Modern buyer audiences often prefer quick, direct communication in the form of a one-pager. As a well-written summary or overview, it’s an effective way to prevent readers from ignoring your communication simply because it’s too long.
One-pagers summarize a topic—such as a sales plan, product details, or a performance report—and present it in a visually appealing format. Concise and easy to read, one-pagers often incorporate lists, charts, and graphic design elements to organize information in a user-friendly way.
In this guide, learn how to make a one-pager, with a free template, practical tips, and a few one-pager examples to share information in an easily digestible format.
What is a one-pager?
A one-pager is a single-page document a business creates to provide an overview of its brand, product, or project. It can be physical (such as a printout) or digital (such as a PDF file).
Businesses create one-pager templates for both internal and external communications. For example, your business might distribute a one-pager describing a product’s key features to potential customers. This can be particularly useful if the product is highly technical, expensive, or brand new.
For investors, your business might create a one-page website detailing the company mission, strategy, and key objectives. The exact content varies depending on the document’s purpose, but usually sits alongside a formal business plan.
One-pagers are great because they:
- Cut fluff. Condensing documents to one page forces you to cut unnecessary details and clearly deliver your core message.
- Are easy to read. If you’re presenting the plan for a new product, for example, a good one-pager breaks down the product’s road map without needing an entire presentation.
- Are versatile. It’s easy to share the same one-pager with different teams and stakeholders so everyone gets the same consistent message.
What a one-pager is not
A one-pager is a concise document—it should be a high level overview of the main points you want to cover. Many people go wrong by including complex information requiring a second page.
There’s also the challenge of creative constraints. Because the goal of a one-pager is to convey short snippets of important information, it limits space on the page. Try to avoid viewing your one-pager as a presentation or stuffing it with so much info that it’s hard to read. Instead, aim for a short fact sheet that’s easy to digest in a few minutes.
Free one-pager template
With limited space on a page, it’s helpful to have a free one-pager template to distill your information down to a sheet that’s easy to read.
Here’s one for you to adapt that includes space for your:
- Business name and logo
- Company description
- Products and services
- Processes
- Clear call to action
- Contact details
Business one-pager example
Here’s a brief example for a company one-pager that describes the business and its products and process, and includes a call to action (CTA).
Types of one-pagers
- Company one-pager
- Sales one-pager
- Product one-pager
- Event one-pager
- Startup one-pager
- Employee orientation one-pager
- Marketing one-pager
- Performance report one-pager
- Project management one-pager
- Presentation one-pager
- Competitor analysis one-pager
One-pagers vary widely, but typically, you want to include the company name, a heading, an introduction section, contact info, and a call to action. The rest will depend on the type of sheet you need.
Here are some of the most common one-pager examples.
Company one-pager
A company one-pager provides a general overview of your business. These sheets often include:
- Your name and logo
- The company mission
- An explanation of your unique value proposition
- A description of products or services
- Contact information
Company one-pagers are for a range of audiences. Your business may use them to entice potential customers or distribute them at networking events to build professional relationships with press, suppliers, distributors, or future employees. You can also use them in investor meetings to summarize your business.
To make your one-pager stand out, include social proof to build trust with whoever’s reading it. Awards, testimonials, and certifications can establish credibility, which is important when you’re working with limited space.
Tip: Shopify merchants boost their stores with social proof apps. Here are the latest free and premium options on the Shopify App Store.
Sales one-pager
Sales one-pagers are for your target audience of customers or prospective clients. These sheets describe a product or service and highlight its appeal by sharing:
- Value proposition
- Pain points you solve
- Customer proof or results
Sales one-pagers may be particularly beneficial for business-to-business (B2B) brands or companies with large corporate clients. Your sales teams can use these documents as “leave-behinds,” distributing the one-pagers during or after sales meetings to help clients or prospects remember the details of the presentation. Consider a version with a succinct case study, customer success story, or testimonial quotes.
Finalize the one-pager with a call-to-action. This depends on the use case—if you’re using it for a B2B buyer, for instance, the next step might be to visit your B2B ecommerce website to place an order with a new customer discount.
Product one-pager
A product one-pager provides a concise summary of your product or service. These documents are more focused than company or sales one-pagers.
Instead of a mission statement or sales pitch, this type of one-pager includes:
- Product features and benefits
- Product photography
- Pricing, including financing options
- Product development timeline
Product one-pagers target potential customers, educate new employees, or communicate with external stakeholders. If you’re onboarding a new marketer, for example, a product fact sheet helps them quickly learn your product’s key details.
Event one-pager
An event one-pager serves as a guide for your event attendees. These sheets are appropriate for conferences, company off-sites, or any other gathering.
Engage and inform the audience by including basic details like:
- Venue information (including room and booth numbers at large events)
- A list of speakers
- Activity schedules
- Social media hashtags
Experiment with layouts to make your event sheet more engaging. For example, use a table to present a key speakers list and incorporate a QR code to view the full agenda on your website.
Tip: Use this free QR code generator tool.
Startup one-pager
Use startup one-pager templates for marketing, networking, and courting potential investors. Include:
- A description of your business idea and an explanation of how you’ll achieve it
- Your company name and contact information
- Short professional bios for your key team members
- Fundraising stage information
- Market opportunity and problem statement
This can be difficult if you’re early in the business development process. In this case, pull key details from a strategic business plan and point stakeholders back to this document if they need extra context.
Employee orientation one-pager
An employee handout sheet helps new hires easily find the information they need during onboarding. Instead of a lengthy onboarding document, orientation one-pagers may include key information about:
- Leadership
- Company culture
- Business policies
- Important contacts
- First week checklist
- New hire FAQ
If you plan to print employee one-pagers, avoid including confidential company information, such as access codes. This protects your company in the event the employee misplaces the sheet in a public space.
Marketing one-pager
Marketing one-pagers provide an overview of your branding for your company’s marketing team or for design firms or PR agencies that might be creating content for you.
Marketing one-sheets might include:
- An image of your company logo
- Hex codes (or swatches) for your brand colors
- A list of approved fonts
- A description of your brand voice and tone
- Links or QR codes to larger resources, like editorial guides
Make your one-pager accessible to everyone on your marketing team. This way, anyone interacting with customers on your behalf presents the same message, in the same style, to reinforce and preserve brand consistency.
🌟 Learn: What goes into beautiful brand guidelines and how to create a brand identity, with examples from successful brands.
Performance report one-pager
A performance report one-pager includes high-level performance information. You might present them to internal stakeholders as a reference during all-hands meetings or other important company discussions.
A company report one-pager typically includes:
- Financial projections
- Key milestones
- Future objectives
- Priority metrics or KPIs
- Next steps
A challenge to creating a company one-pager is different stakeholders often have their own priorities. For example, your finance team might care more about revenue projections while marketing and revenue want details on upcoming product launches or sales contests.
Aim to give top line information to each of these personas through the performance report one-pager, and go into greater detail in presentation slides.
Project management one-pager
Project one-pagers provide internal communication to update your team members on new initiatives. These sheets provide key information like:
- The scope of work
- Goals and objectives
- Project timeline, including key milestones
- Contact information for team leaders
- Budget and resources
If project managers are using this type of one-pager to align a team on a big project, it’s easy to fall into the trap of filling a blank page with information. Try your best to keep it concise. The sheet should be a point of reference for a project’s overview, not a full strategy document.
Presentation one-pager
Distributing a physical one-pager to your internal or external stakeholders during a presentation helps listeners follow along. Include:
- A title
- Relevant charts or visuals
- A brief summary of the presentation’s content
One-pagers like these can help reinforce your message and provide clear direction for any attendees with questions.
For example, if you’re launching a new product, you might do a deep dive into your go-to-market strategy in the presentation and include key product features and the target audience in your one-pager for easy referencing as you progress through the slides. If space allows, it might be helpful to include a section for them to jot notes or questions.
Competitor analysis one-pager
Explain how your product outpaces its competitors with a competitor analysis one-pager. These sheets make a direct comparison between two or more products.
They typically include details about:
- Product features
- Pricing
- Benefits
- Target audience
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
Using columns or other simple layouts to display these details side by side helps readers quickly identify differences.
Tips for writing one-pagers
Creating one-pagers is challenging because a single page doesn’t provide much space to express complex ideas, but the best ones are thorough, succinct, and visually appealing. Here are tips for creating compelling one-pagers.
Focus on core information
Effective one-pagers are short and memorable.
Focus on including only the core information in the copy. Avoid inessential details and long, wordy paragraphs. Writing in a concise manner makes it easier for readers to engage with the content.
In general, sheets with too much text look overwhelming. Consider presenting information with bullet points or charts to reduce the word count.
Leverage graphic design
Use design to support your message. Best practices are:
- Add visual elements. Images, graphics, or charts add aesthetic appeal and help readers process the information you’re presenting in a one-pager
- Consider the format. Bullet points and headings help break up large blocks of text and organize the information in a reader-friendly way
- Use white space. Cramming information into a one-pager turns off readers so leave white space for easily digestible content
- Choose the right orientation. Company or sales one-pagers are typically vertical, but consider horizontal layouts for product one-pagers or sales pitches to showcase visuals, such as charts or product images
Work with a designer or use a one-pager template to create an appealing layout. Alternatively, you can take a DIY approach by customizing a free template while referencing your company’s style guide.
Think about the audience
Imagine yourself as the reader. Ask yourself why someone would want to engage with your document. Tailor your content to address any questions or concerns your audience might have.
Translate features to benefits
Help your team and investors understand the difference a product makes to your target audience’s life by translating product features into benefits.
Imagine a product one-pager for a new water bottle that targets active people. Instead of talking about its temperature control features, explain the benefits and what the customer gets as a result—like keeping water cold for 12 hours so they’re hydrated on a long hike.
Plan your distribution strategy
How will you share your one-pager with your readers? The answer depends on your use case and intended audience.
As a general guide:
- If your one-pager goes alongside a presentation, print a physical handout
- If you’re sharing it internally (like an employee orientation one-pager), save it as a Word document, Google doc, or PDF file in your shared company drive
- If it’s going external (like to an investor, reporter, or customer), attach it as a PDF to an email or create a shareable link from Google Drive or Dropbox
Test and optimize your one-pager
A one-pager shouldn’t be a static document once you’ve created it. As your company, product, or service evolves, reflect any changes and be as up to date as possible in your one-pager.
Also think about how you can optimize it. If you’re using a one-pager template to attract investors, for example, you could run an A/B test to measure whether the following elements impact how many people express their interest:
- Headlines
- Order of benefits
- Call to action
- Vertical versus horizontal orientation
- File format
Tools and resources for creating one-pagers
If you need extra help to create a one-pager, the following tools and resources can help:
- One-pager template: This free template has all you’ll need to format your one-pager with placeholders to add your own content.
- AI tools: Ask a platform like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to summarize longer content and pick out the most important parts to include on your one-pager.
- Graphic design tools: Most word processors have limitations on how you format the page, so use tools like Canva or Adobe Express to design your one-pager with templates and stock media to make your content more visually appealing.
One-pager examples FAQ
What should a one-pager include?
A business one-pager provides a quick overview of important information about a given subject, such as a product or service. The exact content varies depending on the purpose of your sheet, but these documents typically include a heading or title, a brief topic introduction, a few key points, and visual elements like charts and bullet points.
How does someone create a one-pager?
To make a one-pager, start by defining the purpose of your document. Think about your target audience and what you want them to know. Gather the essential information and write a draft. Then use a one-pager template or partner with a designer to compile key takeaways into an easy-to-read, visually appealing one-page document.
Can ChatGPT create a one-pager?
ChatGPT can create a one-pager for you, provided you give it the correct information. Feed the AI tool the key information you want to present in the one-pager and ask it to create a simple fact sheet that displays your information in an engaging format.
What is a one-pagers used for?
Companies use one-pagers for a range of internal and external communications. One-pagers support marketing efforts, sales pitches, investor relationships, and employee initiatives. These simple documents are an effective way to provide a quick overview of almost any topic.
What is the difference between a one-pager and a brochure?
A one-pager is typically shorter than a brochure and only includes top-line information. A brochure, however, is a deeper dive into a particular topic or provides space for additional imagery or graphics. You might use a one-pager to present key details about a new product to a B2B buyer and a brochure to showcase your entire product assortment.


