Minimalist Websites
Websites are the digital homes of your business.
They play a crucial role in the development of your business because consumers crave a digital home base to connect with your business and brand.
But let's face it. Launching a website can feel like climbing Mount Everest.
Even the bravest DIY business owners can feel like they've bitten off more than they can chew once they get into the nitty-gritty of web design.
That’s why at VG Talent & Services…
We recommend that solopreneurs and micro-business owners start small with a minimalist website.
Think of it as a tiny home for your business – just enough space to showcase your products and services without all the bells and whistles of a full-on mansion.
Minimalist websites can still look sleek and professional. They can be completely branded and strategically optimized to feature services and products. Plus, they won't break the bank like their multi-page counterparts, and you won't have to be you pulling your hair out with unnecessary website maintenance.
So, if you're feeling overwhelmed with all the work on your plate, take a baby step and explore the world of minimalist website alternatives. Who knows, it might be just what your business needs to take off!
So what exactly is a minimalist website alternative?
At VG Talent & Services, we have categorize these alternatives into:
Single-Page Websites
Landing Pages
Bio Sites
Single-Page Site
Minimal but mighty! Get an on-brand single-page website crafted to convert built on Squarespace or Carrd. Perfect for portfolios, solopreneurs, and micro-business owners.
Click here to see package info, visual samples, and client testimonials here!
Single-Page Websites
Think of the single-page website as a "tiny home." It's just a smaller version of a traditional website, but it can grow with your business. These tiny homes can feel quite robust. They offer a main homepage built to convert with multiple sections that identify and market your entire business. This is the meatiest part of your tiny home site. Plus, our Single-Page Website Packages always include a contact page, legal page, one-free page of your choice, and a 404 page! Subsidiary pages built directly from the homepage are also optional for a small up charge. Pro Tip: Remember, if you build your single-page website on the correct platform, you can always turn a single-page website into a multi-page website for future demands.
Landing Pages
Landing pages (a.k.a, sales pages) are a one-stop shop with a clearly defined focus. They contain little to no header navigation and are designed to keep viewers scrolling. Landing pages can be simple to advanced in functionality, and businesses with larger budgets like to use them to generate leads for targeted sales. Landing pages are limited to a single page, but if you want to highlight multiple products or services individually, they may be the perfect alternative for your business. Landing page builders that generate leads can be costly, but they have intense marketing and advertising capabilities that can exponentially convert viewers into buyers.
Bio Sites
Bio Sites are similar to a digital business card. They are best for those who are just starting out, who have a super tight budget, and who have minimal content. They are a great way to start building connections and engaging with your audience, as they often include social media links and digital payment systems like Cash App or Paypal. Overall, a bio site can be a smart choice for anyone looking to establish a fast online presence without investing a lot of time or resources.
At VG Talent & Services, our design packages for Single-Page Websites, Landing Pages, and Bio Sites give business owners peace of mind with these all-inclusive benefits:
Displays a professionally branded digital presence online
Requires minimal website maintenance
Comes fully branded and customized
Features sales copy and catchy CTA’s (Call To Actions)
Is user friendly and easy to navigate
Comes optimized for basic SEO
Fully Mobile optimized
Significantly more affordable than building a multi-page website
Sign up forms, contact forms, email newsletter forms are available to set up
Easily accept payments, sell services, and connect to social media sites
Features a cookie policy prompt and links for Terms of Use & Privacy Policy
Let's delve deeper into these Single-Page Websites, Landing Pages, and Bio Sites, to see which one is better suited for you and your business.
Single-page websites and landing pages share similar pros and cons.
Let’s look at the Pro’s first:
Both showcase a primary focal point and a clear call to action for the viewer. They contain everything a viewer needs to know on one page or homepage. Single-page websites and landing pages can appear and feel robust when paired with plugins, widgets, or specific applications like Flowcodes, Biosites, and social media accounts. They can be incredibly low maintenance because there is only one page to update and maintain!
Both may function as a traffic hub to drive and direct users to external platforms or links. They can be a perfect option for users who operate on platforms like Patreon or Etsy but still need a general "home base" location for their business.
Both options enhance SEO by default. Every page on a website has its own SEO ranking. So with a single-page approach, all traffic gets directed to that page. This saturated amount of traffic can speedily increase your SEO status. Also, single-page websites that use scrolling as their navigation strategy can have a higher SEO success rate. Because scrolling navigation causes viewers to spend more time on your homepage, Google and other online search engines track how long users stay on your site, consequently affecting your SEO.
Both allow you to successfully feature services and products through strategic planning with a VGTS designer.
Next’s let’s review the Con’s:
Both have minimal cons. One potential con is pricing. Most web builders charge the same monthly fee to operate a single-page website as a multipage website. That is a small con, but it is worth mentioning. However, your design fee from a professional designer will be significantly less expensive for a Single-Page Website or Landing Page than a Multi-Page Website.
Landing page builders that are super budget-friendly often need additional plugins or widgets for essential functions like opening an external PDF file. To solve this, companies like Elfsight provide numerous drag and drop widgets for a plethora of needs at an affordable price. However, it's essential to consider this need for extra functionality because each widget usually comes with a monthly fee.
Landing pages builders purposed to generate leads tend to charge over $80 per month for a subscription. This fee might be off-putting to some, but it's not as outrageous as it seems. These platforms have intense marketing and advertising capabilities that can exponentially convert viewers into buyers. Even with a traditional website, you will have to pay for marketing and advertising services at some point in your business's future. Landing page platforms are like a website and marketing service all in one. So if sales are a massive priority to your business, landing pages may be an excellent fit for your brand.
You potentially can add a blog to a Single-Page Webiste, but you cannot add a blog to a Landing Page. Also once you start developing a blog your single-page website, it becomes a multi-page website.
Bio Site Pros and Cons:
Bio Sites are perfect for influencers, budding artist-entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, mompreneurs, and freelancers. With a bio site, you can make your mark online in a jiffy, without breaking a sweat or the bank! We recommend Unfold: The Toolkit for Storytellers (owned by Squarespace) because of it’s amazing built in brand features, social media templates and management tools. There is free options and a Pro Option for $12.99 a month.
You can use Bio Sites as a digital business card throughout every stage of your business’s journey, and we recommend using it as the main link in your social media bios to connect your audience will all of your content.
Bio-Sites are so easy to create, that we generally don’t offer design packages for these. Although, we can provide you with concierge Bio-Site services if time is of the essence to you.
Your business will eventually outgrow your Bio Site, and you will need a home of your own even if it’s tiny. You will soon need more space to articulate your about us page, mission, purpose, testimonials, team, services and products.
Bio-Sites do not offer SEO advantages or blogs (unless you link to a third party blogging site).
Bio-Sites do not generally come with custom URL domains.
Still interested in a Multi-Page Website?
Having a multi-page website can greatly enhance your business by providing visitors with a more comprehensive understanding of your products or services.
Often multipage websites host the operations of a business such as online storefronts, member areas, courses, and professional services.
Multi-Page Site
Built for a robust display with user-friendliness as the top priority. Sell products, services, or offer digital courses designed on Squarespace Fluid Engine and simple to maintain.
Click here to see package info, visual samples, and client testimonials here!
With multiple pages, you can showcase different aspects of your business in greater detail, including your company history, team members, and customer testimonials.
This can help build trust with potential customers and make it easier for them to navigate your website and find the information they need.
Additionally, having more pages on your website can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) by allowing you to target a wider range of keywords and topics. Overall, a multi-page website can help you establish a stronger online presence and attract more customers to your business.
The sticky-tricky part to developing a multi- page website is that they are time-consuming to maintain.
These are the “mansions” that I mentioned earlier. They make fantastic web homes, but they just need extra attention because of their massive functionality. They also come with higher design and implementation cost.
Not to worry though! At VG Talent & Services, we’ve got your back with our we concierge all-inclusive design packages for multi-page website.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and ads to selected items that help artist-entrepreneurs thrive in their business.
Web Builders I Love to Recommend —
Squarespace | Best All-Inclusive Web Builder
I use Squarespace, so I guess I am biased, but I believe it is the best all-around platform for professionals who desire their web design to look stupendous across all mobile devices. Squarespace provides many automated design features that save time and hassles and leave the creator with a visually satisfying final product. My favorite feature is Squarespace Video Studio, which automatically pulls content from your website to create stunning videos for advertising and marketing. Squarespace offers in-house email campaigns and owns Unfold, a beautiful social media design app for creating Bio Sites and story-based content. Squarespace integrates with several extensions (my favorite is Taxjar) that allow you to streamline almost every aspect of your business into one platform.
Carrd | Best Budget-Friendly Landing Page Builder
Carrd is like "the Ikea" for landing pages. It's strategically built for minimalism. Templates are limited, but plugins and widgets can be easily added. If you have an eye for design, Carrd sites have the potential to appear lush and trendy. I use Carrd and have no complaints, except that they have no reachable customer service. Carrd is outstandingly cheap (dare I say, the best on the market). Carrd has a free plan, but the Pro plan is only $19 PER YEAR to create and operate up to TEN websites!
Unbounce | Best Landing Page Platform With AI
Unbounce is one of the leading landing page platforms on the market. Because of its simplicity, it is perfect for beginners, but it is also great for advanced users who prioritize high levels of marketing. Unbounce offers templates with a drag and drop editor and customized coding functions are available. Unbounce is exceptional regarding speed, A/B split testing and built-in lead capture. Unbounce has a free 14-day trial but does come with a hefty price tag at $90 per month. Again, it's important to remember that this hefty price tag includes a built-in marketing service that is meant to help you generate profit quickly.
Shopify | Best For E-commerce
Hands down, Shopify is the best platform for online storefronts and sales-focused businesses. Shopify puts your products front and center with many features that allow customers to have a quick and easy shopping experience. Shopify also integrates with numerous extensions to help operate your entire micro business seamlessly. Shopify has a free 14-day trial, and the basic plan starts at $29 per month. Shopify may seem a little pricy compared to other platforms, but the amount of efficiency it offers helps increase sales making the monthly cost less significant as profit increases.
Note: Pricing may have changed since the writing of this article. Please check with company to see updated pricing.
