The 8 Different Types of Websites

Designing and organizing a website for your company can be an absolute joy or an absolute nightmare, one of the key reasons for this is the fact that there are plenty of different TYPES of websites one must choose from. Choosing the correct type of website for your business, hobby or side hustle is one of the key factors in its success, below I will break down the 8 different types of websites that exist and touch on when to use which layout.

1. Homepage Website: These are your most common website layout, we’ve all seen them and we’ve all used them, in fact, you are on one right now as you read this. This is a website that starts you off on a “front page” where you can see a brief breakdown of what the company or organization is about, what they offer, and how to contact them, with room for a little more. The aim is to have a brief breakdown and provide an option for any interested site visitor to explore and access any other information they may want to know about your company through the use of links and navigation buttons, from there visitors can see your products, services, teams or staff, get in contact with you, add/browse reviews, view your blog, galleries, etc.
2. E-commerce Website: The ones we all know and love, these websites are quite literally online stores, they exist to show you a company or business’ products, sales, deals, or any other service they may offer. And allow you to browse and purchase these online from the comfort of your home, or your friend’s home, that cute little coffee shop down the road, or the loo at work because you don’t want to send that email. You get the picture. An Ecommerce website is the evolution of shopping and creates an entirely new world of accessibility for both your store or the people who may be interested in your products and services but wouldn’t normally have access to it.
3. Magazine Website: These websites are laid out a bit differently, similar to the above, when clicking on the link and loading up the site you will be brought to a landing page, however where the differences come up is in the fact that the entire page and additionally the site itself, exist to push the content of that particular magazine. You will see links to articles, Posts, initiatives they may be involved in and have access to subscriptions or to their content directly depending on their business model.
4. Portfolio Websites: A portfolio website is just that, an online portfolio of all your artwork, designs, photography, construction, anything you’d imagine someone from the 90s carrying to a business proposal in a briefcase. They are a great way for artists and photographers to get their work out there and seen as well as having a good place to keep it all without, well, needing to carry a briefcase. Portfolio Websites also work very well as advertising tools to show off your company’s work. For example, if your company creates custom wooden decking for houses, a portfolio website containing good quality images of the work you have done can be all you need to convert a lead into a client as they can see your work, which helps them envision what you could do for them as well as maybe inspiring them to add something to their home.
5. Blog Websites: Blogs are a very specific type of website, they exist to provide any and all information their authors choose to express through them, much like the blog you’re reading now although a Blog Website exists solely to publish it’s content, be it educational posts, inspirational stories, opinions, and reviews; you name it, there is probably someone writing a blog about it. Imagine the page that brought you to this article except that’s it… that’s the website. They are an awesome tool for authors of any flavour to get their writing out and into the world.

6.Landing page: Not to be confused with a Home Page, a Landing page has one very specific purpose: to convert a lead into a client. A landing page will see you come from a clicked link or entry of the website’s URL (The “WWW…” thing you type to get there) straight onto a page that will have a very brief description of where you’ve arrived followed by a call to action. Like a “sign up for free” button or something of the like. A good example of this is Shopify’s free trial page which you can see here for reference.

7. Directory Websites: These are sites that exist as an online version of the Yellow Pages or any of those old booklets you used to keep around, they have a variety of uses but they all share the same goal; to give you one central place to get in contact with multiple people and/or businesses in whatever genre they cater to. For example, you may visit a directory website for restaurants in your area, these will show their distance from you, operating hours, style of food, customer rating, and any other information that may be valid for that particular business type. Another common use for directory sites is to show various activities and places for tourism in an area.
8. Social Media: We all know them, most of us love them, some of us can’t figure out why you can’t log in… I’m talking about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all the other forms it comes in. Social media has become one of the leading methods of marketing your business and/or allowing customers a more personal feeling when contacting or interacting with your company. They are a great way of speeding up the “word of mouth” process and are usually a lot more accessible from both sides of the fence, customers and business owners alike.

And that’s the breakdown. Though they may all come in many shapes or forms most sites can be funneled into one of these 8 categories, although it is quite common for one website to incorporate more than one of these into its online presence. As can be seen with the Kokio Website which has a homepage layout “No.1” but also a Blog and Portfolio page. If you would like help building any of the above websites or need assistance deciding which one is best suited to your business, feel free to contact our team here. Until next time!