5 Pages or Less

OK, this Bad Website Idea covers two distinct website types:

1 Page Websites - an internet marketing strategy which I particularly despise.

3-5 page websites - offered by low end web designers as an "affordability option" for startups.

Both are very bad ideas, but for distinctly different reasons.

1 page websites are a tool of manipulation. They are a single page, designed to pressure someone into making an impulse buy. These pages are often called "squeeze pages". They usually have miles of copy, and tons of testimonials (which are frequently faked or written by friends of the seller), and so much hype that you feel like you have to wear earplugs. They are long on emotional appeals, short on critical details. They lack contact information, and any kind of credibility. I strongly advise that if you value your reputation, that you not use one of these - and do not follow the instructions of any marketer who advises one! I also suggest strongly that you not buy anything from one, because they are inherently misleading.

3-5 page websites are aimed at small businesses on a tight budget. A web designer may offer you one, without telling you what the fatal backlash is.

In short, no credible business in this day and age has a 5 page website, much less a smaller one! You cannot present a persuasive marketing message, along with validation of your legitimacy in even 5 pages.

See, there are pages that are expected on each site, and if they are not there, then your site will suffer. These include: About, Contact, Policies. Then you need a home page, and pages that explain who you are, what you do, and why your product or service is worth their consideration. You need pages for each product, and you need enough information on your site to demonstrate your expertise. This is especially important for service businesses.

Those extra pages also serve a great purpose, in helping you to get more search engine traffic as well. The pages can be targeted more precisely to close topics, which search engines really like.

I'd never suggest a 3-5 page website for a client, because I know it would do them a disservice. It would make them appear cheap, unprofessional, and shady. The deep dark secret of web design is that it takes VERY little more time to produce a 10 page website than it does to produce a 5 page website. If you can produce a 5 page site for $400, you can produce a 10 page one for $500. Because the design and site structure do not change, and they are actually the hardest part of building a small site.

So don't get suckered by either one of those approaches to building a website. Either one will hurt your business.

Written by Laura Wheeler