Depending on the content and the objective of a website, you can classify them into different categories. However, it is indeed a tricky business to compartmentalize a particular website into a specific genre. A bookmarking site like Del.icio.us can be simultaneously considered a Web2.0 website and a social networking website – all at the same time!
Though the categories often merge with one another, it pays to know about the broad classifications of websites so that you can choose the one that suits your needs the best in the hour of need. So, here’s a list of the various website categories and their benefits that you can enjoy:
If you have a business and you want to let the global audience know about it, a commercial website would be your ideal choice. Such websites showcase your products or services to let out the word about them, create a buzz in the market and attract the targeted clientele. No wonder that with the aim to generate profit, the commercial websites can act as effective means of publicity for your offerings and a tool for prompt communication with your existing and potential clientele. What is more – you may even enjoy direct revenues from such sites via pay-per-click ads, and other modes of advertisements.
With more and more people using the World Wide Web for various purposes, many people often search their names on Google only to find that no matches or results are there, which means that you still have no presence on the web. If you have a similar story to tell, here’s your chance to create your online identity and make your presence felt online – all through a personal website. If you are wondering what such websites do, here is the cue. Personal websites are administered by individuals for their personal use.
If you think that it will be an uphill task to create one as you do not have any programming or designing skills, take heart for there are many website templates that are available for free or for a nominal cost that you can use to build your own personal site. Even many web hosting companies offer lucrative deals these days to host your site, and you can choose the best and cost-effective deal from the ones that are available in the market. So, if you have been craving to mark your visibility in the virtual world for long, now is the time to turn your desire into reality with a personal website.
Human beings love to get entertained and it’s no different when people are online. It is to cater to this need of amusement that entertainment websites came into existence. Be it the sites showing movie trailers, offering music downloads, letting you play online games, or sharing some spicy gossip about the celebrities, you can get all that and more by accessing the wide range of entertainment websites.
Are you a student looking for some relevant information to complete your school projects? Do you need some reliable citation sources for finishing your special project at college? Are you an educator who needs innovative and interactive ways of teaching students? Do you need some useful resources for teaching your toddler and are searching online to know where you can get the same? If you belong to any one of these categories, educational websites are here to help. There are different types of such informational websites that can allow anyone from preschoolers, university students to research academicians and educators to reap the benefits. So, make sure to take your search online the next time you need some information related to the educational field.
If you can not do without your daily dose of what is happening all around the world, news websites should form your staple diet. Whether you need to know about the recent political development in UK, are curious about who won the champion’s trophy or how many wickets of the opposition your team claimed in that Ashes series, who is tipped to lift the most numbers of Academy Awards or simply want to have a foresight of the next day’s weather, these websites can help quench your thirst. The BBC website can be the ideal example of such news websites, which keep you updated on what is happening in your locality or around the world via the online mode.
If you need to sell your wares via the online mode and are not much inclined to set up a physical shop, you can do that now via online shopping websites, also called the e-commerce websites. All that you need to do is to set a website with shopping cart and online payment options, and you can start showcasing and selling your offerings on the web just like Amazon and eBay do, albeit on a smaller scale. So, act now to get the global audience enticed with what you have to offer and give them a call for action (to buy your offerings) via these online shopping websites.
Man is a social animal – the adage may sound cliché but that is true even when you are online. The multitude of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. all prove the same. With more and more people going online these days, many people have selected these social networking sites to meet and make new friends and acquaintances. On most of these sites, you can form a community or forum, which in turn helps you to interact with like minded people on the basis of common interests or topics. If you are an active web surfer and like sharing useful and interesting web resources with your friends, the social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, Digg and reddit will be your ideal choice. So, meet new people or find long lost friends, network with them and enjoy your online journey with the social networking and social bookmarking sites.
Whether you have something interesting or mundane to share with the entire world, blogs – the online diaries, can help. As you can easily open your account, start writing whatever catches your fancy and share the same with a global audience, blogs have managed to capture the public fancy pretty easily. If you have not yet joined the bandwagon, use WordPress or Blogger.com to create your own blog today.
If you need to search for anything or everything, search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo, Yellow pages and online directories can lend a helping hand.
Websites of non-profit organizations are those that are operated by people or organizations looking to utilize the surplus that is generated for philanthropic services. The websites of BBB Charity Reports or The Foundation Center belong to this category. There are some web hosting portals that offer free services for these websites of non-profit organizations. So, now that you have a basic notion of what website categories are there, make the most of these online resources.
For more information on the area of Website Design why not start with our article - Top 5 Cool Website Designs