Types of sites: what are there and how to choose a site.

What is a site?

A site is a page or collection of pages that can be accessed via a link on the Internet. That is, a site can be called any web product following a link on the Internet.

Types of sites:

Sites are very different, but globally they are divided into 6 main subtypes of sites:

Landing page (one-page site) - type of site, consisting of one page.

Site card - type of site with a simple structure, usually consisting of a description of the company, main services /products and contacts. Conventionally, this is the company's business card, but not on cardboard, but on the Internet.

Corporate site is a type of site with a complex, more complex structure and a large number of pages. For example, this is no longer a business card, but a presentation of the company.

Site catalog is a site with a branched structure of pages. This type of site is a catalog of goods or services provided by the company.

Online store - a type of site where you can not only view but also buy goods. I continue the analogy with an offline business - this is your store, an offline point of sale.

Web applications /portals - I decided to combine the two types of these sites, since today the differences in them are quite hard. Web portals used to be not applications, but the era of Internet forums is receding into the past, and functional web applications are replacing them. To make it easier, let's imagine that you need to do some kind of business, entirely on the Internet. Travel agency, real estate agency, choosing a doctor or a cinema - for this we make a web application with the appropriate functionality

And now let's stop a little and take a closer look at each of the types of sites.

What is Landing page and what is it for?

Landing page is a type of site, the purpose of which is to accumulate traffic from various channels in one place. Having a complex and complex site with a large number of pages and products, it is quite difficult to control the path of users and their actions on a particular page. Of course, there are such tools as Hotjar or Yandex webvisors, but they will not help in any way to keep the user on the landing page.

Therefore, landing pages are created for one specific and clear proposal, for example, an event. The lending site contains all the necessary information about the event (date, place, speakers, program, schedule, photo /video, contacts), as well as as many CTAs (call to action) as possible. Then advertisements are launched on Facebook, Instagram, Google, Yandex, mass media, email and SMS mailings are made to databases - all with links to the landing page. That is, in fact, we can say that a landing page is an announcement or ad with something useful or interesting for a specific audience.

Thus, this type of site is worth choosing if you have already decided on the promotion and you have a specific formulated proposal that you need to focus on.

Landing page is also often done for special seasonal offers or promotions.

What is a business card site?

A business card site is a type of site, usually with the following structure:

- Home

- About us

- Services (Or another product)

- Contacts

From the structure above it is clear that, in fact, this is a business card only with the difference that it is on the Internet, and not in your pocket, and in order to share it, you just need to send a link. By and large, this is what a business card site is for - so that information about the company is on the Internet and is available anywhere at any time, so that an interested person can find your company and contact.

By the way " find "- business cards are rather poorly promoted on the Internet for SEO, but this does not negate the fact that they can and should be in the TOP for brand queries (company name). If yours is not so, it's time to contact us.

Also, business cards can be made for the purpose of selling and converting or combining a landing page and a business card site, creating a long, selling main page and supplementing it with subpages in a hidden menu.

What is a corporate website?

A corporate functional website is no different from a business card in terms of functionality - the ability to leave an application and view information about the company on the Internet. The main difference is that it is larger, more voluminous. So, for example, in comparison with a business card, the structure of a corporate website may look like this:

- Home

- About us

- Services (Or another product)

- Service (Or another product).

- Contacts

- News

--News

-Portfolio /Cases

--Case

- Blog

- Blog article page

Apparently, the structure of this type of site already more complex. By the way, corporate websites can and should be promoted by SEO if you are not a super-competitive niche. For competitive niches - you need to tag directly to the directory.

What is a directory site?

Directory site is a kind of site that has a directory, more complex navigation and filtering. A directory can be, for example, a site for renting real estate, individual sites of legal services or clinics. Why? Renting real estate is a catalog of options for apartments /offices /premises. As for legal websites or clinics - most often in these areas there is a huge number of services of different directions, which are difficult to understand (which means a description is required) and which are logical to collect in one place, a directory with a general table of contents (navigation) and bookmarks (filters) for convenience ...

What is an online store?

An online store is a type of site very similar to a catalog site, with the only difference - the ability to purchase goods on the Internet. Of course, there are online stores offering courses or services - but this is less common. All the same, the bulk of online stores is exactly the sale of goods, not services.

Also, unlike a catalog website, an online store has a basket and an order with all the data, the choice of payment method and delivery.

In fact, an online store practically does not differ from an offline store in terms of "location". You have a showcase (main page), departments (men's /women's clothing, shoes /T-shirts /trousers), the ability to pay in a convenient way (cash or terminal), there is a sales assistant (online chat). Of course, marketing processes are different, but that's a completely different story.

What is a web application?

A web application is a kind of site that contains unique functionality developed for a specific purpose (service, payment system, aggregator). In order not to overload you with unnecessary information (because, most likely, you do not need a web application), I will limit myself to a simple comparison.

If the site is a private house, and the online store is an office center, then the web application is a skyscraper. Accordingly, it has more opportunities and this building itself can be a full-fledged business.

Which site to choose?

Now we finally come to the main question: which site to choose ?

The answer is very simple - choose the one that suits your business goals.

If you do not need to promote on the Internet, but need information about the company was on the Internet - choose a business card site. If you want to optimize offline sales, choose an online store. If you want to enter the TOP in a competitive b2b niche - website directory. Planning a promotion - choose a landing page.

If you are not sure and want to consult to find out for sure how to choose a type of site, find the "get advice" button on our website (which, by the way, is the site directory) and get it :)