How I Built My One Page Website with WordPress (Step by Step)

When I first started dreaming about my startup, I’ll admit building a website was one of the things I dreaded most.

I had so many worries swirling in my head. Would it be too expensive? Would it take forever to launch? Would it even work the way I wanted? I’ve seen plenty of friends pour thousands into web agencies or spend weeks wrestling with code, only to end up with a site that didn’t quite feel like them.

Deep down, I wanted something that felt personal, modern, and professional, without all the bloated complexity of a traditional multi-page site. That’s how I stumbled on the idea of a single page website, and looking back, I’m honestly relieved I did.

Why I Chose a Single Page Website Instead of a Traditional Multi-Page Site

My biggest driver was simplicity not just for me, but for the people visiting my site.

Think about the last time you landed on a website crammed with menus, submenus, hidden pages, and cluttered navigation. I hated how overwhelming that felt. I didn’t want potential customers bouncing because they couldn’t figure out where to click.

A one page website solves that. It lays everything out in a clear, linear flow. Visitors just scroll. They meet me, see my products, read my story, check out testimonials, and then hopefully reach out.

It’s like a guided tour where I control the order, making sure no one gets lost or distracted. I loved that. Plus, I won’t lie: the cost and time savings were pretty sweet, too.

Step 1: Finding the Right Platform (And Why WordPress Was a No-Brainer)

I’ve tinkered with sites on Wix and Squarespace before, and while they’re fine for some people, I quickly ran into walls. I couldn’t tweak certain layouts, or I’d realize I couldn’t export my data easily.

I chose WordPress for a few simple reasons:

• It’s flexible. I could start with a one page site today and expand to a full store or blog later without rebuilding everything.
• It’s SEO-friendly by design, and plugins like Yoast SEO make it even better.
• I owned everything. My data, my files, my design. No vendor lock-in.
• And honestly, it’s what most of the internet runs on there’s comfort knowing there’s a huge support community if I get stuck.

So with that decided, I picked a straightforward shared hosting plan that offered a one-click WordPress install. (I used SiteGround, but Bluehost and others are equally popular.) Within minutes, I had a blank WordPress dashboard ready to go.

Step 2: Picking the Perfect One Page Theme (The Fun Part… and a Little Stressful)

This was actually the part I enjoyed most but it also gave me some analysis paralysis.

There are literally thousands of WordPress themes out there, many claiming to be perfect for single page sites. I narrowed it down by looking for a few must-haves:

• Designed for one page navigation, with anchor menus and smooth scrolling
• Mobile responsive, since most of my customers would be on their phones
• Lightweight and fast (no bloated code slowing me down)
• Easy to customize without needing to touch much CSS

I landed on the Astra theme paired with the Elementor page builder plugin. Astra is ridiculously lightweight, and Elementor gave me the drag-and-drop freedom to design exactly what I wanted.

But before finally settling, I also looked at:

• Hestia, which has some beautiful material design touches
• Neve, super clean and very starter-friendly
• OceanWP, great for tweaking if you want granular control

My advice? Install a couple, test their demos, and see which feels most intuitive. They’re all free to start with, so there’s no risk.

Step 3: Building Out the Sections with Elementor

I still remember how nervous I was opening Elementor for the first time. What if it was too complex? What if I accidentally broke something?

Turns out, it’s actually fun. Elementor lets you add “sections” to your page, each with different widgets text, images, icons, buttons, testimonials, whatever you want. You literally drag them in, then adjust spacing, fonts, colors, hover animations… it’s oddly satisfying.

My single page layout ended up looking something like this:

1. Hero section a big, friendly image of me with a headline explaining what I offer.
2. About section my backstory and why I started this business.
3. Services/products laid out in columns with small icons.
4. Testimonials quotes from early clients, adding trust.
5. Contact form right there, no one had to hunt for it.

With Elementor’s global settings, I could make sure fonts and colors stayed consistent, which made everything look professional. I also used smooth scrolling anchors, so clicking a menu item glides visitors right to that section. It feels like a mini app.

Step 4: Installing Plugins to Handle the Tricky Bits

WordPress by itself is pretty powerful, but adding the right plugins took my site from good to genuinely robust.

• Yoast SEO probably my favorite plugin ever. It helped me figure out if my headlines were strong, if I was using keywords enough, and if my meta descriptions would actually catch attention in Google.
• WPForms so people could easily fill out a contact form.
• Smush to compress my images, making sure my page loads lightning fast on mobile.
• Elementor Header & Footer Builder for a sticky menu that follows you as you scroll.
• Really Simple SSL to enforce HTTPS. Without this, modern browsers throw ugly security warnings.

I also hooked up Google Analytics via the Site Kit plugin, so I could obsessively watch which sections people lingered on (and where they bounced).

Step 5: Tweaking It for Mobile This Was Crucial

One of the biggest mistakes I see new business owners make? They design their site on a laptop, forget to test mobile, and wonder why people leave.

Elementor has a mobile view that let me adjust margins, padding, and font sizes. I made sure buttons were big enough to tap, and text wasn’t crammed edge to edge.

Since most visitors came via smartphones (over 70% according to my analytics), these tweaks were probably more important than anything else.

One Annoying Hurdle: Balancing SEO on a Single Page

There was one small headache I didn’t expect. On a traditional multi-page site, you can target different keywords on different pages. With a single page? Everything’s in one long scroll.

I worried: how would I rank for “affordable one page website for startups,” “WordPress single page design,” and “mobile friendly business site” all at once?

Yoast helped by nudging me to use variations naturally throughout my content. And adding a blog down the line meant I could tackle even more topics without cluttering my main narrative.

Why I Genuinely Love This Setup (Even Months Later)

Looking back, I still think a single page WordPress site was the best move I made early on. Here’s why:

• It told my story like a narrative, guiding visitors from curiosity to trust to action.
• It was fast, both to build and to load.
• It felt modern and interactive, thanks to subtle hover effects and smooth scrolling.
• It was cost effective I didn’t blow my budget on pages I didn’t need yet.
• And most importantly, it got people to actually contact me.

I still remember my first lead who said,

“I loved how your site walked me through what you do. I didn’t have to hunt around it was all right there.”

That’s the kind of reaction you want.

What I’d Tell Anyone Thinking About Doing This

If you’re a startup founder, freelancer, or even a small local shop trying to get online, here’s my honest take:

• Start simple. A clean, focused single page site is better than a half-built multi-page one.
• Use WordPress. You’ll thank yourself later when you want to expand, add a shop, or tweak for SEO.
• Choose a lightweight theme built for one page. Astra, Neve, or Hestia are all winners.
• Play with a page builder like Elementor. It’ll save you so much time.
• Don’t skip plugins for SEO, forms, or security. They’re like extra team members working 24/7.
• And most importantly? Keep your content personal. People want to see your face, hear your story, and feel your passion.

Ready to Build Yours?

I’m not exaggerating when I say this little one page website changed everything for my business. It let me look polished, credible, and serious all on a lean startup budget.

If you’ve been putting off your site because it seems too hard or too expensive, trust me, you can do this. Start with just one page. You’ll be shocked how far that single scroll can take you.