Arana Construction
One-Page Website for a Construction Company
What they needed:
Arana Construction needed a simple one-page construction website for their long-time local business. They weren’t too worried about having tons of content and just wanted a digital footprint where visitors could find them, see what they did, and get in touch.
Client: Arana Construction | Industry: Construction
What we did:
Making a website doesn't have to be complicated. We built a simple, minimalist one-page scrolling website including a couple of simple touches like background animations, one simple scroll-based animation, a few hover effects, and a simple contact form. Check out the video to see what else goes into a one-page site. Spoiler: there are a few more pages hiding behind the scenes!
Watch the Video
See what goes into a super simple, minimalist one-page website for a local construction company.
Behind the Scenes
Extra pages, you say? Well, yes. First I always like to build a custom 404 Error page. This is in case someone clicks on an old or updated link or makes a typo in the extended url — less of an issue on a one-page site but it’s still a great practice.
Squarespace has one by default (below on the left), but instead of their simple “page not found” message, a custom 404 Error page looks and feels like the rest of your website, gives your visitor more guidance and information, directs them back to the main site, or allows them to just get in touch right there. It’s not only more helpful for your visitor, but a custom 404 Error page makes it more likely that your visitors will stay on your website, engaging with your content.
Check out the default 404 Error page on the left and the custom 404 Error page on the right.
Which would you choose?
Resources for DIYers:
But Kessiah, how do I set up my own custom 404 Error page?
I’d never leave you hanging. Here’s a tutorial for just that: Create a Custom 404 Error Page on Squarespace.
Resources for all websites:
Legal Pages
Worrying about your privacy policy might not be the most exciting part of building your new website, but it’s really important to have one. Every website needs a privacy policy and since I’m not a lawyer, I always recommend Termageddon, my ride or die go-to for legal policies. I use Termageddon’s policies on my own website (check the footer!) and on every client website I build.
Affiliate Note:
I have an affiliate partnership with Termageddon, which means you’ll receive a small discount and I’ll receive a small commission from your purchase if you use my discount code, but rest assured I only form affiliate partnerships with high quality resources I already use and wholeheartedly love! Check out my Termageddon policies in my footer. 👇🏼
Legal Policies with Termageddon
What do they do?
First you schedule a quick complimentary onboarding call, where they ask you about your business and craft your policies on the spot. Then you or your web designer will code them into your site! (If you use my discount code just make me an admin and I’ll build them into your Squarespace site for you!)
What’s included?
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Cookie Policy
Disclaimer
How much does it cost?
$119 annually and feel free to use my affiliate discount code, “Kessiah” for 10% off your first year.
Why is it an annual cost?
Termageddon policies aren’t just static text pasted into your website, the policies are actually hosted on the Termageddon platform and code pulls the contents onto your site. This means that any time the law changes (which is often!) Termageddon stays on top of it, updating and amending your policies to stay up to date with current privacy law.
Can’t I just get those for free?
You sure can, but they won’t necessarily be a) written by actual attorneys, b) updated when the law changes, and c) they may not even really help your website toward privacy compliance at all. I don’t recommend using free legal policy generators for these reasons.
Sweet, Sign Me Up!
Head on over to termageddon.com/onboarding to book a complimentary onboarding call. And feel free to use my affiliate discount code, “Kessiah” for 10% off your first year.
Resources for Squarespace web designers:
Back-End Pages to Delight Your Clients
Remember those extra private pages to give the client a library of helpful resources or a place to practice making changes before going live? I got those straight from Squarespace pro, Christy Price.
Once again, I also have an affiliate partnership with Christy Price, which means you may receive a small discount and/or I may receive a small commission from your purchase. Please know that I wholeheartedly recommend *everything* Christy creates, she is a brilliant and generous resource for Squarespace designers and you won’t be disappointed!
Get your own Starter Template including tons more ideas for creative ways to set up your websites from scratch.
But Kessiah, aren’t one page websites bad for SEO???
Sure, more pages = more content = more keywords = more internal linking, that’s all true. But more doesn’t automatically mean better, and one page is infinitely better than no website! This specific website is very light on content, but they were less concerned with SEO for now and more concerned with getting something up. As your web designer, it’s my job to give some best practice info, some pros and cons about each direction, but as the client ultimately you’re in charge. If you’re not too concerned about SEO, we don’t have to go nuts.
With a one page website you can still optimize your site title and meta description, optimize and alt-tag all your images, organize your font hierarchy clearly throughout the page, start to build your domain authority, drive traffic by sharing your site across all your social platforms, and even work toward getting some valuable backlinks. Then if you do decide to do a targeted SEO project down the road you can always add more content on top of the solid foundation you’ve already built. So no, one page websites aren’t bad for SEO and you can always improve your SEO with more quality content later.
Want to see it live?
Check out the Arana Construction website and click around for yourself.
And if you have a construction project in western Colorado, give them a holler!
And how about you? Does your website need some love?
Let’s start your project.
Hey, I’m Kessiah, a Squarespace web designer for happy visionaries of all industries. As an official Squarespace-vetted Expert and Squarespace Circle Member, I work with businesses and brands of all shapes and sizes, including startups, corporations, agencies, nonprofits, and solopreneurs to build Squarespace websites that convert. If you’d like to talk shop, you can email me at hello@kessiah.com, leave me a note here, or let’s hop on a call here to tell me all about what you have in mind. Let’s build the website of your dreams!
