Types of Websites Explained


types-of-websites Types of Websites Explained

In the beginning of the internet era, websites were purely informational. Educational, research institutions and government agencies made information available to each other through ‘text-only’ websites. Now, the omnipresent, World Wide Web has revolutionized websites. The types of sites a person can choose are varied based on the nature of the business, company profile, or services offered. The following is a list and explanation of the different types of websites.

Websites by building method types:

  • Static websites
  • Dynamic websites built from scratch or on a framework

Website types by purpose:

  • Informational Websites
  • Personal Websites
  • Community building
  • Photo Sharing
  • Brochure or catalog
  • eCommerce or auction
  • Blogs and online diaries
  • Mobile device
  • Directories
  • Affiliate type

Websites by Building Method

Websites are built using different methods, static or dynamic.

Static Websites

Static websites are basic websites and typically cheaper to build. The website stays precisely the same from one web server request to another. Your webmaster can change information on the webpage and then re-upload it to your web server. These websites require coding, HTML, and CSS knowledge to ensure they are working correctly.

Static websites usually are error free but perform slower and not website visitor friendly. Your content can become old quickly, requiring someone to update it using a process constantly.

Dynamic Websites

There are two types of dynamic websites; either built from scratch or built on a framework.

  • Built from scratch – These websites offer a content management system (CMS) where anyone on your team can quickly update the content or add new content. These websites built from scratch are more time consuming, therefore, more expensive. Your website will be more user-friendly than a static website.
  • Built on a framework – Websites which are built on a framework already have the basic model available. However, you can customize it to fit your needs. This makes creating a website faster and more cost effective. Common framework platforms are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.

Websites by Purpose

Informational Websites: Information-based websites were the first versions of websites on the internet. These are basic sites containing quality information on a business or topic. For example, Wikipedia.org, the online encyclopedia. If you have information to share or sell, such a website would be appropriate. Another example is, a landscaping business can create website listing plants with their definitions, planting, and caring instructions. This would be informative and useful to attract people to your nursery. It can also be upgraded by adding an e-commerce feature, a forum, photo sharing option, and so on.

Personal Websites: Similar to a blog, they are mainly meant for personal use, typically to share photos, information, and stay in touch with friends and family. Most users have their own personal domain. They can contain family photos, online diaries and have web addresses or URLs like ‘www.your-isp.com/~your-user-name/.’ More recently, people have started to use these websites to demonstrate skill sets or create interactive resumes that help them distinguish themselves from others. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Domain Registrar may offer the free server space needed to create such a site. For a small business, however, a personal website is not advisable because of the limited server capabilities the hosting company offers and because the URL would not be search engine friendly.

Community Building Websites: These include social media and networking sites such as Facebook or Linkedin. Such websites help develop online communities of people who want to socially interact, discuss mutual interests or meet others with common interests. These forum websites can be a good source of information and help in targeted advertising and growth opportunities for small, consumer-based businesses.

Photo Sharing Website: Flickr.com, Photosite.com, Google’s Picasa are photo sharing websites that offer free or paid photo sharing. Online advertising may also fund some of these. Additionally, many digital cameras and photo printers equipped with software that allows digital photo slideshows which can be uploaded on a web browser.

Online Business Brochure/Catalog Websites: These websites are more in-depth than regular informational sites and provide details about a store, stock, service, and prices. They are mainly meant for businesses dealing with products or services that cannot be sold over the web — such as hair styling, dentistry, or day-care center. You can showcase photos and product descriptions through online brochures or catalogs. This casts a broad net, reaching millions of people all over the world.

e-Commerce Sites: e-Commerce websites take brochure websites up a level allowing you to shop from your computer. The main difference between a brochure site and an e-commerce site is that the latter features a checkout system enabling you to order direct from the online store. There are several plugins and pre-built options available, and the shopping cart choice depends mainly on the specific product and business. Small businesses can use e-commerce websites to sell their products over the internet to a broad target audience.

Blogs and Online Diaries: Blogs are a shortened form of ‘Web-Logs’ which are online diaries, journals, or editorials. The topics of a blog can be varied such as personal lives, business, politics, news, current affairs, hobbies, and so on. Typically, a blog owner logs in regularly to write or publish his/her blog. Since a blog is self-published, it provides anyone a platform to voice their thoughts which become accessible to everyone.

Mobile Sites: These websites are among the latest, made specifically to be viewed on mobile devices or smartphones. Standard websites can be difficult to view or take a long time to download on mobile devices due to their small screens and wireless connections. Some sites whose pages are narrower in width and take less bandwidth work much better on mobiles. Hence, a new domain designation has been created to identify websites that are “mobile friendly.”  They are referred to as “responsive websites.” Websites today need to be mobile friendly to be successful since most people access web browsers from their handheld devices. If you have a small business, it would be advisable to make it mobile friendly.

Directories: Web Directories are similar to the printed Yellow Pages that are used to find services and businesses. Directories can be dedicated to a certain topic, industry or can encompass geographical areas. Search engines, such as Google.com and Yahoo.com can be considered directories as well, where you get specific information by entering a search term in the search field.

Affiliate Type: Affiliate websites are either a list of affiliate opportunities or someone trying to earn money by listing their affiliate link. Typically, these sites are trying to sell something of value to the public.

As technology develops, so do the variety of websites appearing online. Creating the right site for your business and customers is an investment as well as a considerable asset. Understanding the various types of sites can help identify your web development requirements and define the website that is most suitable for your business needs.

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CEO, Flying Cow Design
Attended University of Auckland
Lives in San Francisco Bay Area

October 13th, 2016


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