Truth be told, the way you design your website tells a lot about who you are and your type of personality. For single page websites, the only way users can discover the content inside is to keep scrolling. This means without a superb design to tell your story properly, visitors are likely to misjudge you early and head elsewhere. For this reason, you need to capture their attention as soon as they land on the site if you’re to stand a chance of converting them into customers.
Here are 6 design ideas and tips for single page websites you can implement right away for effective results.
Optimize your site’s navigation
Single page websites present all the ideas in a single place. This makes it easy for your visitors to lose track of where they are on the content layout. To minimize this confusion, go for designs that give an overview of each published content on the side. The summary can include the title of the content, category if your website is broad, and the date of publishing.
Alternatively, use designs that organize content in relatable forms or sequences. For example, you can go for a layout that arranges the content in an alphabetical or numerical format. While at it, ensure users are able to switch between these categories by using linkable navigation elements. Put simply, make sure they can go to content titled with letter Z and back to M with a click of a button.
Use innovative web elements to increase time spent on your site
The idea here is to motivate the user to keep scrolling down out of curiosity. Keep them engaged with complementary videos, images, or UI effects that increase attention to the details. Use designs that support hover animations, pop-in elements, or “read more” buttons for long posts.
For visitors who are about to bounce out of the page, you can use web elements that detect such actions and distract with catchy information. This may include asking them to subscribe to your newsletter or popping up a thank you note to show appreciation for spending time on your site.
Make it easy for readers to scan content
When running a single-page website, content tends to pile up fast especially if you publish regularly. This can make keeping track of new additions quite problematic for your readers. To solve this issue, use a design that makes it easy to identify any new changes made to the site’s content. For example, you can use an identity tag on the latest articles by adding the word “new” in italics before or after its main title.
Another applicable approach is using the white background space to separate ideas. With this, you’ll encourage your audience to scan the content with ease as well as take a break to digest what they just read.
Finally, ensure your site loads fast to avoid discouraging readers from scrolling down to your older posts. In addition to optimizing elements like the images and fonts used, get a fast and reliable hosting service. Read Mangomatter’s website hosting reviews here for insight on reputable providers that are sure to boost your site’s overall loading speed.
Interlink your content
Sometimes web users want a bit of everything on a website. An effective way to meet their expectations is to use a design that allows you to interlink content on your website. The idea is to direct the audience to other information which they’re probably looking for as well.
For example, when your article is about web layouts, you can choose to direct them to your other piece that offers template ideas or anything else which you think will interest them. By doing this, you’re not only increasing the time these people spend on your site but also promoting the rest of your content.
Offer page-like experience
Even when your website is using a single page design, it is recommended that you format it to focus on each element at a time. Put distinct separator lines from one content to the next to create a sense of organization. You can also use different backgrounds for each page so that the visitor knows the beginning and end of each section.
Offering a page-like experience makes it easy for users to access different types of content on your site while also enabling them to track where they are on your site.
Place CTA buttons strategically in your content
A single-page website has only one landing place which translates to limited chances of convincing your visitors to convert. As such, you need to place your call-to-action buttons strategically to increase visibility and compel the reader to take appropriate action.
While at it, use keep the number of other elements as low as possible to avoid distracting your visitors from taking the desired action.
How are you managing your single-page website to maximize results and boost conversions? We’d love to hear your feedback.