In the current digital world, it becomes extremely important for businesses to enhance their digital presence and reach. So, a web site or website lets you do that with ease. However, your website needs to be attractive to your target audience because that will get you potential clients, consumers and leads. In this article, you will learn what a website is and the different types of websites. Moreover, you will know the purposes and features of several websites.
Before you develop your website for your brand, business, social purpose, or personal site, you must know which type of website you will need to achieve specific goals. A website is nothing unless you make it according to the latest trends. Therefore, your website need to be neat and perfectly organized with the categories and services you provide.
What is a Website?
An online site or website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages with content related to a particular name of the brand or business with a unique domain name. It is published on the internet and is hosted by a server.
To understand this definition in a better way, here is the analogy. You buy a physical site or land and make your house to live in. Similarly, you can make a website on the web or the internet where you put information for your audience. Your house has an address, right? In the same way, your website also has a unique address, which you may call a web address. Anyone can find your site and easily access the information with this address.
The pages you put your information or content on the web are called web pages. They are crucial to let your readers or audience know what your website is all about and the services you provide.
Information can be of many types, such as images, videos, text, animation, and audio. However, the services may be like downloading media files, streaming, selling or buying items, etc.
You can always build a website to provide all these and many more services.
Why do You Need a Website?
You may already know that it is important for you to have a web presence. You may know that an effective website can substantially boost your business, especially when you are already making massive revenue.
Following are some reasons why you need a website.
1. Gives Your Business a Professional Look:
A website of your business shows you are serious about it and gives a professional look. People trust the credibility of the business and services you provide. Creating a website costs money, and people trust you if you are spending on it. Moreover, the website designs also impact your audience, which is why most businesses rely on the best web design agency in Dubai.
2. Getting Potential Clients:
A website plays a crucial role in gathering your audience from your different social platforms to end up in one place to take final action. Therefore, you must publish attractive and engaging content to convince your readers.
3. Increases Your Visibility:
According to research, we currently have over 5.03 billion active users on the internet, and a majority use mobile devices to access the internet. It tells us that if you don't have a website, you will miss a chance to reach these users. That's why it is important to have a website to increase your visibility and reach.
4. It Is Valuable for a Longer Period:
Investing in a website gives you value even after many years; how? You pay for ads to run on social media that give more potential leads, generating a massive revenue compared to what you have paid for advertisement.
5. Allows You to Sell Online:
Recent stats showed that eCommerce websites projected sales of $8.1 trillion in 2026. These sales are happening because of the presence of websites. This is why we are seeing the number of online stores increasing globally. It helps you attract new customers.
6. Improves Customer Service:
A well-developed and structured website gives enough information to customers. After visiting the websites, they don't need to ask questions further via call or opening hours, etc.
7. Makes You Stand Out Among Competitors:
A website enables your business to showcase the best services compared to your competitors. But you need to understand how to make it possible because you will need to learn every bit of information on the latest trend. Therefore, you should learn how to maintain your website to get the desired results.
Different Types of Websites with Examples
You have already seen many websites while browsing the internet, but what you may not know is which website lies in what type. Now, we will discuss some important types of websites with all features and purposes.
1. Personal Website
It is a type of website that shows the digital presence of a person. The primary focus of a personal website is to promote an individual and their interests. Some people use it as their personal space to showcase their hobbies, interests, and their professional accomplishments.
These sites are sort of portfolios but do not contain much visual aspect because the main focus is not necessarily to show the professional work.
Example:
Image via danielgrindrod.com
Purpose:
Personal sites are usually used by professionals to increase their reach to more potential clients.
Features:
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Personal sites usually contain work samples and images
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The detailed information about the particular professionals
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An extensive detail of provided services
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Also, the CTA to work together on a particular project
2. Business Website
As we explained earlier, business websites are the best way to tell about your services and explain how you make things done in a certain way to your audience. Currently, small and big enterprises have websites. It verifies that the company is legitimate and has a solid standing locally or globally in specific industries.
Therefore, a business site gives all the information about the company, not just basic data such as address or contact. You see business sites with pages like a mission, services, careers, team members, and much other additional information. The aim is to allow people to get familiar with your company and be eager to take your services.
Example:
Image via gomotive.com
Purpose:
The focus is to give your clients and audience clear information about your business goals and services to attract them to work with you.
Features:
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Details about the services
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About us page
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Contact information such as email, phone no or office address
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The company’s goal
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The value statement to entice clients
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An attractive CTA
3. Ecommerce Website
If you want to sell different types of products online, you will need an ecommerce website where you can showcase your products with all the essential information. You can set the location and dropshipping model to enable third-party distributors. It has become a major source of income for millions of people.
Real Life Examples:
Amazon, Alibaba, see other examples here.
Image via amazon.com
Purpose:
The purpose is to simply sell your product online following a particular strategy.
Features:
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Images of products
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Product descriptions
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Security for online transactions
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Personalization options for the users such as saved items, wish lists etc.
4. Blogs/News Website
Blog sites give people a platform to share their stories and ideas to their like-minded people with attractive writing and visual aspects. Not only that, some platforms allow writers to earn through affiliate marketing. The popular blogs that are currently popular involve food blogs, travel blogs, tech blogs, business blogs, and lifestyle & fitness blogs.
Example:
Image via medium.com
Purpose:
The purpose is to engage people and give them the information on specific topics and enhance their knowledge.
Features:
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Separate pages for every article
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Catalogs for articles
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Keywords and tags for easy finding
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Payment methods if there is any earning
5. Portfolio Website
Portfolio sites combine business and personal sites because such sites focus on promoting personal and professional achievements. The aim is to showcase the past work and get yourself potential leads. You put work samples with visually attractive designs on such sites.
With the right portfolio site, you can easily attract people, and they will know what they are getting after thoroughly checking your site. It is more about showing your work rather than explaining. Therefore, you see portfolio sites with galleries of work organized into different categories.
Example:
Image Source via krawec.com
Purpose:
The primary goal is to show your work samples to show much quality work you have done.
Features:
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Gallery of work samples
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Information about your experience
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More services you provide
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CTA to work with clients
6. NGO/Non-Profit Website:
These websites are purely made by non-profit organizations. The purpose of this website is to share the news with the visitors about the goals and mission of the organization. It could be a school site, church site, blood donation site, or NGO. You can find the past and the latest news about the events, seminars, and medical camps. Moreover, you can even donate online on such sites for a particular cause.
Example:
Image Source via www.blood.ca
Purpose:
The goal is to share the mission of the organization, foundation or NGO and to make connections with people who want to donate for a cause. Also, these sites are helpful in fundraising events.
Features:
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Information content and news of events
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Attractive and friendly website design
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Clear font that stands out
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Easy to understand content
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Donate button for visitors
7. Wiki/Database Website
Sites that work as online encyclopedias to give information about certain things are such sites, usually known as wikis. These sites help people get instant information with ease. Such sites come with a lot of information on multiple pages categorized into different subjects or topics.
However, wikis also allow users to add new things or even edit pages. There are wikis that are specialized in certain expertise or topics, not just general. You will need high-quality website maintenance for this type of site.
Example:
Image Source via IMDb.com
Purpose:
The purpose of wiki sites is to provide readers with the information in great detail that can also be used as reference.
Features:
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User-friendly and convenient search options
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A large number of webpages
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Options for users, allowing them to edit or create their pages, if they want to
8. Online Forum Website
Online forum sites allow people to create a community of like-minded people who share the interest. Moreover, the site also allows owners to earn money by offering membership.
At such forum sites, users can also discuss particular topics, share their experiences, ask questions and engage with people of the same hobbies and views.
Example:
Image source via reddit.com
Purpose:
The purpose of forum sites is to give people a platform where they can share their views and information with similar interests to build a community.
Features:
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Well-structured boards to discuss topics
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User content publishing independently
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Group or discussion moderators
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Profile customization according to personal interests
9. Event Website
Even sites are for event managers, allowing them to share the news about events with all the related information for the interested audience. It is like a command station, anchoring your event management and marketing. These sites are the best way to reach and attract an audience. Moreover, event organizers use such sites to conduct virtual events because it allows people around the world to be a part of the event.
Example:
Image via City-Splash.com
Purpose:
To publish details about the events for attendees with location and date
Features:
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Easy signup
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List of event guests
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Details and schedule of the events
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Driving direction, dress code and other important information
10. Educational Website
Educational sites have comparatively gained greater success in the past few years because it allows kids and learners to learn new things. Such websites come with courses and lessons, covering all interests.
Example:
Image via National Geographic Kids
Purpose:
To teach kids about different subjects and areas of interest
Features:
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Robust search functionality
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CRM integration
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Social media integration
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Friendly content management system
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Attractive and catchy site design
11. Social Media Webite:
Social media sites allow you to connect with people and share your thoughts or everything with them. Moreover, there are creators who use these platforms and earn money through their content. These sites allow you to increase your social circle and find things happening around the world.
Example:
Image via Facebook.com
Purpose:
To allow users to communicate, share information and create content
Features:
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Content sharing
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Private communication
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Follow and send requests
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Chat and live video
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Push notifications
12. Media-sharing Website
Media-sharing online sites allow you to publish your videos, photos and audios that people around the world can easily access and download. However, you can choose whether to share with friends or any person who has access to your account.
Example:
Image via YouTube.com
Purpose:
To engage worldwide users through sharing media because people are more inclined towards pictures and videos sharing than mere text.
Features:
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Sharing audio-visual content
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Enable live streaming
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Watch, like and comment on the media content
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Upload your content
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Accessible from tablet, PCs, laptops and mobiles
How to Choose the Right Type of Website for You?
Choosing the right type of website is not too difficult when you are already clear about your goals. Therefore, you must consider your ideas and objectives. For a business, you should go with a business website. Logically, you should choose blog sites if you want to become a blogger or want to create an impact on society with your words.
The challenge is only when there is overlap. You may be stuck between two types for one site. For example, you want to share blogs while selling your products on an ecommerce site. But you can build a website that can give you all the functionalities or features you want.
You should consider all crucial factors, such as your target area, audience, and goals that you have set to generate specific revenue.
Want to Get the Perfect Website for Your Business?
SpiralClick has covered all types of services and can help you develop the website you will need to boost your business. Moreover, our experienced and professional web experts regularly conduct audits of websites and update them accordingly. If you have decided to create a website for your business, contact us today and get a consultation with our staff.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What is the Definition of a Website?
A collection of web pages with online content and information for the target audience. It has a unique address called the domain name.
Why do You Need a Website?
A website shows your online presence and services in detail and helps your business generate revenue through the lead generation of potential consumers. You can even sell products online.
What are the Different Types of Websites?
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Personal website
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Business website
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Ecommerce website
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Blogs/news website
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Portfolio website
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NGO /Non-profit website
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Wiki/database website
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Online forum website
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Event website
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Educational website
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Social Media website
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Media-sharing website
How to Choose the Right Type of Website for You?
Be clear about your business and what you want to achieve. Then, choose the website that is suitable according to your requirements and business goals. Contact us if you need further help.
What are the web pages?
The pages you put your information or content on the web are called web pages. A web server delivers web pages to the user and displays them in a web browser. A website comprises many pages linked together under a common domain name.
