The Main Differences Between the Types of Websites 

upqode | Jul 27th, 2022

If you’re about to create a website, the first step is to know what are the different types of websites. The next is to choose a specific web design that could symbolize your enterprise’s identity.

Although most websites may look similar to the users in terms of structure, the types of websites they choose and design are different in every way for creators. From resources to navigation systems, every detail is thought to represent your niche in the best way possible.

So here we are again, for our fellow businesses and entrepreneurs, with a definitive guide to help them make informed web development and design decisions. 

This comprehensive guide is a one-stop handbook with all the information, resources, and explanations you need about the different types of websites with examples. If you’ve made it here, you will make it to your ideal website soon.

So let’s get into it!

10 Different Types of Website Structures for Every Niche

The type of website you should opt for solely depends on your niche. However, a single website isn’t enough in today’s competitive market to attract more customers and fulfill their ever-changing demands. This is precisely why many brands use a combination of different types of websites to utilize their domain’s maximum potential.

Now, whether you stick with a single website or extend your website game in other areas, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and types of websites popular for your business category will help you stay ahead of the competition and make better decisions on time.

With over 1.9 billion websites online, even at this moment, choosing the right website for your business is of utmost importance. While standing out from the rest is even more necessary.

So let’s start with 10 different types of websites with examples from every business category.

E-commerce 

The online transformation of a store, a website where people buy and purchase products, is called an e-commerce website. With technological advancement, e-commerce website development has become much easier, which is also why you see a wide range of e-stores online.

E-commerce platforms like Shopify, Squarespace, and Woocommerce have made web designing for online stores innovative and payment integration methods simple. One of the greatest e-commerce types of websites is the Houseplant.

Houseplant ecommerce - types of website
Source: Houseplant

Some essential features of an e-commerce website are product lists, sidebar navigation, carts, and a large framework dedicated to different product pages.

Blogs 

Blogs started off as a personal type of website to share and regularly update articles, images, and videos. However, blogs have become a significant part of major brands and businesses sharing information and utilizing it as a source of content marketing.

Since blogs have been established as an individual website type, we can undoubtedly name them as the most dominant types of the website, only second to business and enterprise websites. They are used by individuals, news agencies, and almost every other niche to bring valuable content to their audience.

Little Fat Boy blog
Source: Little Fat Boy blog

An impactful example of an informational and creative blog is the Little Fat Boy food blog. The blog is visually striking and supports an incredible layout featuring the good articles on the front page and a great navigation bar (which also includes a separate recipe category).

Business 

While we’re on the topic, business/corporate/enterprise types of websites take the first place as the most widely used type. Well, it’s not because they’re better than other types, but rather because they’re a necessity for every business in this era.

Every business today ought to have a website to create its digital identity. While there are several platforms to make websites like WordPress, a professional website should always be developed by an experienced web development agency. That’s because a unique identity can only be established through custom-made websites.

Moffett AI - types of website
Source: Moffett AI

A niche-specific and unconventional example would be our favorite tech website Moffett AI. With a very straightforward and visually striking design, this is the epitome of standing out as a company. Its unique design was the work of web design experts at UPQODE.

Educational 

The organizations which aim to educate and provide study resources to a global audience most commonly use educational types of websites. You can recognize one simply by its layout with descriptive videos and subject-based topics. This structure is also often used by online course websites like Coursera.

You can find numerous examples of educational websites today, and some of them look very similar to blogs. However, what sets this type of website apart is its transactional intent. Educational websites offer a combination of free and paid resources, so they often need a pay method integration similar to an e-store.

TedEd
Source: TedEd

The world-renowned and everyone’s favorite TedEd website is an inspiration for anyone planning their next big online educational website to gain students beyond a four-walled classroom.

Entertainment 

A range of websites falls into this category. Especially magazines, digests, news articles, and web novels/creative writing blogs. One can also add visual entertainment websites, such as Netflix, Hulu, and more. These types of websites utilize a complex website structure and incorporate several types of media in one place.

Entertainment websites can deal with many different things simultaneously, like a subscription and on-page ads for promotions. Numerous old newspaper and magazine agencies have abandoned the idea of press and printing and use similar types of website structures to publish their content.

Elle
Source: Elle

A magazine website like Elle can be a great example of how you can design your entertainment website to convey a unique brand voice and use the layout that suits your organization.

Social Media 

We’re all aware of the Metaverse by now. Social media websites are a leading source of bringing people together and providing global communication channels. Major franchises like Facebook seemingly dominate this industry, but social media websites come in many forms.

Perhaps you might have the next sensational idea for a social media website, and it might just get popular, so you shouldn’t hesitate to bring your vision to life. Social media is the essence of every other type of website because people turn to social media to look for news, online stores, and professional services.

Tumblr - type of website structure
Source: Tumblr

A great platform to inspire you could be Tumblr. It started late in the social media game but now comprises millions of users searching and uploading stuff every day. You can find almost anything on Tumblr at this point.

Portfolio 

Your digital CV in the form of a website. We can say it’s one of the most useful types of websites for common people and freelancers. You can also optimize your portfolio to be the top search result when someone searches for a service you provide. 

Most individuals use portfolios to establish themselves as brands and showcase their services to a wide range of audiences. At times, even large enterprises create their portfolio websites to add that extra professionalism and use visual design to leave a lasting first impression.

Yuko Takahashi portfolio
Source: Yuko Takahashi

One of the best portfolio websites we have ever come across is Yuko Takahashi. An artist, photographer, and designer. While the portfolio is supposed to be his selling point, he succeeded in turning his whole website into one.

Landing pages 

Contrary to its name, a landing page isn’t just a page. Landing pages are the specific types of websites that play a crucial role in any digital marketing campaign. These websites intend to lead the audience toward a service or product and compel them to take action using CTAs.

The content used here is usually straightforward and short because it mainly focuses on highlighting a service or product and encouraging people to buy it. You can say it’s a whole website structure dedicated to sales copy.

Apple
Source: Apple

Minimal, on-point, and sleek. A relevant and high-end example of this could be Apple’s landing page for the Apple Pencil. You can take notes here for your next landing page design.

Directory 

Out of all types of website structures, a business directory or contact listing website takes the most practical approach. It’s the best for niches like real estate, automobile, or other business industries where you act as a middle source to refer the right services to the people who need them.

This could be a business directory to connect buyers with service providers, a restaurant directory to connect local audiences to nearby restaurants, and a real estate listing to add as a broker between the buyer and seller.

Zillow - directory type of website structure
Source: Zillow

A popular real estate giant, Zillow, is based on this type of website design and does its job pretty well. Their website is based on search bots, filters, and a large data-based to fetch the right results based on keywords. A bigger giant for this type of website would be the Google search, but that’s an exceptional case.

 Forums

Public forums have continued to gain exponential popularity over the last decade. From teenagers to adults, we all turn to forums and join our favorite groups based on similar interests and mingle with people around the world.

Forums can be used as a standalone type of website or as an extension of a business, blog, or e-commerce website where users can discuss their views and share them with everyone in real-time. It’s also a great way to turn your website into a communication channel for people to use and increase your user base.

reddit forums
Source: Reddit

In this case, Reddit is the front page of the internet and the most widely used online forum platform. You can most likely find the most absurd threads and groups, from flat-earthers to dark cults, but that’s probably why it has such a big fan base. As their slogan says, you literally dive into anything on Reddit.

The 5 Main Types of Website Design 

We’re sure you must have chosen the types of websites you’re going to use for your brand, and you might also understand the basic differences between each type. However, what fundamentally puts your website into a separate category is its web design.

There are 5 main types of website designs used currently in website development, and the second step to creating a website is to decide which type of web design format you’re going to use.

Single page 

As the name suggests, single-page designs are websites that portray all of their information using a single webpage, like a landing page website structure.

Static 

A static website is developed with little to no user interaction in mind, and the design is generally repetitive on all platforms. A portfolio is often designed as a static website.

Dynamic 

This is the most common type of website we see today. Dynamic websites are based completely on user interaction, creating a more active and exciting website design. E-commerce, business, blog, and almost all websites can use a dynamic web design.

Responsive 

A responsive website design changes its layout and display according to the size of the browser and the device it’s being used on. Since the rise of smartphones, every website has tried integrating a responsive design for a better user experience.

Liquid 

A liquid website design is similar to a responsive design, but it doesn’t change the page’s layout according to the screen. Instead, it only changes page size and stretches or shrinks the content when needed.

Key takeaway 

With all the types of website structures and designs explained above, we hope that you have a better grasp of how you want your website to look by now. As a bonus, we have an expert suggestion for you. Everyone knows how important a website is to construct your online identity and how creating a great website is a much-needed one-time investment. 

To make the most of this one-time investment, you should take the help of a professional web development agency. Trust us, it not only saves you time and money but also brings a substantial return on investment (ROI) with time.

Filed under: Web Design

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