Article by David Gordon; Web Designer, Internet Marketing Expert and CEO, www.naaip.org

There are a few million active websites on the internet today ( no point in giving numbers, they are bound to change by the time you read this article!) and they can be classified in various categories. Some of the categories are common such as ecommerce websites and corporate websites, but there are some special types of websites which also exist on the internet today. The objective of this article is to outline most of categories of websites which exist:

• Corporate Websites: this is the first step for most companies when they decide to build their home on the internet. Corporate websites are pretty much like corporate presentation in a web friendly form. They provide information to users about the company and also provide contact information. The corporate website is useful for companies who are planning to use the website as a marketing tool.


• Personal Websites: as the name suggests, personal websites are websites which belong to individuals and they have their personal profile featured on it along with any thing that they have an active interest in. A personal website is usually targeted to a person’s friends and family and has limited viewer ship. Personal websites are quite easy to put together and you can even do it yourself with the help of some websites.


• Flash Websites: Flash as you might already know is one of the leading web technologies which exist today. Flash allows you to make an audio video friendly website which can act as a great way to advertise a product or a service. Many people relate flash to digital format of television and in a way it is true. Flash websites tend to be rich with graphics and effects and a well designed flash website is bound to impress the user and create the desired effect. Flash websites are deployed by luxury product companies and consumer product companies to create a lasting impression on the users.


• Sales Pages: Occasionally you would come across a website which has just a couple of long pages which has a lot of client comments and information about a product. These sites are actually sales pages or landing pages of products or services which are sold online. E-books and online courses have sales pages which help promote them online and these cannot be clubbed with the conventional types of websites.


• E-Commerce Websites: More and more corporate websites are moving towards the ecommerce direction. If you have a product which you can sell online, the idea is that you should. Online sales are increasing at a good pace and many offline retailers are venturing into online modes. Ecommerce websites are those which allow you to buy something online and complete a transaction by paying for it online as well. Ecommerce websites require interaction with some third party websites to be able to provide you this service and can be complicated to create but a good ecommerce website has the potential to provide an excellent revenue stream for a business.


• Web Apps And Intranets: A number of online entities are now turning into web based applications which allow you to perform business critical activities such as have online meetings, transact with world wide customers and even bank online. These web applications or intranet systems are complicated websites which are supported with elaborate back end systems. Web apps are very useful and are likely to become a common thing on the internet in the very near future.

The above listed types are the common types of websites and though they might be some specialization within these categories, they more or less cover the entire gamut of websites which exist today.