What is a one pager and how are they created?

As the online store­front of a company, a website is the first stop for potential customers looking for in­for­ma­tion and offers. Depending on the industry, a certain level of in­no­va­tion in the design may be required to grab attention. For those who want a change from con­ven­tion­al website design, a one-page design could be the answer.

One pager, the web design trend

Websites are usually built in a similar way to tra­di­tion­al print media. When searching for in­for­ma­tion and content, the user jumps from page to page. In the same way that you might “flick” through a magazine, users “click” through your website via the nav­i­ga­tion tools provided. One-page web design, also known as single-page design or pageless design, breaks away from a typical structure that sees users click from page to page, opting instead for a different structure. A one pager is a single page. All the relevant in­for­ma­tion that would normally be displayed across several different subpages is presented as part of this single page, allowing users access to all the important content without all the clicking. This simple nav­i­ga­tion is achieved through an intuitive, user-friendly concept.

How to create a one pager

To take advantage of one-page design, you need a well thought-out concept for the page. Should it be a classic company page with contact options? Or maybe you want to create a landing page specif­i­cal­ly for lead gen­er­a­tion? Or maybe a page for a product, event or specific topic?

Before you put your plan into action, you should first choose and register a suitable domain. You also need to decide how to create your one pager and find a suitable hosting en­vi­ron­ment.

How to find a suitable domain for a one pager

Having a good idea for what to include on your one pager is only half the battle. It is just as important to register a mean­ing­ful web address. This should fit as well as possible to you or your content. You can use a domain checker to find a good com­bi­na­tion for a domain name and top-level domain.

Website builder kit: CMS or web design service for pro­gram­ming a one pager?

Compared to a complex website with various subpages, a one pager requires sig­nif­i­cant­ly less pro­gram­ming effort. However, the task shouldn’t be un­der­es­ti­mat­ed. Consider whether you want to design the one pager yourself, with the help of a website builder or content man­age­ment system, or whether you would rather leave the pro­gram­ming to a pro­fes­sion­al agency or web design service. It is important to weigh the effort and costs to see which option makes most sense. Don’t forget to take your own expertise into account so you have a sat­is­fac­to­ry solution ready in the end.

Create suitable hosting struc­tures

You need a suitable hosting en­vi­ron­ment so that your one pager can be accessed via the internet at the desired web address. You can tech­ni­cal­ly host the site on your own because the one-page design takes up sig­nif­i­cant­ly fewer resources compared to more complex website struc­tures. However, to be on the safe side in terms of avail­abil­i­ty and per­for­mance, it might be better to use a pro­fes­sion­al hosting service to host your one pager.

The main elements and tips for one-page design

A one pager ideally leads visitors in one direction i.e. directly towards con­ver­sion. This is why there is almost always a cor­re­spond­ing CTA (Call-to-Action) at the bottom of the page, which prompts users to purchase, register, order, par­tic­i­pate or carry out some type of action. In order to lead users in the desired direction, the content must be prepared well and struc­tured ac­cord­ing­ly. Typical elements and stylistic devices include the following:

• Sto­ry­telling: If you want to win over your visitors, you have to tell a story. One pagers offer an excellent op­por­tu­ni­ty to tell the story of a product, an ap­pli­ca­tion or a campaign. The goal is to create a special user ex­pe­ri­ence through text and mul­ti­me­dia content that does not interrupt the reading flow.
• Fixed nav­i­ga­tion bar: A fixed nav­i­ga­tion bar can be found on most one pagers. Here the nav­i­ga­tion always remains fixed on the screen so you can jump to another element on the page at any time.
• Jump markers: Use jump markers or other call-to-actions to give users the option of jumping to different places on the page.
• Scrollspy: With a scrollspy plugin, the user always knows which part of the website they are viewing.
• In­ter­ac­tive in­fo­graph­ics: One pagers provide a great way to work with an­i­ma­tions and in­ter­ac­tive in­fo­graph­ics. A good example is the following graphic that displays the most popular names for a par­tic­u­lar breed of dog.- Parallax scrolling: Unlike tra­di­tion­al scrolling features, in­di­vid­ual elements and levels of the website move at different speeds with parallax scrolling. By using this technique, a website’s depth can be increased. Flat design: It’s also common to use flat design in com­bi­na­tion with one-page design. This refers to de­lib­er­ate­ly re­frain­ing from shadows, three-di­men­sion­al elements and other realistic textures. A flat design is intended to reinforce the reduced, min­i­mal­is­tic character of one-page layouts by focusing on limited content in its sim­plic­i­ty and structure.

Is one-page design right for me (with examples)?

A simple one-page structure offers many ad­van­tages, but it’s certainly not suitable for every type of website. The first decisive factor here is content. If you want to offer your visitors lots of in­for­ma­tion, perhaps even broken down into different cat­e­gories, a one pager isn’t a suitable choice. If, for example, you wanted to create a news portal, it would be very difficult to do so using one-page web design. But the amount of in­for­ma­tion isn’t the only thing to consider when it comes to one-page design. The intention of the website is also a crucial factor. One pagers are es­pe­cial­ly good for one par­tic­u­lar thing and that is sales. If the in­for­ma­tion is organized in a sensible way, potential customers don’t have to search to find important in­for­ma­tion because they have all the relevant in­for­ma­tion right there in front of them.

Business with clear offers and services

One pagers are an excellent al­ter­na­tive design option for companies with a man­age­able portfolio of services and/or products. A good example is the website of the American software developer Dolox.

Agencies

One-page design is es­pe­cial­ly suited to agencies as the website of the web agency Willow proves.

Personal profiles (port­fo­lios)

A one pager also gives in­di­vid­u­als and free­lancers the op­por­tu­ni­ty to briefly introduce them­selves. The portfolio page of copy­writer Charlie Pite demon­strates how to suc­cess­ful­ly capture the attention of website visitors with just one page.

Pre­sen­ta­tion of projects or campaigns

In­di­vid­ual projects or campaigns can also be presented on a one pager. An im­pres­sive example can be found on the National Domestic Workers Alliance’s one-page website, which addresses the disdain for domestic helpers in the USA and promotes the Oscar-winning film “Roma” about the house­keep­er Cleo.

Events

Whether it’s for a business, public in­sti­tu­tion or private in­di­vid­ual, an upcoming event can be promoted with a one pager, as seen here for Jess and Russ’ wedding.

Ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages of one pagers

In the right context, with the right content and the right strategy, a single-page website offers a number of ad­van­tages. Of course, this unusual design also has a few dis­ad­van­tages that cannot just be brushed under the carpet. The following table sum­ma­rizes the most important arguments for and against single-page design.