If you’ve looked into hiring professional website design services, you’ve likely encountered the big question of how many pages your website should include. It usually comes down to evaluating the difference between the low-price offer of a single landing page website vs multipage websites at higher price points. With some companies pushing the benefits of single page sites and even charging by the page beyond that, it’s easy to question how necessary those extra pages really are. After all, a landing page site is cheap, it will get you online fast, look professional, and it seems to include the basics of what you want to share about your business…so why choose a multipage website instead?

1 | Your website is more than a digital business card

Your website is the first impression you make to potential customers. If you were trying to sell in person, you wouldn’t hand them a card with your name and number on it and just walk away. You want to start a conversation, create opportunities to tell them about yourself and convince them of why they need your service over anyone else’s. Landing page websites are the equivalent of a business card, whereas multipage websites are that whole conversation.

We recommend a minimum of 4 pages for any website: Home (the first impression, what people see first when they reach your site), Services/About (a chance to tell your story and establish a connection—tell them what you do and why you do it best), Gallery/Products (a chance to back up your claims with examples of your work or product), Contact (the details of  how to get in touch now that you have their attention).  Check out our extensive portfolio of multipage websites to see these pages in practice.

2 | More pages = More visibility

We wrote in-depth on how search engine optimization helps you rank higher on Google, but the short version is this: the more pages your website has, the more chances it will appear in search results to customers looking for similar services. This translates directly to more traffic for your website and more sales for your business.

For example, if you are a remodeling company and your Services tab includes one subpage for granite countertop installation and one for freestanding bathtub installation, those pages will rank individually on search engines. People searching for kitchen remodeling are more likely to find you for one, while those looking for bathroom remodeling can find you for another. So more pages = bigger customer reach.

Another tip: Be wary of web design companies offering SEO for single page websites—with only one page to work with, there’s only so much they can do to optimize it for all your services, and you’re unlikely to see any noticeable increase in website traffic (which is the whole point of SEO). You could be paying extra for something that isn’t doing you any good.

3 | Low price does not equal good value

As a business owner, this may seem like common sense…but we also know it’s easy to let price dictate a decision if it seems like the benefits are ultimately the same. That’s why it’s always important to educate yourself on what you’re really getting for your money, especially when it comes to websites. If you find the web design companies you’re talking to are pushing hard for a landing page sale, they may not have your best business interests at heart. After all, if they can sell five clients like you on a service that costs them relatively little to set up, what incentive do they have to try to make more in-depth services look appealing?

That’s not to say everyone offering landing page sites is just out for your money—it’s always smart to offer a introductory level service, and you have to start somewhere. But if they aren’t at least talking to you about the pros and cons of single page sites, you might want to keep looking. Different companies will have different price structures, and pay-per-page isn’t always the best strategy. Look for companies that offered tiered pricing packages that include real benefits like website hosting and maintenance. Ask what their pricing strategy is for adding additional pages–for many, it’s less about the number of pages and more about the level of upkeep required that determines the price. These are the type of businesses most likely to see the value in growing your company first so theirs can grow with you.

4 | More pages = More content

This may also seem like common sense—more pages means more room. But this is actually one of the biggest reasons to choose a multipage site over a landing page. The goal of any website design is to make it as easy to navigate as possible for the user, because the more jumbled or cluttered your site is, the more likely visitors are to click away fast without actually loading your page (this is called bounce rate, and it’s one of few business metrics where you want your numbers to stay as low as possible!). Trying to cram everything about your business onto one endless page is a sure way to turn people off, but creating multiple pages allows for a cleaner and more intuitive approach that helps your clients find what they’re most interested in faster.

In addition, multiple pages allow for more flexibility in the content you offer. Adding a blog to your website is another great way to boost website traffic and customer engagement. Some companies will even manage it for you, so it’s definitely worth asking about when you’re evaluating potential design companies for your next website.

5 | Landing pages are only effective in specific situations

Ultimately, there are only a few limited situations where landing page websites actually make sense. With all the reasons for choosing a multipage site above, you may be wondering why companies offer landing page sites at all. The answer is:

Portfolio Websites:

These are typically for individuals or companies in the arts, where their website is more about self-promotion than acquiring customers. In this case, a website really can be a digital business card with more flexibility in what information it shares. Portfolios can be single-page relatively easily due to a reduced amount of information to be included.

Event Promotion:

This type of landing page site promotes a single event, and usually only stays active until the event is over. Things like music festivals or 5k runs may benefit from this type of site if your intent is only to share information about the event and get people to remember. The single-page format keeps users focused in one area, and can be good for encouraging a call-to-action such as signing up for a newsletter to stay informed or directing traffic to social media if that’s where you prefer to run the bulk of the event.

However, if your business offers any kind of service, has multiple products or locations, wants to sell anything online (i.e. you’re looking to be an e-commerce site), or is looking to establish a long-term presence in your community or industry, then you have much more to gain from a multipage site for all the reasons discussed above.

In our experience as a web design provider, the vast majority of businesses seeking design services will benefit most from multipage sites (especially if they include the basic 4 pages we mentioned previously). If you’re currently weighing a landing page website vs multipage website or just looking to decide how many pages your current site should incorporate, we hope knowing a bit more about the differences and benefits between the options will help you make the best choice for your business going forward!

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