Sharon’s Goat, Beef, Chicken, Fish, Possum pie never caught on.
A one-page website can seem like a simple, cost-effective solution—especially if you’re just starting out or only offer a single service. It looks tidy, scrolls easily, and avoids the hassle of planning a full site structure. But while it might seem like a faster way to get online, a one-page site can come with trade-offs that aren’t obvious at first.
We’ve worked with many businesses who started with a one-page setup and quickly realised it wasn’t doing them any favours. From SEO struggles to missed conversion opportunities, these sites often fall short of what a business actually needs.
For businesses trying to keep costs down, a one-page website sounds like a smart option. Less content means less design and development time—at least on the surface. The promise of “just one page” can make the idea feel efficient and budget-friendly.
With no menu to worry about, the idea of a single scrollable page feels straightforward. Visitors don’t have to click through different sections—they just scroll. For some, that simplicity feels more user-friendly than a full website.
A lot of one-page templates look sleek and minimal. That can give the impression that the format is modern and effective. But good design isn’t just about how something looks—it’s about how well it works for both the user and the business.
With only one page to work with, it’s difficult to target a range of keywords or rank for more than one topic. Google has less content to crawl and fewer signals to work with, which can limit your visibility in search results. You also miss out on the benefits of having separate, well-optimised service or location pages.
Trying to explain everything on a single page can lead to long blocks of text, awkward layouts, or content that feels rushed. Without the ability to separate information clearly, users can end up skimming past important details—or getting overwhelmed before they find what they need.
One-page sites often have multiple calls to action scattered throughout, which can feel cluttered or confusing. You also lose the ability to tailor messaging to different types of visitors—for example, someone looking for an overview vs. someone ready to get in touch. It’s harder to guide people through a decision-making journey when everything is squeezed into one page.
A one-page website might seem fine in the beginning, but what happens when you want to add more services, testimonials, blog content, or FAQs? More often than not, you’ll need to rebuild the entire site. What starts as a shortcut often becomes a dead end.
We’ve seen how limiting one-page websites can be—both for the businesses using them and the results they get. While they might seem like a quick fix, they rarely hold up once a business needs to grow, improve search rankings, or convert more visitors.
Most clients who start with a one-page site come back within a year asking for a full rebuild. They’ve run into SEO issues, can’t expand their content without cramming it in, or simply realise the site isn’t bringing in the enquiries they expected.
That’s why we don’t build one-page websites. They don’t give our clients the flexibility or performance they need, and they almost always lead to extra work down the track.
You don’t need dozens of pages to have an effective website. A simple structure—home, services, about, and contact—is often enough to start with. The key is having a foundation that can grow with your business over time, without needing to start from scratch.
Having separate pages lets you target specific keywords, structure your messaging more effectively, and make it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for. It also helps Google understand the purpose of each page, which can improve your rankings.
As your business evolves, you’ll want to add things like new services, testimonials, blog posts, or FAQs. A multi-page site gives you that flexibility without breaking the layout or forcing everything into a single scroll.
One-page websites might look easy on the surface, but they often create more problems than they solve. If you’re thinking about a new site, here’s why it’s worth starting with the right structure from the beginning:
We build structured, scalable websites that are easy to navigate, built for growth, and designed to convert. Talk to us about what would work best for your business.
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