There are countless opportunities to make a name for yourself or your business online. With 5.3 billion internet users, you can reach people anywhere in the world when you put a site online.
The question is, which type of website is the best for reaching those people?
Understanding the types of websites available is critical if you want to build the right one for your needs. Keep reading to learn the most popular website types on the internet.
Business Website
A business website is for companies that want to advertise their services. There isn’t much to these sites — you have a homepage that gives an overview of your business, service and product pages about what you offer, and contact pages to reach your customer service representatives.
Your goal is to help people understand more about your company. It also isn’t enough to promote your services. Explain why you’re the best company to work with and what your company stands for.
You can also use your website to talk about the people behind the business. Put a face on your company’s leadership to help people understand the experience behind the curtain.
Ecommerce Website
An Ecommerce website is for companies that have something to sell online. You set up a store on an Ecommerce platform — such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento — and upload your products to the store. You’ll also create a custom design or template to give your store a unique look.
Once you have your store set up, you can connect it to merchant services. This will allow you to take payment methods like credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and other methods.
Of course, you have more to consider with these stores since you will collect customer data and payment information. Ensure you examine the security features offered by your platform and website host to verify compliance with financial regulations.
Blog Website
A blog is one of the most straightforward websites you can build online. It’s similar to a business website in that you can get by with a few pages. But the process doesn’t stop there.
Your goal with a blog website is to have a way to post content regularly. You have a main website that talks about your brand. But then visitors can head to the blog section to read your latest posts.
If you’re going this route, you’ll probably use the WordPress platform. It’s built for blogging and is the most popular website platform.
You can build a blog to discuss hobbies, personal events, news, and whatever else you want.
Portfolio Website
Portfolio websites are an excellent option for people who do visual work for other people. They allow people to display their work through case studies to show what they can do.
There are many different professional careers where portfolio websites are helpful:
- Photographers
- Building contractors
- Writers
- Web designers
If you can show your work, you can use a website to display your skill to other people.
Your goal with portfolios is to use website designers to create an engaging experience for potential clients. You’ll create a design highlighting your projects and showing them in the best light.
Landing Page Website
In some cases, you don’t need a website at all. You only need a single page to discuss an issue and describe what it can do for potential customers.
These are known as landing pages. They have a singular focus — to promote a product and convince someone to buy.
In some cases, landing pages are created as an extension of existing websites. Companies will focus on designing a website landing page that is not searchable on the rest of the site for an individual marketing campaign.
Good landing pages have a few things in common:
- A clear call-to-action
- Focused content
- Constant design testing
- Little distraction
The elements of each landing page will differ based on the needs of the company. If you have a complicated product, you may need videos and instructions to explain your offering. But if you have something simple, you may only need a little text and an opt-in form.
Forum Website
Not every website is built for interaction. They are static pages with no comment section to prevent people from interacting with the website owners and other users.
That isn’t the case for a forum website. A forum is a website that allows visitors to sign up for an account and post messages. They see other users’ messages on the forum, start their own threads, and reply to others.
If that’s your goal, this is a great way to build a community. You build a loyal following that is a fan of your brand and can monetize at a later date.
Educational Website
Educational websites are more common than ever. In a world where information is plentiful and it’s easy to post what you know online, many people now build websites to let people know about their expertise.
An educational website helps you do this. You can set up a membership system and charge a fee for the content. This fee can be one-time or monthly.
You then post articles or videos on the backend for your members. It offers website owners a great way to generate revenue without active work on their part.
Now You Know the Types of Websites
Starting a new website is a big project. Although it doesn’t take much to set up a simple landing page, things can quickly get complex when you need more from your website.
That’s why you need to understand the types of websites available before you look for website services. When you do, you can find someone who can help you build the perfect small business website for your needs.
Do you want to learn how to drive traffic to your new website after you finish building it? Check out some of the latest website advertising tactics on the blog.
