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A Marketer's Guide To Choosing The Right Type of Website
We provide an overview of the different types of websites and a guide to choosing the ideal solution.
In a previous article, we discussed what every new business website needs.
In it, we said that a website can become an indispensable marketing tool for your business that will allow you to build trust with your audience.
A well-designed website can help you establish a strong digital presence where you can display your branding and interact with your customers.
It will also allow you to get discovered and stand out in an already crowded digital landscape.
On it, you can provide information about your products and services, answer customers’ questions, and give them options to get in touch with you.
In other words, your website can be a lot more than just an online brochure.
Depending on your goals, a website can also serve as a digital portfolio, a content platform, an e-commerce store, or a landing page for a particular campaign.
As a marketer, selecting the right type of website is crucial to achieving your specific business objectives.
In this article, we will provide an overview of the different types of websites and a guide to choosing the ideal solution.
As a marketer working on a business’ digital presence, you are likely to inherit one or more websites in different stages of development.
Perhaps there is one main website that management refers to as “the website”, perhaps there is one for each of the business’ brands or regions.
Perhaps these websites are built using similar technologies and by the same developers, but that is not always the case.
Perhaps you also find a multitude of smaller sites, one-pagers or landing pages created for specific events, brands and ad campaigns.
Some of these websites are interlinked, some are stand-alone. Some use the business’ main branding, others deviate from it.
Altogether, you might inherit an entangled web of websites, pages, and apps that management barely understands, if at all.
As a marketer, it will be your responsibility to make effective use of the business website(s) to achieve your marketing goals.
That is why, before you begin, if you are inheriting existing website(s), we believe it will be a good idea to conduct a comprehensive audit of the business’ digital presence.
In short, you should find out, among other things:
- What websites are there?
- Who owns them internally?
- Who develops and maintains them?
- What technologies do they use?
- Do they provide a good customer experience to your target audience?
- Do they fit in with the business’ overall marketing strategy?
- Are they scalable and to what extent can they be upgraded?
- What do they cost to develop and maintain relative to alternative options?
This will help you determine, as a second step, what gaps exist in the digital presence and the best way to fill them. As with most business decisions, this involves making trade-offs and assumptions.
Perhaps the existing website(s) can be upgraded with new design and functionalities. Perhaps the entire digital presence of the business will need to be rebuilt from scratch.
If, for example, your task is to create a temporary digital space for a marketing campaign, a landing page might be the best option.
An experienced web partner like a freelancer or an agency can help you make the right decision by considering all relevant risks and opportunities, and weighing the options.
This is also the case when you’re building a business’ digital presence from scratch.
In the following section, we will provide an overview of website types and how each may fit in your digital marketing strategy.
As we said earlier, websites come in all shapes and sizes. Each type of website serves a unique purpose and requires a tailored approach to design, functionality, and user experience.
The corporate website can serve as your business’ digital face, its main presence on the web.
It provides a top-level view on what the business does, its corporate structure, its mission, values, and unique selling proposition.
It helps to establish the business as credible and professional, and can serve as the main point of contact with the business’ clients, partners, and other interested parties.
This makes it ideal for businesses wanting to create a comprehensive online presence and is ideally suited for B2B companies.
Here are some key considerations to make when designing a corporate website or building one from scratch:
- Use design and copy that reflects your visual and verbal brand identity
- Ensure easy navigation with clear information hierarchy
- Make the website responsive for seamless use across devices
A corporate website should ideally be upgradable to include, for example, an e-commerce store or a blog, should the business develop in that direction.
As a web agency, we can begin by designing and building a corporate website for your business on Webflow, which can then be expanded with additional functionality as your business grows.
In contrast to the corporate website that provides an overview of the entire business, landing pages are single pages that are designed for one primary goal: conversion.
This makes them ideal for marketing campaigns aimed at driving, for example, newsletter signups, product purchases, or event registrations.
Landing pages differ from most pages found on the corporate website in several key ways:
- They minimize distractions
- They feature a clear value proposition
- They utilize streamlined design to guide users toward a specific action
- They address the user with a strategic call-to-action (CTA)
- They provide A/B split testing capabilities for continued optimization
In addition, because landing pages are often temporary and campaign-specific, they can be used to experiment with alternative branding.
For example, while the corporate website may adhere to the business’ serious visual branding and verbal tone, landing pages can be used to experiment with a more modern, informal approach.
Landing pages can also be created with a different technology than the main corporate website, allowing for faster deployment, lower development costs and flexibility.
As a web agency, we build landing pages for our clients on Webflow, but Click Funnels and Unbounce are also great platforms for this purpose.
This means that a landing page does not need to use the business’ main domain name (e.g. example.com/promo). It can utilize a subdomain (e.g. promo.example.com or sale.example.com)
To make a landing page effective, in addition to rigorous A/B split testing, you can utilize the following design strategies:
- Use strong CTAs
- Implement clean, uncluttered layouts
- Leverage psychological triggers like social proof and urgency
- Ensure responsiveness across devices
E-commerce websites transform your online presence into a powerful sales channel by allowing your customers to directly purchase digital or physical products on your website.
An e-commerce website is not just about displaying products — it’s about creating a seamless, engaging shopping experience.
This makes it ideal for retail businesses, product-based companies and brands with direct-to-consumer sales models.
To make an e-commerce website successful:
- Use an easy-to-navigate and intuitive product categorization
- Use high-quality product images and descriptions (read more in this article)
- Ensure a smooth and secure checkout process
- Display social proof (e.g. in the form of user reviews and ratings)
- Provide personalization features wherever possible and appropriate
- Provide the most likely payment options your customers may prefer
- Provide clear shipping and return policies to avoid frustration
- Create urgency with strategic use of limited-time offers
As a web agency, we build websites with limited e-commerce functionality on Webflow, which is ideal for niche or local brands with small product portfolios looking to tell an engaging brand story.
For larger e-commerce websites with many products, payment options and regions served, platforms such as Shopify become more appropriate.
Content websites such as blogs are powerful tools for establishing authority, improving SEO, and nurturing audience relationships.
They go beyond simple information sharing, allowing you to showcase your expertise on topics related to the services and products you sell. This makes them ideal to engage with potential customers researching your products.
In a content website or blog, you can answer clients’ questions before they call customer service, making them more likely to buy.
To create an effective blog or content website, consider the following design priorities:
- Use readable and engaging typography
- Use a clean layout to focus on main content, avoid clutter
- Provide easy content navigation
- Provide appropriate related content recommendations
- Utilize social sharing capabilities
- Use author profiles and other credibility indicators to build trust
In addition, to keep your content website relevant, accessible and valuable to your clients:
- Use a consistent publishing schedule with regular updates
- Integrate multimedia content wherever possible and appropriate
- Integrate search functionality
- Ensure responsiveness across devices
If you work as/for a creative professional or agency, a portfolio website is a critical marketing tool to present your work, and demonstrate skill and style.
Key features of a portfolio website include:
- Clear and filterable project categories
- Detailed project descriptions
- Client testimonials, reviews and certifications
- Insights into the creative process
To make a portfolio website work, you should consider the following:
- Create a memorable, visually appealing presentation of your work
- Showcase your projects in an easy-to-navigate way
- Use high-quality media such as photos or videos
- Write case studies showcasing real projects and outcomes
- Provide a way for potential clients to get in touch with you easily
As we discussed in this article, choosing the right web design partner is as crucial as selecting the right type of website.
Among other things, you should look for freelancers or agencies that:
- Understand your business, industry, and competitive landscape
- View web design as a part of your overall branding strategy
- Offer advice on what is best for your particular circumstances
- Demonstrate a track record of successful projects
- Offer reliable and predictable ongoing support and maintenance
The right web design partner will be able to effectively advise you on the best type of web site for your business.
As a marketer, the website(s) of the businesses and brands you are responsible for can be among your most powerful marketing tools.
Powerful websites that convert, engage, represent your brand and drive business results need to be planned, designed and developed strategically with specific marketing goals in mind.
By understanding the different types of websites, their key features and specific considerations, you will be able to leverage their strengths effectively.
The process of choosing the right website for your business begins with an understanding of your business needs and marketing objectives. Ideally, this involves a thorough audit of your business’ existing web presence (if there is any) to identify gaps and opportunities.
This will then allow you to identify the best type of website to invest in.
If you decide to work with us, as an experienced web agency, we will propose solutions based on your specific needs and goals.
Have a web project for us?
Get in touch today!
