Which website type should you choose? The 7 most popular kinds

Whether you build your online presence yourself or hire a service provider, you should first consider which kind of website you need. Only you can make this strategic decision. Our website typology gives you quick clarity on the most important website types and their key dif­fer­ences.

Corporate website

• For whom? Busi­ness­es, agencies, and self-employed pro­fes­sion­als

• Purpose: Pre­sent­ing your company with contact options

The classic corporate website matches what most people think of when they hear “website”: a col­lec­tion of multiple in­di­vid­ual pages with the primary goal of informing.

The business presents its services, in­tro­duces its team, and offers ways to get in touch. A corporate website is the digital business card of the company. However, this website type can also include dynamic elements, such as a news or blog section, with regularly updated content. Larger websites often integrate ad­di­tion­al website types such as landing pages or mi­crosites, allowing companies to pursue different goals within one online presence.

To make your brand or website known to your target audience, you should also implement ad­di­tion­al measures such as search engine marketing.

An example of a classic corporate website is the KPMG website:

If you want to create a corporate website yourself and have little or no pro­gram­ming knowledge, you can use solutions like the Website Builder from IONOS. This makes it easy to create pro­fes­sion­al results. Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you can hire an agency or, if you want to save on budget, use the Website Design Service from IONOS.

Portfolio

• For whom? Artists and creatives

• Purpose: Pre­sent­ing primarily visual work samples

Portfolio websites are designed to present visual work at­trac­tive­ly. This kind of website is ideal for designers, pho­tog­ra­phers, and artists.

Portfolio website themes are typically airy and often min­i­mal­ist, putting graphic elements and work samples front and center right on the homepage. Unlike corporate websites, the amount of text is usually minimal.

Even non-tech-savvy users can easily create a portfolio website. Content man­age­ment systems like WordPress offer a huge selection of themes that can be cus­tomized and filled with your own content. The only technical hurdle is hosting. Choose a provider like IONOS, which spe­cial­izes in Hosting for WordPress and supports one-click WordPress in­stal­la­tion. IONOS offers af­ford­able plans specif­i­cal­ly for beginners.

What does a portfolio website look like? The website of portrait pho­tog­ra­ph­er Martin Schoeller is a typical example of this website type:

When creating your own portfolio website, make sure to present only your best work. It’s better to showcase fewer but stronger samples rather than overload the site with too many average ref­er­ences.

Blog/magazine

• For whom? Bloggers, busi­ness­es, jour­nal­ists, in­flu­encers

• Purpose: Regular editorial in­for­ma­tion or en­ter­tain­ment

A blog or magazine website focuses on editorial content. Want to write regularly about Bitcoin? Planning a local online newspaper? While blogs may welcome visitors with a static website, online magazine websites typically resemble tra­di­tion­al print magazines, showing the latest content right away.

Some blogs and online magazines also sell products or services related to their topic, but this is secondary. The current and regular content takes center stage — and this is reflected in the website design.

One practical example is the “Food & Wine” website:

Running a blog requires sig­nif­i­cant effort. Before you create your own blog, decide whether you can manage the project alone or should assemble a team of authors. Long gaps between posts should be avoided if you want your blog to become a trusted source of in­for­ma­tion and a reader magnet.

Microsite

• For whom? Busi­ness­es

• Purpose: In­for­ma­tion or en­ter­tain­ment on a specific topic/product

A microsite is like the little sister of the corporate website: the focus is on providing in­for­ma­tion. However, the microsite is limited to a few subpages or even a single main page. It presents a specific new product or a clearly defined topic, in contrast to a website that covers a broader range of topics and services.

Mi­crosites often feature creative designs that showcase the product or topic. They use in­ter­ac­tiv­i­ty, an­i­ma­tions, and mul­ti­me­dia to create a positive user ex­pe­ri­ence.

One detailed example is Adobe’s “Creative Types,” where users can discover their cre­ativ­i­ty type:

Landing page

• For whom? Busi­ness­es, self-employed pro­fes­sion­als

• Purpose: Lead gen­er­a­tion or sales con­ver­sion

Landing pages are one-pagers that inform visitors about a specific product and ul­ti­mate­ly motivate them to take a specific action. The page has a clear pro­mo­tion­al focus. There are no subpages; instead, landing pages resemble a detailed sales letter, po­ten­tial­ly enriched with videos and graphics.

Ideally, visitors consume the content in one flow and are ready to pay for a product or service — or provide their email address — by the end.

For in­spi­ra­tion, check out the American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI) website, which promotes its courses through classic landing pages:

Landing pages are usually part of online marketing campaigns: users click on an ad in Google or a social network and are directed to the landing page.

Online store

• For whom? Busi­ness­es

• Purpose: Selling digital or physical products

In­di­vid­ual products can be sold well via landing pages, but multiple products require an online store.

In an online store, products and their details are presented clearly and concisely. A straight­for­ward menu helps potential customers find what they’re looking for quickly. While in­for­ma­tion­al content can help draw users from Google, the product range is the main focus.

Most online stores follow a tried-and-true structure similar to major platforms like Amazon:

Building an online store is tech­ni­cal­ly chal­leng­ing because the entire ordering and payment process must be im­ple­ment­ed. With website builders, you can create smaller online stores yourself, but for larger stores, it’s rec­om­mend­ed to work with a spe­cial­ized agency.

Web app

• For whom? IT companies, SaaS providers

• Purpose: Providing an online ap­pli­ca­tion

Web apps aren’t websites promoting a product — they are the product. Whether for project man­age­ment, financial ad­min­is­tra­tion, or travel expense reporting, more and more software doesn’t require a download but can be used in a browser as a web app.

A web app still needs some corporate website-style pages to explain features, benefits, and pricing. But unlike a digital business card site, users can register and start using the tool right away.

Trello is one of the best-known project man­age­ment apps and is designed purely as a web app. All you need is internet access to log in from anywhere. For remote teams, web apps are a practical solution.

Which website type is right for me? Quick check

Our overview should have shown you how different websites can be. Still unsure which kind of website best suits your goals? Here’s a quick decision aid:

Before ex­per­i­ment­ing with website builders or hiring a pro­fes­sion­al, take the time to create a concept and decide which website types make sense for you. Otherwise, you may need to make ad­just­ments later if you don’t achieve the desired results — a hassle that can be avoided.

Having clarity on your website re­quire­ments and un­der­stand­ing the dif­fer­ences between website types will also help you com­mu­ni­cate with agencies and service providers. You’ll be able to work more ef­fi­cient­ly and achieve better results.