In an increasingly competitive online marketplace, a good corporate website can spell the difference between losing and winning. Done right, you’ll get higher conversion. But done wrong, you’ll only get tarnished brand and reputation.
So what are the key things to consider when deciding what kind of website is right for your business?
Different Website Types
When deciding the right kind of site to launch your business, the primary thing to do is to understand the nature of your business. Exploring your business goals is another step that is necessary, along your with the resources you’re willing to invest for the development of your business website.
Here is a list of different types of website according to business or profession:
Static Websites
Small businesses wishing to start out immediately and in need of a basic online presence often opt for static website. As well as the easiest to set up, static sites are also suited for companies with very small resources initially.
Often dubbed as brochure ware website, this is unsurprising because static websites are very seldom updated and can remain dormant for a long period of time.
Some static websites are five-pager online presence, comprised of the Homepage, About Us, Services, Testimonies, and Contact Us.
But once a company has grown, it can forego static website when deciding the right kind of site and start investing for a dynamic website.
Dynamic Websites
Most bigger commercial businesses nowadays, which ruled that content is king and want to perpetually update their online presence using a Content Management System, use dynamic or data-driven websites.
With a software tool like CMS, company staff can update their website even without any idea about programming. Dynamic sites are also more sophisticated and complex to develop, hence, it requires more resources to complete.
E-Commerce Websites
Brands that want to extend their retail or brick-and-mortar stores online might find e-Commerce or e-tailer as a kind of website solution that will allow them to sell or offer products and services.
With an e-commerce page with shopping cart features, visitors of your page an purchase using their credit cards products online. A complex back-end system can let businesses to add or remove products, place promotions and discount offers, and analyze sales profits, and more.
Among a couple of different types of website according to business or profession, implementing an e-commerce site can be a bit expensive due to security measures that need to be adopted.
Community Websites
If you’re in the business of providing special interest services, the community website might be for you. This kind of websites lets same-minded or users with similar desired goals interact with one another on the condition that they’ll adhere to community guidelines.
Community websites may be run on its own or part of another website type like corporate or dynamic website. Examples include job search websites, online dating networking sites, discussion boards, and more of the likes.
When run on its own like discussion boards for gamers, technologists, and writers, the source of revenue may be advertising or offering different levels of memberships with different benefits.
In these websites, however, there is a need to moderate member activities on the website, such as stopping or banning users when they’re found violating house rules of the community websites.
Business Blog Websites
When exploring your business goals when deciding which types of website you need, you may ask if it is really a dedicated website that you need. Are you a small business with a limited budget or it is communicating with your customers on a more personal, intimate level you need?
A business blog may be a better choice for you. Not only most blogging platforms offer the ability to setup your own page for free, getting a premium account to WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, and several others can only mean just a small investment for you.
But a business blog can also merely be part of a page that your corporate or dynamic websites maintains. Your blog can serve as your brand’s voice that will provide your market with information as to new products that you’re launching or special promotions that you’re offering at your store.
Unlike other different types of website according to business or profession, a blog is quite demanding when it comes to updates. It requires frequent new content refresh. Quality is also paramount when composing a blog post so that your customers will be satisfied and you know when you have happy customers checkout follows.
Factors to Make the Right Kind of Site Work for You
Apart from exploring your business goals and knowing the kind of website that’s right for your business, it follows that you also make the best use of your website to work for you.
Meeting the needs of your audience is one of the most important consideration when creating a website. Your selection of website type, design and development and content must all contribute to meet your customers’ needs.
Just choose a particular market you wish to market your products and services. Prioritize those who will especially look for your offered products when planning your web design and content.
It’s also important to ask which websites your customers use, what social media sites they visit and which apps they use. Use the information you’ll gather as your guide when building your website.
Design is the next stage in the process. Is your site visually-appealing? This aspect is far important before you decide the technology since visitors are initially reactive to imagery than what functionality you offer.
Identify conversions factors and determine the kind of visitors who will take the effort to visit your page and do something specific, such as get a price quote, compare your product and services, and checkout after a purchase. Make sure doing these tasks are easy and offers convenience to your users.
It is also necessary to track sales and interactions with customers through the use of measurement tools like Google Analytics. The tool is helpful in providing figures as to who is visiting your website, and which inner or underlying pages are frequently visited, where they’re located, and which pages offer the most conversion.
Finally, deciding what kind of website is right for your business depends on the nature of your business and business goals. Choose the one that share the goal of promoting your business online and engaging your customers and building long, lasting relationship with them.