One-Page Website vs WordPress website

Deciding Between a One-Page Website and a WordPress Website

If you are a small business and have no website, having a website is no longer a choice. In today’s world, you really need a website. Your business can’t really afford to NOT have a website. Websites allow your business to easily get found. If you only have a listing on Yelp or Facebook, for example, you can get “lost” in the all of the other information that is presented on those platforms instead of having your content front-and-center.

But what kind of website should you have if you are a small business?

The following information is to help you decide whether to go with a free, one-page website or a WordPress website with multiple pages.

One-Page Google My Business Website – Pros and Cons

One-page websites are fast and easy but limited in content and features.

The Google My Business website builder is a free tool that allows small business owners to create a simple, one-page website. Below are the positive and negative reasons to use it:

Pros:

  • It’s free to set up and use – no on-going costs
  • It’s mobile-friendly and already Secure Socket Layer (https:// – better security for websites)
  • Easy to use
  • Fast to set up compared to a WordPress website
  • Easy to add cover image, content information and upload images
  • Included in the one-page website is your location on Google Maps, contact information and business hours
  • Easy to reply to reviews that are posted on the site
  • Able to list multiple services
  • Have one call-to-action button (Contact Us, Call Now, Get Directions, Get Quote, Message Us, View Menu or Make Appointment)
  • Easy to add a Post (COVID-19, Offer, What’s New, Event or Product)

Cons:

  • Can only choose from 10 one-page themes. In addition, you are unable to change the template fonts, colors and font sizes
  • Won’t have your own domain name. Your URL will be formatted as https://yourcompanyname.business.site
  • Google reviews your content and has the ability to remove or disallow content
  • There is only one call-to-action button for the web page
  • It’s a one-page website – you have not option to expand to additional web pages
  • There is only one field with a 750 character limit for describing your company background, services and/or products
  • Can quickly outgrow the one-page website since there is no ability to add more than 750 characters
  • Google has guidelines on how you are to represent your business on Google
  • No ability to expand the one-page website (unable to add additional features)
  • No ability to add sharing buttons
  • No ability to add SEO (alt text for images, custom title tags, custom meta descriptions, etc.)

WordPress Website – Pros and Cons

WordPress websites offer endless variability, flexibility and allow for more depth of content; they also take more time and cost more.

WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) in use today. It is flexible and adaptable and possible to add almost any functionality for a small business website with a WordPress website. Below are the positive and negative attributes:

Pros:

  • Allows for artistic variety and customization on your own website
  • Ability to add almost unlimited functionality with ease by adding countless plugins – with most of them being free (image slider, web forms, integration with other apps such as Mailchimp, etc.)
  • Have your own unique domain name
  • Unlimited ability to customize fonts, colors, where to position images, arrange content, add videos and any other design decisions
  • Unlimited amount of web pages, content and images can be added
  • Add, delete and change as many pages and posts as you want
  • Add sharing buttons
  • Gives a good impression and makes the viewer get the impression that there is depth to your company
  • Ability to add Search Engine Optimization such as alt text for images, custom title tags, unlimited content to show your expertise, connect Google Analytics, and, of course, add SEO plugins
  • Long-term solution since building a WordPress website will last you for many years
  • It’s an open Source platform which means that no one company owns the code and many people can contribute to it
  • Because WordPress is so popular, you should be able to find many WordPress developers to help support you if you need the help

Cons:

  • Must pay for start-up and on-going costs. View our blog on costs that can play a part in a WordPress website
  • As with any large website, no matter the platform, it takes time to plan, gather images and write the content. View our blog on what it takes to create a website with multiple pages
  • Occasional theme and plugin updates are required although auto-updates for plugins is available
  • Some WordPress templates can have slow page speed
  • If you want to make any major changes, a WordPress web developer will need to be hired

The bottom line is to figure out the most important priorities to you and what you can afford.

If you are just starting your business and you have almost no funds, then the Google My Business one-page website is the best choice. Your business will get found on the search engines and you can display your location, hours and describe the basics of your business and services and post photos and videos from your business. In addition, if you are just starting out, you can invest your money in other small business start-up costs and when the time is right, you can invest your hard-earned money on a well-planned, well-thought-out WordPress website.

On the other hand, if you have a lot to say about your business, you are somewhat established, you have the funds and want to grow your business to the next level then a WordPress website is the right decision.

Either way you decide, ATC Web Solutions can help with your website.

 

Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash

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