The entire span of the Internet is difficult to comprehend. Millions and millions of sites struggle for attention. Unimaginable volumes of data are uploaded and downloaded each second. But you know what? The World Wide Web won’t seem like complete chaos once you know how to categorize websites. There are several common types you can find throughout the web, and they are listed in this article.
Once you know them all, you can easily build a website of any type with Boxmode using one of many available templates. Or you can create a site from scratch by simply adding the required widgets to the canvas.
In addition, in providing you with an overview of the most common types of websites, this article will also give you a better idea of what elements are essential for each type. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, and some cool websites are just too quirky to be classified into one of these categories.
Business websites
Every business needs an online presence. This is the reality of today’s world. Unless your company has a well-designed and informative website, most people will not even know about your existence. On the other hand, having a corporate website offers a lot of benefits to your business, such as greater exposure, brand awareness, and customer trust. If you look at it from another angle, even if your potential client knows about your brand but can’t find you on the web, your credibility and legitimacy will be instantly compromised. This is because many see corporate websites as a kind of virtual business card. And rightfully so. After all, your business website is there to represent your brand, your team, and everything it stands for.
The bottom line is that businesses that wish to look trustworthy and professional in the eyes of their customers simply can’t do without a website. And they shouldn’t! With website builders like Boxmode, making a business site is a cakewalk for anyone, regardless of technical skills or budget.
Since most business websites are quite alike structure-wise, you need to make sure you include the following elements:
- Branded domain name, e.g., companyname.com (with Boxmode, you can connect your existing domain for free);
- Branded design (a logo, brand name, tagline, brand colors, etc.);
- Impressive homepage;
- Information about the company (an “About Us” page);
- Product pages with professional photos and convincing descriptions;
- Service page/-s;
- Landing page/-s for generating leads and driving conversions;
- Contact details (a dedicated “Contacts” page, contact info in the footer, etc.);
- Feedback form;
- Lead generation form;
- Blog (This one is optional, but it can greatly help you with generating traffic, improving SEO, and overall content marketing).
While some business websites are meant to raise brand awareness, capture leads, and provide prospects with relevant information about the brand, others allow visitors to purchase products online. Such websites are called eCommerce sites or online stores.
eCommerce websites
Many eCommerce websites work in a similar way to business sites. However, they also provide visitors with an opportunity to buy products directly from the website with the single cliсk of a button. In a busy modern world, the convenience of online shopping is hard to deny. That is why online stores have become increasingly widespread in recent years.
What features, in particular, make an eCommerce website? Let’s clarify the elements:
- Product pages with a “Buy” button: Usually, web stores have individual pages for each product so that visitors can view the related photos and videos, read about the product, see reviews, and eventually make a purchase by hitting a CTA button.
- Shopping cart: A dedicated page where buyers can review the products they decided to buy and from where they can proceed to the checkout.
- Payment system: This can be a third-party integration or embedded software that allows website owners to accept various payment methods, gather credit card information, and receive online payments.
- SSL security certificate: SSL is an encryption protocol that ensures safe data transfer between the user’s browser and the web server, making online payments secure.
In addition to the aforementioned elements, you’ll want to optimize the design and copy of your eCommerce website to drive maximum conversions.
Portfolio websites
You don’t need much technical capacity to build a portfolio website. These sites are usually quite simple as their primary purpose is to showcase one’s work samples and introduce a specialist to a potential employer. Personal portfolio websites are often used by freelancers, photographers, models, designers, authors, and other creatives.
Considering that online portfolios are aimed at demonstrating a specialist’s work samples, these websites are mostly built around visual content. That is why a picture gallery should be the centerpiece of your portfolio website. However, you should also cover some other points, including:
- Bio page: This is where you advertise yourself as a specialist and tell potential employers who you are and what you do.
- Testimonials: If you already have positive feedback from your previous clients, don’t hesitate to show it off on your portfolio website as this will boost your trustworthiness.
- “Services” page: Create a separate page where you list all the services that you provide.
- A logo and tagline: While these are optional, a specialist who uses a professionally designed logo and a catchy tagline enjoys greater credibility.
- Contact info: Make sure to specify your contact details, including a phone number and email address so that your customers and employers can get in touch with you.
- Social media links: Links to your social media accounts will not only provide additional means of communication but will also enable your prospective employers to see what your followers are saying about you.
- A contact form: Yet another communication and lead generation tool.
Many portfolio websites also include a blog as it helps a specialist get better visibility on search engines and, at the same time, establish authority in a specific field. Some advanced web portfolios also allow customers to pay for the specialist’s services online.
Personal websites
Such sites are created by enthusiasts who are interested in getting their passions online. There are many different reasons for individuals to seek online exposure, but mostly they do it to share knowledge and expertise; to express their standpoints, attitudes, and feelings; and of course, to connect with the like-minded.
Unlike business sites, personal websites are usually not concerned with commercial interests. However, it is not uncommon for them to take up various monetization models (for example, accepting donations from the audience). But this happens only when the site reaches a certain level of popularity.
Generally speaking, personal websites are not difficult to create because there are no specific requirements for their structure or design. Both depend on the niche you’re going to occupy and your personal (and your audience’s) preferences. However, the majority of such sites feature a blog and some social features, allowing the website owner to build a community around a specific topic.
Educational websites
These sites are all about introducing various educational institutions and providing high-quality educational content or training. Some of them, for example, school websites or university websites, are created to supply students, applicants, teachers, partners, and other stakeholders with relevant information. Others pursue commercial interests in a more outspoken way, offering online courses and educational materials (both digital and physical) for a fee. Considering this, educational websites are usually fitted with some eCommerce functionality.
However, there are other ways to monetize an educational website. One of them is making money from online advertisements. But before you can count on solid ad revenue, it’s imperative that you make your site useful for people by producing unique and high-value content, ensuring that your traffic translates into clicks. Alternatively, you could think of creating a helpful educational tool that would attract more visitors (e.g., vocabulary, translation tool, editing software, etc.). But first of all, you’ll need a comprehensive blog to share knowledge, reach out to your audience, improve online visibility, and drive traffic.
Media websites
Most types of content we consume on a daily basis are media content. It includes articles, reports, interviews, reviews, photos, videos, and other stuff that we are looking for when we’re after news, stories, reporting, or entertainment. Websites that host this kind of content are categorized as media websites.
If you embark on creating a media website, you will have to focus on data-rich content related to the topic or niche you want to cover. Media websites are supposed to aggregate and accumulate massive volumes of content, so you shouldn’t expect your site to become famous and successful overnight. In addition, media sites rely heavily on visual content, such as photos, illustrations, graphs, infographics, and so on, which take time to develop. Videos also play a crucial role in building visitor engagement on media sites.
Most media websites use online ads as their primary source of revenue. However, some of them also monetize on premium content or employ various subscription models, offering users a set of exclusive benefits for a fixed monthly or annual fee.
Blogs
It’s true that blogs are usually part of bigger websites where they serve as a tool for acquiring traffic, boosting online visibility, and brand authority. However, there are also blogs that exist independently and are totally self-sufficient. They host tons of valuable content and drive colossal amounts of traffic.
Blogs are all the rage these days because people get valuable knowledge from them while enjoying the personal perspective of the author, which is usually traceable throughout the articles. It is not uncommon for bloggers to express their attitudes and emotions about specific matters at hand, and this is one thing, among other reasons, that makes blogs so popular.
Some blogs are written by a single author, while others are contributed to by multiple writers. Since popular blogs often turn into extensive knowledge hubs that attract visitors in great numbers, they tend to monetize on ads, premium content, and paid subscriptions.
Non-profit websites
Creating a non-profit website is the best way to raise awareness about your cause and collect funds for charity. An NGO website that can catch the eye of potential donors, activists, and volunteers will help you spread the word about your organization and convince more people to join it or provide the necessary funding.
How do you make a non-profit website like this? Here are a few points you should take care of:
- Design an attractive website to make your message more convincing and to increase your legitimacy as an organization;
- Develop an elaborate “About us” page to provide visitors with all the necessary details about your NGO and its mission;
- Create a photo gallery to showcase your activities and achievements;
- Add a “Donate” button to enable visitors to make donations;
- Establish an SSL certificate to ensure data security for your donors.
By checking off the above-mentioned points, your non-profit site can become an integral tool for raising charity funds and engaging the like-minded with your charitable incentives.
Community websites
While some types of websites specialize in particular content or user needs, others focus on the interaction between visitors. The latter are called community websites. People come to such sites to discuss topics they are interested in, share experiences, and most importantly, connect with the like-minded.
Online communities usually support various social networking features that enable visitors to keep in touch with each other and share content. A typical example of a community website is a thematic forum that hosts discussions on a specific topic (or topics within a given niche). Such websites are all around the web, and some of them even grow into thematic social networks. Community websites either do not pursue commercial goals at all, as they are often supported by groups of enthusiasts, or they monetize on advertising or paid membership.
Wikis
You certainly know Wikipedia, don’t you? It’s a gigantic, universal knowledge base that contains millions of articles on various topics. And this is what wikis are about in a nutshell. They are information hubs that fulfill educational functions. Of course, Wikipedia is just the most prominent example out there, but in fact, wikis can be quite different. They can either embrace multiple topics or be specialized in one subject. There are business wikis, industry wikis, fandom wikis, wikis for specific institutions, and whatnot. Also, wikis are usually a collaborative effort. This means that multiple authors can edit and contribute content.
Wikis are not particularly difficult to build as there are a lot of software tools that allow you to create such websites using ready-made templates.
So, which type of website will it be?
Now, when you know the most popular types of websites out there, it’s time to decide which one will help you achieve your personal or business goals. And when you finally make the decision, you can rest assured that creating a website wouldn’t be a problem. Luckily, there are website builders like Boxmode that can help you with any project you have in mind.