Websites 101: Finding the right fit – How do websites differ and what type of website do I need for my small business?
Simple Website Service
| Updated May 18, 2023
Traditionally, website developers wrote the code to develop a website. How it all worked was a mystery to the common man. Certainly, website development was a complex process. In today’s times, it is less complex, but still involves technical knowledge. Furthermore, a new trend in website design and build is UX or user experience. This has brought its own set of complexities. Nonetheless, different types of business have different needs in terms of website, according to vertical, market and product. You may ask “what type of website do I need for my small business?”. This is a great question and there is a lot you need to know before making a decision. Therefore, let’s discuss these elements and find the best small business website solution for you.
The different parts that make up a website
Websites consist of a few different elements. Namely, pages, a navigation menu to navigate between the different pages, a header and footer, buttons to link to other parts, content (the stuff we love reading!), images/video and contact forms. This is the part we see when we browse the internet and land on a website. Namely, the front-end or on-page. The back-end or off-page is the part we don’t see. Interestingly, it consists of the code, hosting, domain, CDM, XL site map and website metadata. Pages can consist of homepages, about us pages, blog pages and contact us pages. Again, there is a vast range of potential pages a website can have. Header and footer elements normally contain social media links and contact details. Buttons link to other parts of interest or to contact the owner of the website. Content is the written parts. Images and video add interest or further explain the content. Contact forms are to contact the website owner.
How do websites differ and why?
We have created a list of the different types of websites that are used for different verticals:
Online store: This is a website where products are sold online. It’s like a physical store except it’s online. They may be physical products or digital downloads. The purchase and payment take place on the website and the physical product is shipped to the customer or the digital product is downloaded.
Blog: This is a website with informative and interesting articles that normally relate to a particular topic. A successful blog website generally develops a large following.
Forum: This is a website where people discuss and communicate. It normally relates to a particular group of people around a particular topic.
eLearning website: This is a website where people can complete courses in a chosen subject.
Business website: This type of website is for business and corporate to advertise themselves and their product.
Subscription website: This type of website could be a news website where people purchase a subscription to read the news articles.
Indeed, some of these websites, like online stores and eLearning websites, are complex. They take time and resources to build and need intense management. Correspondingly, blogs are less intensive to build and maintain, but take a lot of time in terms of content and writing new articles. Moveover, the back-end of a subscription website is complicated to build, needing a subscription module.
All these complexities add to the cost of building and maintaining the website.
Plugins and Integrations
Firstly, to add the features that you need to build the perfect website to suit your needs you may have to purchase a plug in. Secondly, for marketing purposes, like email marketing, you may need to integrate your website with another type of platform.
A plugin allows you to customize a website with the features you need. For example if you are running a subscription news website, you will need to purchase a subscription module plugin and add it to your website. This will provide the means for the website visitor to sign up, log in and process their monthly payment, etc.
An integration allows different types of platforms to work together with your website. For example if you want to add a newsletter signup form to your business website, you can integrate it with your email platform so when your website visitor adds their name on the website it is automatically added to a list on your email platform and you can begin emailing them your newsletter.
Now that we have some knowledge of how websites work and what different types of websites there are we can answer the question, what kind of website do I need.
So then, what type of website do I need for my small business?
So, how best can small businesses leverage the digital space, but address their needs prudently? When you ask, what type of website do I need for my small business? We can answer. Truthfully, small businesses only need a few pages to showcase what they are about and be there for when customers need their products. In fact, they generally don’t need a payment system, a booking system, complex navigation or chat functions, like other verticals need. Therefore, they need a small business website, where they don’t have to pay for what they won’t use, but can still reap the benefits of having a website. We hope this answers your question, what type of website do I need for my small business?
How does a small business website benefit small businesses?
How to get a small business website
We provide a service to small businesses offering these types of simplified websites. Very little input is required from the small business owner. The process is simple. The small business owner is presented with a new website in no time that suits their requirements. No fuss, simple and easy. Best of all, it’s affordable!
Ask yourself, what type of website do I need, and get in touch today!
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