When to Use Them, How They Work, and What to Consider Before You Build

A one-page website is a single, scrollable page that contains all the essential information about your photography business. Instead of navigating through separate pages for “About,” “Portfolio,” “Pricing,” and “Contact,” visitors simply scroll to see it all.

Think of it as a storyboard for your brand—a continuous journey that blends visuals, copy, and calls-to-action into a seamless viewing experience.

Simplicity That Sells
A one-page layout keeps the focus where it belongs—on your photography. With fewer clicks and fewer distractions, your images shine.

Fast to Launch
Perfect if you’re preparing for a bridal fair, mini-session promotion, or new season campaign—you can get online in days or even hours.

Mobile-First by Nature
Scrolling feels natural on phones (where most photography website traffic happens). A one-page website mirrors the “feed” style people are used to from Instagram and TikTok.

Anchor Link Navigation
Even though it’s all on one page, you can still have a menu. Anchor links allow visitors to click “Portfolio” in your navigation bar and instantly jump to that section of the same page—no reloads required.

• This keeps the browsing smooth and intuitive.
• It also helps clients quickly find the section they care about most, like “Pricing” or “Contact.”

When building, order matters—guide visitors like you would guide them through a gallery showing:

Hero Section
A bold hero image or short looping slideshow with your strongest shots.

About You
A brief, personal introduction with an image of you in action.

Portfolio Highlights
A curated gallery (6–12 of your best, optimized for speed).

Services & Packages
A scannable overview with starting prices.

Testimonials
Real client feedback with paired images.

Contact or Booking Form
Minimal fields to make reaching out easy.

Call-to-Action Buttons
Placed throughout to encourage booking, inquiry, or scheduling.

👉 Tip: Anchor links in your top navigation should point to each of these sections for quick access.

Narrative Flow
You control the order clients experience your work, from first impression to final call-to-action.

Visual Immersion
Without page reloads, the entire visit feels like a curated portfolio viewing.

Goal-Driven Structure
One primary focus—whether it’s inquiries, bookings, or portfolio views—makes the website more effective.

Easy Maintenance
Less content to update means more time behind the lens.

1. Limited SEO Potential

With a one-page website, all your content shares the same URL and metadata. This creates a few challenges:

Fewer Keyword Opportunities
If you’re a photographer offering weddings, families, and headshots, it’s difficult to optimize for all three without diluting focus. Search engines prefer dedicated, keyword-rich pages for each topic.

Reduced Content Depth
SEO thrives on long-form, focused content. A one-page format often forces you to shorten copy so it fits the scrolling design.

Anchor Links Don’t Boost SEO
While they help navigation, they don’t count as separate indexed pages in Google’s eyes.

👉 Impact for photographers: If most of your bookings come from organic search (Google), you might struggle to compete with multi-page websites targeting multiple search terms like “Asheville wedding photographer” and “Asheville newborn photographer” separately.

2. Potential Overload

The very thing that makes a one-page website appealing—everything in one place—can also work against you:

Long Load Times
High-resolution images, especially if uncompressed, can cause slow performance, which is frustrating for visitors and harmful for SEO rankings.

Scroll Fatigue
If visitors have to scroll endlessly to find pricing or contact info, they may bounce before taking action.

Cluttered Visuals
Too many portfolio images or text blocks can dilute the impact of your strongest work.

👉 Impact for photographers: You risk turning a beautiful visual showcase into a slow, overwhelming experience that hides your best shots in a flood of less essential content.

3. Scalability Issues

One-page websites are perfect for a tight, focused message—but they can be harder to grow with your business:

Service Expansion Challenges
Adding new galleries, packages, or blog posts will stretch the single-page format, making it unwieldy.

Design Rework
To add more sections without making the page excessively long, you may need to rethink the structure entirely.

Limited Storytelling Flexibility
If you later want to create separate experiences for different audiences (e.g., brides vs. corporate clients), you’ll need to rebuild into a multi-page format.

👉 Impact for photographers: If your career path or offerings might expand significantly, a one-page site could require a costly overhaul in the future.

4. Analytics Limitations

Analytics tools like Google Analytics or Meta Pixel can still track visitor data on a one-page website—but with limitations:

Less Granularity
On a multi-page website, you can see which service pages perform best. On a one-page website, all traffic and engagement data is tied to the same page URL.

Reliance on Scroll Tracking
To understand which sections are working, you’ll need to set up custom event tracking for anchor link clicks or scroll depth—something many photographers overlook.

Harder to A/B test
Testing different portfolio layouts or pricing strategies is trickier when you don’t have separate pages to compare.

👉 Impact for photographers: Without detailed insights, it’s harder to make data-driven improvements to your site or marketing campaigns.

Specialized Niches
Wedding-only, elopements, maternity, or headshots.

Event-Based Promotions
Mini sessions, holiday shoots, or workshops.

Portfolio Teasers
A clean “link in bio” destination for social media.

Quick Launch Needs
When speed matters more than depth.

Landing Page
A single page with one specific purpose—great for ad campaigns or seasonal offers.

Multi-Page Portfolio Site
Multiple dedicated pages for services, galleries, and a blog—best for SEO and diverse offerings.

Hybrid Approach
A strong homepage with the essentials plus deeper linked pages—combines the flow of one-page with the flexibility of multi-page.

Use Anchor Links Wisely
Make your navigation menu scroll directly to sections like “Portfolio” or “Contact” without page reloads.

Curate Like a Pro
Only feature your absolute best work.

Optimize for Speed
Compress images so the page loads quickly without sacrificing quality.

Place Multiple CTAs
Don’t make visitors scroll back to book you.

Test Mobile First
The majority of your audience will visit on a phone.

A one-page website can be a powerful, visually immersive tool for photographers—especially if you have a focused service, want fast launch times, and prefer a guided viewing experience.

Anchor links make it possible to keep that streamlined feel while still giving visitors the ability to jump exactly where they want to go—an essential for client-friendly navigation.

But remember: if your business needs robust SEO, caters to multiple audiences, or requires a lot of detail, a multi-page or hybrid website might be the better fit.