Your business needs a website – in an age of digital dependency, that’s pretty much a given. But, what kind of website does your business need?
There are several different categories of websites, depending on the nature of your business and what you want to achieve.
Brochure
This is arguably the most simple and straight-forward sort of website when you consider functionality. A brochure website generally consists of just a few service pages. These are best suited for a business that doesn’t require a strong online presence and who provide physical services to their customers. These can include businesses such as plumbing, gardening, building, electricians, etc. The website will contain a breakdown of their services, an “about us” section, preferably some examples of their work and reviews, and a contact page. Think of it as a virtual business card.
eCommerce
An eCommerce website is one that allows customers to pay for either products or services online. This can be either for products that a business will ship. Or this can be for services to be provided physically at an agreed date. It’s essentially any website that handles payments for goods/services. An eCommerce website is going to be the choice for any business that wants to sell online; for example, a company that offers specialised medicated pet food for home delivery. There are also multi-vendor eCommerce sites, called ‘marketplaces’. These are where multiple different users can sell their products through the same website, eBay for example.
Portal
Portal websites serve as a hub for multiple different sources that are presented through one website. There can be multiple tabs available through the home page, for example, there could be email, news, localised weather, and more. These sorts of websites are useful for schools and universities, or any company that wants to offer users the ability to access multiple strains of information all from the one homepage.
Social
Social websites, or “social media”, allow users to share thoughts, ideas, and media with one another. Their purpose is to encourage interaction as well as allow users to form social networks via followers or groups. There are many social networks available, many of which specialise in a certain form of communication. Twitter is written word primarily, Instagram is photo-heavy, and YouTube concentrates primarily on video as the vehicle for interaction.
For more information about the right kind of website for you, feel free to contact Creative Digital Agency where we can give you advice.
