Photo by flyzipper

When it comes to creating a web site, many site owners should really consider the maxim “Less Is More.”

I often deal with clients who want to have a blog or a big, impressive web site, but either don't have the time to maintain an involved site, or they don't have much to communicate to a broader audience that wouldn't fit on a business card. For these types of clients, I often suggest that they consider condensing their site into a single page. By doing so, they can remove the excess on their site and have one single page of great content, rather than having multiple pages of mediocre content.

One page web sites are great for the following groups.

• Small business - A one page website can work wonders for a small business who wants a presence on the web, but doesn't want to deal with the time commitment that's usually required to maintain a blog, forum, or just a larger web site. It doesn't look very professional for a business to have a blog that hasn't been updated in months, nor does it look good to have page after page of copy on a site that doesn't say anything. If you're not going to maintain it, there's no point in having it in the first place.

  This is where a one page web site can work in your favor. Rather than trying to keep up a larger site, spend some time cultivating some good content for a single web page.

• Portfolios - A one page online portfolio is pretty trendy these days. The format allows for a designer/photographer/artist to focus their audience on a few, strong portfolio pieces, rather than trying to spread their information out.
• Indy Bands - Like the small business, a fledgling band might not have the time necessary to keep up a larger web site. Couple that with the fact that most musicians would rather be on MySpace anyway (for whatever arcane reason), a one page site that points their fans towards their MySpace/Twitter/etc. can make a great starter web site for a band.

A one page web site doesn't have to be boring. There are plenty of examples on the web of fresh, exciting sites that limit themselves to only one page of content.

When you're looking for things to put on your fancy, new one page web site, be sure to not forget to include the following...

• Strong Hook - Just like any other marketing tool, if you can't catch somebody's eye with it, either through a search engine or on the site itself, your message is wasted on them. Be sure that the first thing that people see from your site is attractive enough to pull an audience.
• Compelling Content - Just because you only have to fill one web page doesn't let you off the hook for finding good, strong content for your site. It doesn't matter if it's a poem, a rant, paintings, a cartoon or some cool images, you need to give visitors a reason to stay on the site.
• Contact Info/General Call to Action - If you don't give your users something to do after their hooked, then you've wasted both your time and theirs. Give them a way to contact you so that they can give you praise/kudos/money/etc.