How do I convert my multipage Website Builder site into a one-page website?

This guide will show you how to restructure a multipage website made in the one.com Website Builder and turn it into a one-page site. Of course, there are many ways to perform this task; in this guide, we've outlined what we believe is the most straightforward approach.

Note that having a one-page website is the main requirement for downgrading to our new Website Builder Basic tier, as this plan only supports 1 page and 5 section links.

If you need an overview of what each Website Builder tier includes, you can find it in this guide. 

Step 1 - Make sure you have a backup of your website

Before you start this process, we recommend that you make sure that you have a backup of your current website. You can do this via our Backup & Restore product. It's included in our Enthusiast hosting plan or higher, as well as in Website Builder Premium and Business + E-commerce. It's also available as a stand-alone add-on. If you want to use this option, please do the following:

  1. Click the clock icon at the top-left of your Website Builder editor.
  2. Go to the left-side panel and check that there's a recent backup available for your site. You can preview your site on the right by clicking the backup date. If you want a more recent backup, simply save your website and recheck the timestamp in the backup overview. Note down the timestamp of the selected backup.
Note: You can read more about using Website Builder backups in our separate guide for this feature.

5to1_1.png

Step 2 - Outline the new one-page structure of your website

Take a moment to think about how you want your one-page site to look. It might be a good idea to sketch it out on a piece of paper.

Remember, if you're creating a one-page site to downgrade to Website Builder Basic, you can only have 5 section links on the page.

In the approach outlined in this guide, we only want to take one section from each page and bring it to the one-pager. So go through all your current pages and think about this:

  • Which pages should I bring over? You might have more than 5 pages or pages you don't need. If this is the case, start by deciding which 5 pages you want to keep. Maybe you need to move elements between pages or remove sections from your main page to make room for new ones.
  • Which sections should I bring over? When you have your 5 pages, look at each and decide which section on each page you want to keep as a linked section. Maybe you need to move elements between sections or expand a section to get all the components you wish to retain into one section.

Once you know which 5 sections you want to keep, you can go to the next step and start restructuring your site.

Step 3 - Add sections to your start page

  1. In the Website Builder editor, go to the page you want to have as the start page of your one-page site.
  2. Add a section for each page you want to transfer over as a section to the main page. Hover over the orange line in between sections and click Add section. Just add a blank section from the side panel.
  3. Repeat this until you have a section for each of the pages/sections you want to transfer.

5to1_2.gif

Step 4 - Rename sections to match corresponding pages

Rename each of the blank sections so the title matches the page they represent:

  1. Click Edit section.
  2. Go to Section title.
  3. Type in the new title of the section. It should be the same as the name of the page it represents.
  4. Repeat this with all your blank sections until all have the name of a corresponding page. 
  5. Click Save.

5to1_3.gif

Step 5 - Copy sections

Next, you need to start copying the actual sections that you want to keep over to your main page:

  1. Go to the page where you currently have the section you wish to keep.
  2. Right-click on the section and then click Copy in the menu that appears.
  3. Go back to your main page. Right-click the blank section corresponding to the page from which you just copied a section.
  4. Click Paste. A copy of your section will be inserted underneath the blank section.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Repeat this process with all the sections you want to keep until you have copies of all your chosen sections beneath the blank sections.
Note: Be aware that components placed outside the blue margins in sections might move a bit when copied over.

5to1_4.gif

Step 6 - Delete and rename sections

Now that all of your chosen sections are on one page, you need to remove the blank sections and rename the sections you just copied over. 

  1. Choose a blank section and delete it by clicking the bin icon on the left.
  2. Rename the section underneath it. Give it the same name that the section you just deleted had.
  3. Repeat this with all your sections until there are no more blank sections on the page, and all your copied sections have been renamed.
  4. Click Save.

5to1_5.png

Step 7 - Add section links

Add section links to all your sections on the main page. This will ensure that people will be let to the correct place on your one-page site when they click an item in your menu. You can have as many sections on your site as you want, but remember that if you're on the Basic or Starter plan, you have a limit of 5 section links.

  1. Go to the pages menu. It's the blue bar in the top-left of your screen.
  2. Click on the section link icon. It's a small icon with a chain and a plus sign to the right.
  3. Enter the title that the section should have in your menu. If you want to recreate the old menu, this should be the same as the name you gave the section.
  4. Select the page where the link is located. Choose your main page.
  5. Select the section that the link leads to. This should be the same as the title in the menu.
  6. Click Add.
  7. Repeat this until you have a section link for each new section on your page.
  8. Click Save.

If you need more detailed descriptions of this process, we also have a separate guide for creating section links.

Tip: The section link limit only applies to our Website Builder Basic and Starter plans. You get unlimited section links in our Premium and Business + E-commerce plans.

5to1_6.png

Step 8 - Hide your original pages

You now need to check if your section links work as intended. To get a clear overview of this in the Preview, it's best to hide the original pages first. Otherwise, it'll be hard to distinguish between section links and actual pages since there should now be two of each in the menu.

  1. Go to the pages menu.
  2. Locate your original page. You can quickly tell your pages apart from the section links, as the latter should all be at the bottom and marked with a small anchor icon.
  3. Click on the three dots next to the page and select Hide page.
  4. Repeat until you've hidden all pages except for the section links.

5to1_7.png

Step 9 - Check your site and section links in the Preview

  1. Click Preview in the top-right corner of your screen.
  2. Click on each item in the menu and ensure all lead to their respective sections. This will be what your one-page site will look like to the visitors.

5to1_8.gif

Step 10 - Check that your Home page is only hidden from the menu

This step is only relevant if your one page shares a name with the first section on the page; for example, if both are called "Home". To avoid a duplicate title in the menu, you must ensure the page itself is hidden from the menu.

  1. Go to the pages menu.
  2. Click on the three dots next to your Home page.
  3. Go to Settings.
  4. Under Hide page, check that the box that says Don't show in menus is ticked.
  5. Click Save if you've changed the setting in the box.
Note: The second box, Don't publish this page, must be unticked. Otherwise you will not be able to publish your website.

5to1_9.png

Step 11 - Delete original pages 

If you're happy with the result in the preview, you can delete the original pages you've now hidden from view. Be careful not to delete your main page (the start page). 

  1. Go to the pages menu.
  2. Click the three dots next to the page and then select Delete page.
  3. Repeat until you've deleted all your old pages.
Note: If you want to keep the pages inside your Website Builder editor, you can also do that. You just have to make sure that they are not published. You can ensure this by going to the pages menu > three dots next to the page > Page settings. In the Hide page tab you need to tick the box that says Don't publish this page and then click Save. Do this for each page that you want to save in order to publish.

5to1_10.png

Step 12 - Pin your menu to the top (optional)

We recommend pining your header and menu to the top of your site. This is entirely optional, but it makes it easy for visitors to navigate your one-page site.

  1. Select the header.
  2. Click on the three-dot icon.
  3. Click Pin to top.
  4. Click Save.

5to1_11.png

Step 13 - Done!

And that's it! Well done, you've now converted your multipage Website Builder site into a one-page site. Don't forget to publish the final result.

5to1_13.gif

Related articles:

Was this article helpful?

Can’t find what you are looking for?

We're here for you.

Chat with us 24/7 - every day of the year

are answered as soon as possible

Phone us on weekdays from 10am to 2pm (UTC)
+44 20 8106 0910