One-page or multi-page website: which fits your business?

What a one-page site is

Everything sits on one long page: who you are, what you do, photos, service area, and how to reach you. Visitors scroll instead of clicking through a menu. It's quick to build, quick to read on a phone and easy to keep current.

When one page is enough

• You do one main thing, such as fences, gutters or interior painting.
• Your work comes mostly from referrals, and people look you up by name to check you're real. See why referral businesses still need a site.
• You're new and don't have photos or text for more yet.
• You'd rather have one page that's right than several you never update.

A one-page site still needs the basics: a tap-to-call number at the top, a short list of services, your own photos, the towns you cover, and a short form.

When separate service pages help

• You offer several different services. Someone who needs a roof repair and someone pricing a full replacement have different questions. One page can't answer both well without getting very long.
• You want to be found for specific searches. Search results link to pages. A page that's all about one service gives a search engine something clear to match to a search for that service. It can help; nobody can promise where a page will show up.
• Customers ask the same detailed questions. What's included, how long it takes, what affects the price. A service page can answer them before the call.
• You run ads or send estimates. You can link straight to the page about that job instead of the top of a long home page.

Our guide to service pages covers what goes on each one.

How to grow from one page to many

1. Start with the home page done well. Give each service a short section with its own heading.
2. Split off your biggest service first. Move its section to its own page and write more: what it is, when it's needed, what's included, what happens next. Leave a short summary and a link on the home page.
3. Add one page at a time. Only when you have something real to say and photos to show.
4. Add the supporting pages. About, service area, contact, and a gallery if you have the photos.
5. Keep the menu short. If the list of services is long, group them under one "Services" item.
6. Link pages to each other where it helps a visitor, such as from a repair page to a replacement page.

What not to do

• Make ten pages with two sentences each.
• Copy the same text onto every page and swap the service or town name. See service-area pages that help instead of hurting.
• Publish "coming soon" pages.
• Bury the phone number because there's now a contact page. It belongs at the top of every page.

The short answer

Start with what you can fill honestly and keep current. Have it built so pages can be added later without starting over, and ask your web person how that would work before you begin.