The start of 2020 has shown us that the internet has over 1.74 billion websites online.
And, with over 4 billion users online, it could be time that you added a website to that list…
Why do we say this? Well, if your business had the opportunity to market to a wide audience that contains over half of the world’s population, would you take it?
Of course you would!
This is no different, obviously you won’t reach anywhere near those high numbers, but the audience is there waiting to find you. Now, as you know, this is much easier said than done. However, it is possible; you just need a starting point.
If you can’t tell by now, that starting point would be your brand new or improved website! But, there are so many types of websites out there. So how could you possibly know “what type of website do I need?”
Well, before we get into that, we need to understand all of the basics.
The basic website meaning
To put it in simple terms, a website is a number of web pages that are all related and kept under a domain name. Websites are used for business purposes, educational purposes, non-profit purposes and many more which we will cover in this blog.
What makes a good website?
This question can be hard to answer due to the huge variety of different types of websites. However, there are many basic parts of a website that should be on point, in order for it to be the best it can be.
The design and layout of the website should look professional and be easy to navigate. You want your visitors to find exactly what they are looking for, and efficiently. Your Call-To-Actions should be clear and effective, resulting in the visitor wanting to click it. Your website should always have regularly posted content as Google prioritise the sites that stay up to date and refreshed.
What makes a bad website?
Again, there can be many factors that could make your website a bad one; however, it is hard to list every single possible problem due to the huge amount of different websites out there. It is important to always check your site for broken links, viruses and any other technical glitches or issues.
What makes a bad website can be down to the simple & basic principles of a website. Such as a lack of content that is being uploaded. Google love to see websites that are always fresh and relevant, so keep them happy with regular blog posts and content updates. If your website design and layout is poor and hard to navigate, then you can expect poor traffic results for the website. Additionally, if your website speed is slow; then you have next to no chance at all of receiving a low bounce rate and people that will come back to your website.
The 13 Different Types of Websites & Their Purpose
Now that we know all of the basics about a website from the website definition, what makes a good website and what makes a bad website; we can take a look and the different types of websites.
1. E-Commerce Website
This type of website is a great money maker for businesses that are selling physical products and services. But, what is an e-commerce site?
E-commerce meaning:
E-commerce is the process of taking orders for products and services online. This can be either through the internet or even an app, for example.
The Benefits of Electronic Commerce Websites
Making your company an e-business can be a daunting and somewhat intimidating experience. However, this type of website has generated millions of businesses with a steady and outstanding flow of revenue. The world of E-commerce has given clothing brands, aggregators, furniture stores and many more; the chance to reach a huge audience that wants to buy exactly what you are selling.
Why Would You Choose an E-Commerce Type of Website?
As mentioned previously, these types of websites work perfectly for businesses that actually have something to sell. Therefore, making it a great match for almost any website really. We always encourage our clients to go with an E-commerce type of website, due to the significant success that we see them receive every day. E-retailing is a very popular choice of website within the business world, and it is clear to see why.
How Can You Get Started with Your Own E-Commerce Website?
Starting up an E-Commerce site is not easy nor cheap. However, it is such a valuable asset for business in 2020 that if you are a business without one, you will definitely miss out on sales while your competitors capitalise on the situation with their website. Having an E-business is extremely important as you may now know. Our website development company have created many e-commerce websites ranging from many different sizes of business. Telsa Media are always on hand to provide you with free expert advice.
2. Business or Corporate Website
A business/corporate website is the typical site you see when finding a business online. Corporate website design usually includes the business logo, brand colours, CTAs (Call-To-Actions) and many more traits and features that represent the business and its promises.
A typical Google business page provides widgets and pages such as service or product pages, location pages, testimonials, contact details, relevant imagery, contact forms and many more.
Why is it so important to have a business type of website?
We are now in 2020, and the whole world is online, the internet itself has over half of the world’s population using it every single day. By having your business online, you will receive amazing research and insights, as well as stats and analytics that were not possible to measure before having a website. You may have heard of the tool Google Analytics before; it is a great tool for measuring the amount of traffic going to your site. From using this information, you can find out which pages need to be improved.
3. Portfolio Website
Portfolio websites are an amazing way for anyone working in something creative, to showcase their best work for them to have an audience who can see it. For example, a very popular industry using the portfolio type of website is photographers.
As this type of website is for the more creative industries, you will notice that a lot of portfolio websites are creative within themselves. Some of the best personal websites come from simply uploading the best work that they have in order to stun the visitors with their profession
Why is it important to create a portfolio website?
When being in an individual creative business, it can be hard to get the customers. However, with a portfolio website; you are showing people your very best work. It acts as a persuasion and reference tool that you can show to people to get them as a customer or client.
4. Brochure Website
A brochure website is just a much more simplified business website. Simpler being the keyword here, as it is literally just a condensed and ‘smaller than usual’ business or corporate website. The majority of the time, a brochure website will be a single page with a parallax scrolling design.
This is where the background image scrolls a lot faster than the foreground text or image, creating a great visual and professional effect.
Why would you want a brochure website over a corporate website?
As mentioned previously, a brochure website is just a smaller and simpler form of a business site. So, why would you choose to go with something smaller?
A main reason is the cost of the website set up. As the brochure site is a lot smaller, it is also easier and quicker to develop; therefore, making it a much cheaper option.
Another reason, bigger is not always better. Now, this completely depends on what industry you are in and what the competition is doing. However, as covered before, the more creative industries such as graphic design, photography videography and many more; benefit from letting pretty much just their work do the talking.
5. Educational Website
Educational websites are possibly one of the best benefits of the world going online. We say this because it is so much easier to retrieve information and learn things. All we have to do is type our question into Google and boom; we have the answer.
Educational sites aim to make it even easier for some people to learn online.
Typical education sites may have various online courses that are either free or paid for, whether it be a paid subscription or a one-off payment.
How can you make money from an educational site?
Many experts over the past decade, have put their knowledge and specialities into online teaching. Whether it’s several in-depth videos, podcasts or presentation courses; there are so many ways to teach people in the online world.
You can choose how you wish to make money from educational websites. Do you feel that your content is worthy enough to be sold for real money in order to teach others? Or do you want to provide them with free information to build up trust so that they then go on to buy from your business? There are many ways to receive income from this type of website; it just takes some planning and a lot of thinking on how you actually want to take it on.
6. Blog Website
Blogs are websites that allow individuals or businesses to post regular blog posts that answer questions from the public. It can be used for commercial purposes or simply just as a hobby for individuals that love writing about things they are passionate about. Google loves websites that are receiving content on a regular basis, and that is why blog websites do so well on the SERPs.
There are many different styles of blogging and many industries that they do well in. For example, travel blog websites do extremely well. This is because there is always a high search volume and many things that people want to know before they travel. This therefore, gives the blog a question that it can answer in a way that helps the users.
Why start a blog?
If you are an individual wanting to create a personal website where you can write about what you love and then earn money for it, a blog is perfect. Also, if you are a business; it is very important to blog so that Google can keep ranking you for different search terms, allowing people to find your site.
7. Web Portal Website
A web portal website works can work as an intranet system for schools and businesses. A web portal website takes user details and requires them to log in to receive the information available. These sites prioritise personal access and information.
The web portal type of website is designed to make it easier for each user to find information relevant to them. This website is not a huge money maker and they are very complicated & expensive to create.
8. Wiki Website
A wiki site is a website that allows anyone from a community interested in a subject, to upload their own content in order to provide information on something. Wikipedia is obviously the most famous wiki website out there, but there are millions of more topic-focused wikis on the internet.
9. Social Media Website
Social media, the type of website that took the world by storm over the past two decades. From Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and any other social media sites; the revenue from the creators is staggering. It would be very hard to create a social media site that would get the numbers that these websites already are receiving.
However, that does not mean it is impossible. Just take a look at Tik Tok, that has taken over the world within just a matter of months.
With over 4 billion people using social media websites every day, creating a successful social media site is a guaranteed revenue earner. With the new decade upon is, social media is expected to grow even more than what it already has.
10. Directory Website
Directory websites are an online list of websites and businesses. They allow companies to upload their business to the directory either for free or a cost. Web directories completed wiped out the big yellow books that we used to have to use instead. Now, all we have to do is open up a laptop, and everything we need to know is right there.
The main aim of directory websites is to make searching and finding certain businesses much easier. This is why a lot of online directories can make a lot of money; because the business is paying for their customers to find them with an easier process.
11. News or Magazine Website
News and magazine websites are perfect for anyone wanting to display the latest news for their visitors on their website.
It is possible to make money from these websites with advertisements, due to the large audiences that news websites generally receive.
Summary
So, there you have it. The top 11 different types of websites that can increase revenue in 2020. There are many different types of websites for many different types of industry. It is important always to ensure that you have the best possible website with regular content posted on it at all times.
If you were asking yourself “what type of website do I need?” Then hopefully now you know exactly what the next steps are.
However, if you are still unsure about what kind of website you need; feel free to get in contact with Telsa Media.
Working Alongside Telsa Media
We are a specialist digital marketing agency based in London. We have many years of experience in developing and optimising websites to increase our clients’ revenue. If you want to start your online marketing journey, we are the best company to go to.
