This is a Guest Post by Evans Walsh. Enjoy!
There was a time when websites were composed of several pages containing scores of information. This information was often subdivided into more pages that could be accessed from the navigation menu. During those times, this particular trend was thought to be user friendly. The categorization of information created a hierarchy that guided people to what they needed.
But very soon, mobile devices started gaining impetus and soon enough they took over desktops as the prime web browsing devices. What was once convenient now became rather bothersome. The screens became smaller and the controls were different. This called for single-page designs or the so called “pageless designs” of websites. Most existing websites started to adopt the pageless design to become mobile friendly.
Why is pageless design still as hot as it was 3 years ago?
There are a few salient features of pageless website designs that makes it ageless and according to Las Vegas Web Design Co, it is quite necessary during a time dominated by mobile devices.
- Responsive –All pageless designs can be updated into a responsive design. They are made up of fluid grids that are cross-platform friendly. From 32” LED screens to 5” mobile screens, these websites can fit the width of the display seamlessly. Pageless designs have been lauded by Google search and as of 21 April 2015, Google has shown its distinct preference for websites with responsive, pageless designs.
- A new era for scrolling –Intuitive scrolling came into existence with responsive, pageless website designs. This is a favourite among all social media users since it embraces the concept of linear scrolling throughout a single page. Here are 4 advantages that will convince you to adopt intuitive scrolling for your website:
- Non-committal: this is when the user doesn’t have to make a decision while scrolling through a page. Clicking is an action that requires conscious commitment from the user and the audience is more comfortable is scrolling through a page rather than clicking on content.
- Speed: scrolling is any day faster than clicking. This also allows users to browse through a lot of content on a single page without any lag or buffer time.
- Touch-friendly: most intuitive scrolling options are touch-friendly and are ideal for websites designed for mobile devices exclusively.
- Natural and smooth: with the advent of social media and shopping applications, scrolling is a natural response users have. Scrolling is inevitable and is the most natural reaction any user has while on a website (mobile or otherwise).
- Structure and hierarchy –Pageless designs have all the information about the website, its products and services arranged on one page. Now, this requires a rigorous organization effort from the backend. The idea is to provide all the information your audience needs on one page. But the information should also be arranged properly so that your users can find what they are looking for. The necessary information should not be lost in a flurry of content.It is ideal to use a guided chronology of events/information. In case of pageless designs you should use the most important information first. It is literally impossible to prioritize data in the same manner while using a multi-page website design.Many people are still in doubt about the dawn of pageless design. While some are of the opinion that it is a fad, others think pageless design is not a good idea for them. Here are the two most important questions many design agencies are trying at this moment –
- Is pageless design ill-suited for large websites?For large websites like amazon and eBay it may seem like a bad idea to go for a pageless design. But ultimately, with Google’s clear preferences for accelerated mobile sites and pageless designs, everyone has to adopt a pageless design sooner or later.Pageless designs for large inventories and businesses can be achieved with the help of multiple pageless structures and subdomains. These are then linked together to create a catalogue of individual yet combined single page websites. This is a little complicated for beginner level designers.
- Does using a single page design affect SEO adversely?The use of high density content on a single page enhances your SEO and helps you with Google PageRank score. With all the information on one page, you will make your content more sharable. This will also bring you high CTR and lessen your bounce rate, over time.Pageless design is the present and the future of website designing. It would be imbecilic to shut our doors to an advancing and revolutionary design trend like this one, and keep denying the future trends. It may be a difficult leap for many designers, but it is not a dispensable trend either.
Author: Evans Walsh is a freelance content writer. He has written many good and informative articles on different categories such as technology, health, fashion, beauty, education, career, travel etc. He is very responsible towards her job. He loves to share his knowledge and experience with his friends and colleagues.
