Website is the most familiar word in today’s online world. But, do you know what a website is? Well, one can define it in a simple sentence as a collection of many web pages that serve their own purpose. These web pages are generally digital files that are created with the use of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
Once developers build your final website, it’s then hosted or stored on a computer that is connected online round the clock. These computers are popularly known as web servers. After hosting, your websites are available to the public.
Those websites that are accessible publicly tend to constitute the worldwide web which is popularly known as ‘www’ in a short form. You will also find several private websites that one can access through a private network. For instance, one can access an organization’s internal website. Meanwhile, this type of private access is available only to its employees. Here we have listed various top 10 types of websites to understand the difference between each type.
As far as the benefits of a website are concerned, it includes a plethora of advantages. Some of these are;
• It ensures an online presence
• It ensures 24/7 availability
• It facilitates information exchange
• It improves the credibility of a business
• It ensures market expansion of business
• It helps a business gain a complete customer insight
• It’s good for advertising and promotion
Top 10 Popular Types Of Websites
After going through the basic details and various advantages of the website, you may be excited to explore some of the popular websites. Well, we are going to describe various types of websites. Take a look.
eCommerce Website
While talking about different types of websites, it’s good to start from none other than an eCommerce website. This is the right option for all those who seek to earn money by selling products online.
The main purpose of an eCommerce website is to sell products to customers directly rather than generating revenue through ads or the use of the content for generating business. In other words, you can define eCommerce as the use of the online medium to purchase and sell products online, including the entire payment process.
An eCommerce website includes a shopping cart and also payment gateway, which helps customers pay online for the products that they use. Customers get the facility to pay through credit/debit, net banking, etc.
Examples: Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, SnapDeal
Purpose: An eCommerce website serves its main purpose to sell products while facilitating customers to pay online for products that they purchase.
Features:
• Mobile Friendly
• Multiple Payment Options
• User-friendly Design
• User Reviews
Business Website
A business website is another popular type of website and the most appropriate option for those who operate a business. In today’s digital space, any business can’t survive for long without having a full-fledged website.
These types of websites prove to be more important on a daily basis. The majority of customers search for businesses online before they make the decision for purchase. Meanwhile, the great paradox is that only 50% of businesses have full-fledged websites.
So, if you don’t have a website for your business, there’s the possibility that you will be left behind by your competitors. When any business owner creates a website, they need to ensure that they use the same branding elements that they use on other types of marketing and collateral materials. These elements are images, brand color, logo, etc.
Business websites include complete detail about the company, its products, services, team, employees, etc. It helps in generating leads from online sources.
Example: Microsoft, Infosys, TCS
Purpose: The main purpose of a business website is to provide enough information about service providers in terms of their products and services, vision, mission, etc.
Features:
• Strong Branding
• Simple and Clear Navigation
• Powerful Call to Action
• Mobile-Friendly
News Website
News and media websites are another popular type of website that provides the latest information regarding world events. Be it visual or textual content, these websites include all types of information.
In today’s time, most traditional news organizations made their presence online mainly because of audience and financial pressure. If you plan to start your new business, you need to then consider making the same type of decision.
With this type of website, you can avail of the opportunity to publish many articles and news posts even without increasing distribution and production costs. A news website generally uses a multi-column web layout for the landing page, which makes it different from various other types of websites.
Examples: Times of India, The NewYork Times, Hindustan Times
Purpose: The main purpose of a news website is to provide the latest updates to the public related to politics, sports, entertainment, health, etc.
Features:
• Customizable Templates
• Easy Administration
• Newsroom Planning
• Digital Storytelling Formats
Blog
A blog is an emerging way of earning money online and this is the reason why the demand for this website is growing by leaps and bounds. In this type of website, only one person writes a blog while focusing on a particular niche.
Some common types of websites for personal blogs include beauty, business, entrepreneurship, lifestyle, travel, fashion, parenting, tech, gaming, food, recipes, wellness, health, dating, relationship, and more.
Having a blog website helps you create a loyal audience that gives them a specialization in terms of what you expect from your blog website. They can view you as an expert in your specialization.
Example: shoutmeloud.com, mouthshut.com, yourstory.com
Purpose: The main purpose of a blog is to establish and maintain a relationship between the audience and a blogger, apart from offering relevant information about specific niches.
Features:
• Contemporary Design Pattern
• Typography
• Social Media Involvement
• Easy Navigation
Portfolio Website
As the name suggests, it’s another type of website that serves its actual purpose to create an online portfolio of an individual professional. These types of websites are appropriate for showcasing both talents and abilities of an individual professional. It indeed helps you in getting more customers or also can improve your chance to secure your job position.
This type of website is good for freelancers who look for work. Be it graphic designers, digital marketers, content writers, or other professionals, a portfolio website is a good option for all of them for showcasing their talent.
Examples: Studio Bagaz’, davidmilan.com, byxp.co.uk
Purpose: The actual purpose of a portfolio website is to showcase the talent and work of a skilled professional. It showcases detailed work, case studies, testimonials, etc.
Features:
• Logo with tagline
• Call to Action
• Testimonials
• Quality Images
Nonprofit Website
This is the best website to develop for those who run nonprofit organizations. This type of website helps you cope with several biggest challenges including fundraising and also developing support and awareness.
These websites are also helpful when it comes to explaining the ins and outs of your company, including why you devoted the cause and also the way you carry out your mission. You need to use the website for empowering, educating, and also motivating your readers for taking action be it through donating, volunteering, or other means of collaboration.
There’s the possibility to set up your nonprofit website in the same way as an online store, where you get donations directly from your site.
Examples: Double Up Food Bucks, Student Conservation Association
Purpose: The major purpose of this website is to provide detailed information regarding the mission of a nonprofit organization and establish a connection and also lure people for participating in various donations and fundraising events.
Features:
• Easy to Read the Layout
• Quality Images
• Easy Find Search Box
• Bold Call to Action
Entertainment Website
Most people nowadays enjoy reading news stories online. It’s a favorite time pass for many people. This is the reason why entertainment websites are one of the most popular types of websites.
You can find entertainment websites everywhere and tend to make a larger chunk of the world every time you spend on the web. When we talk about media and entertainment websites, there are only minor differences between these websites. Media websites include news stories covered by those news reporters who cover the latest events on different topics.
Entertainment websites, on the other hand, may include important news related to celebrity gossip and also humor pieces, fun quizzes, webcomics, and also different types of content that tend to spark your intrigue or also make you giggle.
Example: YouTube.com, Netflix.com
Purpose: The main purpose of an entertainment website is to entertain people who visit it. These websites generally provide images, information, and also various interactive online services.
Features:
• Content Driven
• Stylish
• 24/7 Availability
• Mobile-Friendly
Online Forum
Online forums serve their actual purpose of connecting users and also with several interests through discussion boards. People from across the world can easily indulge themselves in an open discussion by sharing their own views.
If you seek to connect users with the same kind of interests, then this kind of website is appropriate for you. You can definitely take inspiration from various famous online forums such as Reddit, BizWarriors, and Quora.
In this online forum, people can engage in conversation without getting concerned about the technicalities behind the same.
Examples: Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow
Purpose: This website serves as an online platform for discussion. It enables people to ask questions, share their thoughts related to any topics, etc.
Features:
• Segmentation
• Email Engine
• Analytics
• Search Engine
Educational Website
As the name suggests, this type of website is appropriate for many educational organizations, especially those that provide online courses. The primary objective of this website is to provide study materials for students.
There are numerous educational websites that will have ads such as media and entertainment websites. Some websites provide educational items or membership models for procurement whereas others serve the major purpose of ensuring the online presence of an educational institute.
Examples: Google, Getepic.com, Instructure.com
Purpose: These websites include videos, games, or also those topics related to various resources.
Features:
• Attractive Design
• Integrating with CRM
• Intuitive Search Functionality
• Integration with Social Media
Web Portals
Web portals are a type of website that serves the internal purpose of an organization, or association. It gathers data in different configurations from different sources into a single spot for making all types of crucial data open to individuals who need to view it.
A web portal includes a fully customized view and login for different users that give a kind of guarantee that data is fully open and also helpful to their various specific requirements.
When it comes to the best platforms for creating web portals, Drupal and Joomla are some of the popular options to go with. These platforms are available with plugins that are necessary for developing a complete web portal with the use of different modules and components.
Examples: Yahoo, MSN, AOL
Purpose: A web portal website serves its actual purpose of collecting information from different sources and presents to users.
Features:
• User Personalization
• Interactive Home Page
• Dashboard Recap
• Tracking Tool
Benefits of Website for Business
In today’s digital age, it’s impossible to survive any business without having a website. A website helps businesses in many other ways, apart from strengthening their online presence
Improve Credibility
Customers always prefer to buy products and services from those providers that maintain great credibility. Having a good website that communicates well with your customers can improve the credibility of your business. It provides all the necessary information to your customers and gives them a genuine reason to buy your products and services.
Increase Organic Traffic
SEO is the best technique for generating organic traffic. But, you can avail of the potential advantage of search engine optimization only if you have a fully functional website. If done properly, SEO helps your website appear top in the SERPs and also grab opportunities to get more clicks.
Increase Leads
As mentioned, if your website appears at the top of search results, it attracts more eyeballs. It also helps your website generate more leads for your business. Once buyers find your products and services more appropriate for them, they will buy the same again and again.
Brand Building
The biggest advantage of having a website for your business is that it helps in brand building. It showcases your brand to prospective customers.
Final Words
Websites nowadays play an indispensable role to help organizations boost their online presence. No matter what type of organization you run, you need to have the right website that serves the actual purpose of your organization. Above are some of the popular top 10 website types that serve different purposes.
FAQ’s On Types of Websites
Well, a website is a collection of different and linked web pages that share a completely unique domain name. These pages are available in digital form. Every page of websites offers an explicit link. The majority of these links are in the form of a clickable portion of text and enable users to move from a particular page of a website to other pages.
You can build a website for your business in various steps that include determining the actual purpose of a website, choosing and buying a domain name, and hosting provider, creating designs, coding, testing, and launching the final website. To create a complete website, you need to hire experienced developers.
