One Page Websites:  Pros and Cons

Copyright 2006 Stacey Morris

Learn Pros and Cons of Starting a One Page Website

"a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are hosted on one web server, usually accessible via the Internet. A web page is a document, typically written in (X)HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP, a protocol that transfers information from the web server to display in the user's web browser.

All publicly accessible websites are seen collectively as constituting the "World Wide Web". The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a common root URL called the homepage, and usually reside on the same physical server. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although the hyperlinks between them control how the reader perceives the overall structure and how the traffic flows between the different parts of the site."

There's a lot of talk in the infopreneur world about the difference between a website with a dozen pages or more and a one page website geared toward selling a particular product. I'll be discussing the pros and cons of each type of site, and hopefully clarifying some of the current issues.

Portal Websites for Service Professionals

Most professionals I speak with have sites that talk about their services, how they help their clients, and the results they produce. Some of the better sites I've seen have articles, information, and audio-content free for visitors to download.

The goal of these multipage sites is, theoretically, to begin developing a relationship with the visitor. But rarely does this happen. Usually visitors look around and click away, forgetting all about you. That's not the worst-case scenario, of course, because at least your site was seen. Worse than that, and far more common, is never being found at all.

Usually sites fail because visitors don t know what to do next. The content is good enough, but there's no clear action. Visitors who are only given the option to  call for a complimentary consultation  generally choose to leave rather than commit to a personal call.

The solution is to give your visitor an option to leave their email address, so you can continue following up. This optional sign-up box, or opt-in box, is a key way for service professionals to leverage their websites more effectively.

One Page Websites

 These sites are designed to lead the visitor to take one action. Usually the action is to buy to product being sold an ebook, audio set, membership, seminar or the like.

These often read like sales pages, but because they re so clear about the next action necessary, they can be very effective.

Well written websites are also very attractive to search engines, and can more easily be advertised through pay-per-click. For example,  Visit my portal website and see what I do as dog breeder!  is not as enticing a headline on Google AdWords as  The 7 Keys to Finding the Perfect Puppy! 

One page websites need to have extremely well-written pages to sell the product, because content is scarce. The promises on the page are what sell the product, much like a typical advertisement. There are no demonstrations of the product s efficacy, just a guarantee that if you use the product as specified it should create results for you.

Hence, relationship building is not a focus of this type of website. For service professionals, this can be a challenge. We distinguish ourselves through greater connection with our prospects and clients. There are thousands of relationship coaches ultimately a prospect will choose one based on the personal connection and trust level that has been established.

One page sites are built to sell a product, and get people into our marketing funnels. Over time, if our information is perceived as consistently great, a client may continue their journey with us all the way. To review the pro s and con s of one page websites:

1) Clear, and action-oriented. Visitors know what s expected and will choose to either buy or pass.

2) Easier to advertise on search engines, pay-per-click, and off-line venues.

3) The outcome is a sale you make money by offering one product.

4) Low content. The letter makes the sale you don t.

5) Some visitors may be turned off by the  salesy  nature of the site.

6) These sites are a poor vehicle for developing relationships.

If you want to see examples of onepage websites, take a look at the following two of these are my own sites, and one is from an extraordinarily successful internet marketer.

www.NoMoreUselessWebsites.com
www.OnlineServiceBusiness.com
www.InstantSalesLetter.com

Design a Website for Your Home Based Internet Business Here

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Stacey Morris helps self-empolyed professionals develop dynamic websites that do more than just uselessly hang out in cyberspace. To find out more about developing a website for your business, sign up for our free report, "Website Success Checklist" at http://www.ServiceBusinessCoaching.com .

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