According to a Statista Research Study, the United States has over 307 million web users as of 2022, and over 21 million Americans are expected to become new internet users by 2027.
If you have a product to sell or a message to share, the only way to reach this mass audience nowadays is by creating an online presence. The best way to do this is by developing a website, which gives people a centralized location to learn more about your brand, ideals, products, and more.
There are many different types of websites, each of which is designed to prioritize certain things and to keep your site visitor engaged in unique ways with the explicit goal of something specific. If you are looking to build or redesign a website, read ahead and learn about these different types of websites to help you choose one that best suits your business.
eCommerce Website
A website that lists and sells products online is called an eCommerce website. eCommerce sites are structured with product directories organized in multiple tabs, called product categories. These sites also have implemented checkout systems and often utilize coupon discount codes from email and social media marketing to draw people to the site.
If you are looking to build an eCommerce site, you want to develop an easy-to-navigate user interface for customers to access their cart. The website’s visual design should also be clean, colorful, and relevant to the products you sell, but it shouldn’t distract visitors from the products themselves.
You also want to ensure that your eCommerce site is safe for customers to browse on and input payment information. You can protect customers’ confidential information, such as credit card numbers, by installing an SSL certificate on the site.
Obtaining an SSL certificate should be a priority if you want to retain customers, encrypt data, enhance your search engine ranking, and not be flogged by virus protection programs.
Business Website
Business websites are developed to highlight a brand’s products or services. They provide information about a business, its employees, its services, where they are located, its contact information, and its history.
Many kinds of businesses develop business websites, including:
- Restaurants
- Small Shops
- Banks and Financial Institutions
- Utility Companies
- Real Estate Companies
- Construction Companies
- Temp Agencies
If you run a business in this 21st century, especially if it is a local business, ideally, you will need to have a website. According to a 2021 study by Visual Objects, 76% of customers look up online before buying a product/service or visiting a store in person.
Media/News Website
Unlike eCommerce and business websites, media and news sites’ main goal is to keep visitors on their sites as long as possible with engaging media content. Most of these types of websites highlight newer and relevant articles and/or videos on their homepage, so you can stay entertained when you visit the site multiple times throughout the day.
Media and news websites make money through multiple online-based sources. Subscription models have become the most common way since the internet has taken over the news industry. However, many media sites accept donations or sell merchandise with a built-in eCommerce functionality.
Blog Website
Blog websites share written, video, or visual content about specific subjects. Blog websites are often run by just one or two people and make the most revenue when targeted to niche subjects.
Individuals can fund their blogs and become professional bloggers by selling ad space on their site, using affiliate links, or through donations. Many people attach their blogs to their portfolio or personal website if relevant.
Portfolio/Personal Website
Portfolios and personal websites are a centralized way to showcase your skills, talents, and services online. It gives potential employers and clients the ability to easily access your work in a more collective and organized format and learn more about you.
You will likely develop an online portfolio site or personal website if you are a:
- Writer
- Graphic designer
- Comedian
- Performer
- Musician
Event Website
An event website gives people information about an online or in-person event, such as a concert, conference, or charity function. If you are running an event website, you’ll likely post all of your marketing there, as well as news bulletins about the event from local or national sources.
Additionally, event websites allow people to purchase tickets and merchandise online. Event websites should also have blog functions and social media API implemented into the home page to update people on any new developments within the site. For in-person events, try integrating web mapping API into your website to inform people visually where your event will be.
Information Website/Hub
Government agencies and charitable organizations develop information websites and hubs to inform people on specific issues or explain how to do something. Information websites often work in conjunction with other types of sites by directing people to new websites for more detailed information and forms.
The perfect example of an information hub is your local DMV website. It allows users to learn more about proper driving practices and laws, directs people to the state DMV site and federal agencies, and lets them fill out or print forms online.
Nonprofit and Membership Website
A nonprofit and membership website is the online presence of a charitable organization or membership group. Similar to an information website/hub, this kind of website offers online information about a group or organization’s work and activities.
If you donate to a nonprofit website or become a member of a membership website, you’ll likely be given access to more features on the site. Membership and donations to these websites are often organized into ranked tiers. Chat forums, raffles, reward systems, and early information about group initiatives are some of the many things that can be included with various levels of membership or donations.
Online Portal Website
An online portal, also known as a web portal, is a multipurpose site that’s purpose varies based on the organization or company using the site. Large corporate businesses, high schools, universities, medical practices, and government agencies utilize online portals to share, update, and organize information systems.
Colleges and universities use online portals to communicate with students, share financial information and grades, and update them about housing accommodations and meal services. Companies use portal websites to store data and files, communicate with employees, restrict web access to specific sites, and send surveys to clients, customers, and workers.
Portal websites often require users to log in with a password or multi-factor authentication due to the private nature of the content and files.
Forum/Wiki Website
Forums and Wiki websites comprise multiple forms of user-generated content through chat discussions, private or group messaging features, and editable articles. Forums and Wikis can be broad like Wikipedia, spanning all information imaginable, or narrow, covering an obscure TV show from 30 years ago.
While many people consider forum and Wiki to be two different types, both typically integrate similar features and are cross-functional. Both have admins and moderators who can lock discussions, highlight posts, and manage user-generated content.
Wikis are often funded by nonprofits or individuals, while forums can be run by nonprofits and businesses, depending on their purpose. Companies operate forums to help troubleshoot product issues or to further detail information about their products, services, and practices.
See Also: Importance of Investing in Web Design
The best route to create any type of website is to hire a team of professionals. Professional web designers build custom websites with engaging content, visually appealing design, and a user-friendly interface that helps draw people to your site and rank well in search engines.
If you are looking for website development services in Lafayette LA, contact Klout 9. Our web development team will help you build a fully-customizable website that effectively showcases your brand to customers in a more authentic form and supplements your marketing efforts.
Sources:
https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/12/types-of-websites/
https://www.hostgator.com/blog/popular-types-websites-create/
https://zyro.com/blog/types-of-websites/