A website is vital for any type of business, but not all websites are the same. The right site will have a unique flavor that matches your company and provides an end user experience that improves sales or drives other forms of revenue. There’s no point in investing time and money into developing a new online presence if it doesn't help you reach your goals.
Here's a list of the top ten different types of websites available to small businesses:
1. Blog Site
A blog site is a type of website that's usually updated frequently with content like news, updates or other information—which can include links to external websites. It’s important for small businesses because blogs are an effective way to stay in touch with your current customers and attract potential new ones, all while building trust by establishing yourself as subject matter expert (SME).
2. Ecommerce Website
An ecommerce site allows for online sales of physical products or services. It has all the features you'd expect, including product pages with descriptions, reviews, pricing information and comparisons against similar items on offer from competitors.
3. Lead Generation Site
This type of site can help small businesses generate new leads by capturing email addresses through forms embedded throughout the page—typically at places where users are prompted to subscribe to newsletters or other updates about your company. With lead generation sites, it’s possible to set up some sort of reward system so visitors actually receive something valuable for signing up. If your business is providing a direct service without the need for a specialized quotation, you can also use the Wix Bookings app to allow clients to book a session with you. This would allow you to request a prepaid deposit if desired and sync your calendar apps to the appointment, preventing duplicate bookings.
4. Portal Site
A portal site does not have an overarching theme, but rather a collection of links that point to different areas of the company’s website or other useful resources on the web. You can use it as a “home base” where users can access all your other online assets with just one click.
5. Microsite
A microsite is like any other website in that it has its own domain name and URL (uniform resource locator), but this type of site usually focuses on helping you achieve some specific goal like launching new product lines, promoting certain events or raising awareness about charitable causes. It's often used by organizations which are part of larger groups or businesses that have multiple websites.
6. Community Site
A community site is a hub for people who share common interests, whether it’s an interest in learning more about your company or just getting together to chat on forums and other discussion boards. You can use these sites as powerful marketing tools by rewarding users with prizes or discounts when they recommend your business to their friends online—with the understanding that those new customers are likely to sign up themselves if you offer them something of value.
7. Corporate Site
A corporate site is used by larger organizations that have several branches with their own websites. These sites are often part of a larger content management system (CMS) and its design typically reflects the company’s overall brand identity while also making sure to feature local information about each individual location in addition to any other related news items.
8. Personal Portfolio
This type of website is basically a vanity project where you can showcase your own talents or interests—which may be very helpful if you're trying to build your personal brand, but less effective when it comes to growing your small business. It's sometimes called an "online résumé" because that’s what most people use them for; however, the design will often depend on the individual skillset of its creator (i.e., designers might feature pages with graphics, while writers might focus more on text).
9. Mobile Site
This kind of site simply looks like any regular web page when viewed on mobile devices; however, it displays differently depending on the screen size so users don't have to pinch and zoom. If you're not sure whether or not this applies to your business then just think about how people use their phones these days... chances are that most of your users will be viewing your site on a mobile device! With Wix websites, all sites include the feature to allow for mobile optimization. This means that you do not need a second website for mobile as your desktop site will "convert" into a mobile viewport when needed.
10. Events Site
A website that's designed especially for events might have links to ticket sales, registration pages or other information related to whatever you're promoting. It can also include promotional posts and updates from social media sites so everything is easy to access in one place—making it perfect for marketing purposes.
In conclusion, please know that many elements from each website type can all be used on the same website. For example, an Events website using the Wix Events app could also use the Wix Stores app to sell merchandise online. When you're first starting to draft an idea of the website you're needing, you'll want to keep these website types in mind, along with all of their most common API integrations & app plugins. After you determine the priority website type, you can then use this to help guide your website's site structure, layout, element placements, and more when it comes to the "feel" of the site. After knowing your website's type, this process will hopefully be a bit easier. When determining the layout of your content, if you start to feel lost - try to remember the type of website that you're building. For example, if you're working on a E-Commerce type website, you'll want to allow visitors to see deals and products immediately. If you're working on a Blog website, you would show featured blog posts front and center, and so on and so forth.
Author's bio:
Published by Cody Teagardin for Sunrise Coding, the full-service web design agency that marries smart strategy with elegant design & code to achieve powerful results. If you're looking for a new website, let's chat. We offer free consultations by email, phone, or in person to discuss your unique project needs. Our studio is located within the white mountains of Arizona, but we have clients all over the world! Feel free to drop me a line at cody@sunrisecoding.com if you have any questions.
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