, you might have to consider using a multi-page website.

Once you consider the pros and cons, you may decide that a one-page website is perfect for your online author presence—especially if you want to focus on mobile users. If you’re not sure if you should have a one-page website or a multi-page website, the design experts at Web Design Relief can help you make the right choice. Schedule a free consultation today!

Question: Do you prefer one-page websites or multi-page websites? Why?