When you set out to create your website, you probably asked yourself what the purpose of your website will be.
Do you want to entertain users, start a sales conversation, or advocate for a cause that’s important to you?
The purpose of a website depends on its intended use and audience. For an artist, a website can be a place for self-expression, while an online business aims to make money through its website.
We’ll talk you through the 11 most common types of websites, what their purposes are, and give you real-life examples for inspiration.
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11 most common types of websites and their purposes
At a glance, you might think that there are as many different types of websites out there as there are websites. After all, the website owner is the one who determines what the purpose of a website is for them.
Fortunately, most websites can be divided into a couple of key categories, based on the major user types visiting the website and their overall function.
For example, there are websites that are geared towards selling goods and services, and others that mainly focus on raising awareness and influence online. And other websites are all about lead generation and sharing information, rather than getting a specific person to make a purchase.
While everyone, from freelancers to small businesses, will benefit from having a website, a business owner and a blogger will have different needs for their website.
1. Landing page website
Purpose: Landing pages encourage website visitors and potential clients to do something and generate leads.
Landing pages are pages of a website that visitors land on when they click on a link or an ad. Most often, these kinds of websites focus on lead generation: collecting new newsletter subscribers, getting the visitors to make a purchase, download an app, or book a meeting with a sales representative.
Usually, a business will have a landing page website that also has a blog section, some business pages, and maybe even an online store.
Many companies have seasonal landing pages for different marketing campaigns, and for different parts of their marketing funnel.
Examples: Apple, Canva, Beamer
2. Blog
Purpose: Blogs are personal websites that are mainly used to establish an online presence and share your life online.
You’ve probably stumbled upon a blog or two in your time online. While many individuals use blogs to share their thoughts and opinions with their friends, family, and wider social circle, did you know that blogs are also important tools for a brand’s content marketing strategy?
Many successful blogs can generate a sizeable amount of income, and partner up with brands and services online.
The best way to get started is to pick a niche and build your blog business around it. Do you love dining out and food in general? You could start a food blog reviewing local restaurants and sharing your favorite recipes.
Examples: Zyro Blog, Zoella, Copyblogger
3. Portfolio website
Purpose: Portfolio websites act as online portfolios to creative professionals, as well as build the website owner’s online presence.
Whether you’re a web designer, artist, or photographer, chances are that you need a portfolio. The main purpose of a portfolio website is to make it easy for potential clients and employers to view your best work online and get hired.
While most portfolio websites consist of one single page, depending on your field of work, you might want to include more information about you, your experience, and your skills. And don’t forget your contact information or links to your social networks.
4. Personal website
Purpose: A personal website’s purpose is usually to promote the website owner, find a like-minded community of other internet users, or make online sales.
If you don’t have a website, you might as well not exist online, right?
Personal websites offer ample opportunities for self-expression and self-promotion: it’s no surprise that most artists, entrepreneurs, professionals, and social media stars have their own personal websites.
But the beauty of these kinds of websites is that they are cheap to set up and maintain, and easy to create. You usually need just a handful of content to get started building your own personal brand.
Examples: Dexter, Brooke, Julian
5. Business website
Purpose: The purpose of most business websites is to attract leads from a brand’s target audience and convert those leads into new customers, and that way increases overall profits.
This probably won’t come as a surprise, but many businesses have a business website that shares the brand’s history and also showcases the products and services available.
Most business websites include customer testimonials prominently on their site, in order to turn visitors into paying customers and building on their good reputation.
It’s also important that a business website has plenty of contact options available for the end-user (from a contact form to a phone number and visiting address, and so on). Some even sell products on their website for extra revenue.
Examples: Zyro, Stornoway, Bronx
6. eCommerce website
Purpose: The purpose of an eCommerce website is to sell services and products online and make money.
An eCommerce website is essentially a store that operates completely online. Marketing campaigns attract customers across the internet and drive traffic to the site, where customers can add products to their shopping cart and pay for their goods and shipping.
There are countless online stores on the web today, as eCommerce websites are easy to set up and manage with the proper tools. If you have a good product idea, it makes sense to try the waters with an online store before leasing out a shopfront on the high street.
Examples: Surf Happy, Forrest, Stoic Shirts
7. Online education or eLearning website
Purpose: The purpose of a website that focuses on online education is to provide access to various educational products and services to its target market.
While many educational institutions have a brochure site, there are plenty of eLearning institutions that offer different courses, degrees, and seminars for their customers.
Some organizations, like universities, have a hybrid approach to their informational websites. Usually, they have a business website detailing the different types of degrees and courses available, but also include a password-protected area for enrolled students to manage their studies.
Many private tutors and teachers also have their own teaching websites, where students can book lessons online.
Examples: University of York, Udemy, Coursera
8. Informational website
Purpose: Informational website purposes mainly focus on helping users to find information on a particular topic online.
Do you know a lot about a topic or a niche? You could put all that knowledge to use and create an informational website.
An informational website usually has a logical structure and has various categorization and search functions, making it easier for users to navigate through all the data.
Some businesses revolve around an informational website, offering certain content free of charge and charging for exclusive data and courses, for example.
Examples: Oberlo, Backlinko, Neil Patel
9. News or magazine website
Purpose: News websites aim to keep visitors on top of current affairs, while magazine websites publish in-depth stories and articles about various lifestyle topics.
Most of us have visited various news websites in our time online.
Many news businesses now exist almost exclusively on the web, meaning that they are able to publish news stories, analyses, and commentary on current events around the clock.
While magazine websites have a slightly less intense publishing schedule, the users expect longer-form content like interviews and longer articles.
Examples: BBC, Hello!, Der Spiegel
10. Entertainment website
Purpose: The purpose of an entertainment website is similar to a news website, but entertainment websites focus more on creating and sharing content for entertainment purposes only.
The purpose of your website could be to just make your customers laugh. If you’re big on creating memes and coming up with witty content ideas, an entertainment website could be up your street.
While these kinds of websites are a lot of fun, you can also monetize them by running banner ads and joining affiliate programs.
Examples: Buzzfeed, Bored Panda, ScaryMommy
11. Nonprofit website
Purpose: The purpose of nonprofit websites is to raise awareness, generate more leads and money for a charitable cause.
Websites are not just for businesses – charities can benefit a lot from starting a website and fundraising online, too.
A nonprofit website usually includes in-depth information about its mission as a charity and encourages visitors to make donations or help the organization in other ways, like volunteering.
Examples: WWF, Red Cross, Amman
Discover your website’s true purpose now
You should now know exactly what the purpose of your website should be and what you want to achieve with it.
Zyro makes it easy to create and manage a website, regardless of whether you’re a blogger or a small business wanting to start selling products online.
Simply pick a template, customize it to feel your own, and go ahead and publish. It’s really that easy.
Zyro – the easiest way to build a website
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