Types of websites: which one is right for you?

Not always characteristics quality website, which the audience is actively interested in will be design, content or a set of options. Sometimes the question needs to be looked at globally: is the overall website format a workable option for your brand? According to all the rules of design and development, a website can be perfectly built and designed, but the approach to transmitting information is not clear to the target audience, hence the disappointing statistics.

To help you avoid such a problem, let’s next consider types of sites, which are applied. Websites can be open to all users or with limited access, single-page or multi-page. Only now we will look not by these criteria, but rather by the general idea, concept and final benefit for the average visitor.

Business card website

Imagine a standard business card. What information is on it? As a rule, this is the name, field of activity, contacts: phone number, address, social networks. Perhaps the benefits of cooperation are formulated in the form of a slogan or a capacious unique selling proposition.

With a business card website, the collection of important information is about the same. Only more detailed, more colorful, more attractive. Because the scale of the format allows. A business card website is created in a fairly simple manner: without fancy tricks, with clear navigation and basic functions. 

But the emphasis is on design and content, they must be verified. Because the main task of such a site is to get to know the audience: to present the brand, talk about the product and its cost, and show the advantages. And be sure to leave contact details: where the client should come (preferably, show it on the map), who to call or write. And all this must be done in the best possible way in order to immediately make a good impression, interest and motivate the visitor to contact the company.

Portfolio

Another option is to effectively present the brand in the form of already completed projects. And here the key point of attracting the audience’s attention is definitely visual content. The content of such a site will be based on real company cases. Therefore, this is an excellent opportunity to show your special approach to work, demonstrate your skills and professionalism - to show yourself in business and thereby gain loyal clients who, with their projects, will also want to appear on the site as successful examples.

Of course, this format may contain headers, blocks with contacts, sales offers or other information, but in small quantities. All this will not distract much from the main content. The only thing is that the format is not for everyone: in order to clearly demonstrate your work, you need to talk about the process, correlate goals with results, show “before and after” and similar details - due to technological and organizational reasons, this is not suitable for everyone.

Promo page

In part, it would be possible to add this type of website to the business card format: a simple structure is also used, the design, text and illustrations are carefully developed. But still, the goal of the promotional page is not just to present the brand, but to advertise it and influence product sales. Here the website becomes a promotion channel.

And yes, more often than not this is a promotional page. Target sites that advertise a specific product or service are mainly developed as a one-page site - a landing page.

Information site

From the name it is clear: such a site is created so that users can get comprehensive answers to their questions. Information sites contain a large amount of data in the form of articles, illustrations, historical references, and videos. When a resource covers many topics from different areas, the content is distributed into sections and headings. A good example is the well-known Wikipedia. Whatever question we ask in a search engine, one of the links on the first page will be from this site.

Here we will designate a blog as a subtype. It is often part of a company website, but can be presented as a separate resource. For example, a website of a highly specialized specialist who talks about his activities in short posts or longreads, thereby demonstrating his expertise and attracting new clients. 

Another option for an information portal could be a forum, where current issues become topics for discussion by ordinary users. Let's say we're looking for information about electric cars. We will probably end up on a car forum, where in a topic about electric cars someone shares their operating experience, someone talks about the structure of the car. There we will also see other topics: about special equipment, about maintenance, about spare parts, tires and wheels, and much more that worries car enthusiasts. On forums they share their experiences, opinions and useful information, that is, the main content is communication between people. 

And another popular example of an information site is the media. Their content is news, that is, interesting and fresh information for the target audience. 

Online store

Online store sites are not filled with long informational or selling texts. The main focus is shopping here and now. When you enter a store, you immediately see a catalog of products by section. You can add items to your cart and immediately make a purchase. For convenience, there is an internal search engine to find specific items, and a personal account to put aside goods, accumulate bonuses, track orders and not fill out personal data for purchases every time. 

And here we’ll note online resources that offer media content: movies, music, lectures, sports broadcasts. Such services also essentially sell their product online: in the form of subscriptions, rentals, or purchases of individual works. 

Official website of the company

Formats can be combined, and the company's main website is a great example of this. It’s not that the sites mentioned above were unofficial, but here we are talking about a large site with the widest functionality. It fully represents the brand. Such a site may contain information about the company, a list of goods or services, a blog, a portfolio, and a feedback form for clients. Only the entire set must have clear navigation and be well structured so that one does not distract from the other, so that the user does not get lost in searching for the information he needs.

As an example, you can study our studio website: view the portfolio, service pages, read the blog and the section about the company. And if the issue of website development or graphic design in general is relevant to you, you can immediately fill out the brief on the main page of the site. When we receive your application, we will study your request, provide detailed advice, and together we can determine the website format that suits your company. And then our specialists will be happy to develop a website and create an exclusive design.