Types Of Websites

There are many types of content that can comprise a website and there are many prodocols and dynamic scripts that can produce web pages, but generally websites (and their associated web pages) break down into a handful of categories. And generally this is determined by the content and purpose of the site.

Probably the most common type of website would be an information site. These sites mainly use text, pictures, and other general content to convey information to the viewer. They are usually categorized by the type and focus of that information. Examples of these would be government information sites, general business information sites, product information sites, product reveiw sites, fan sites, etc.

Social networking sites are not a new phenomina but lately they seem to be growing exponentially. Sites like Facebook, Squidoo, MySpace and others are very popular with younger people but are finding acceptance with many adults too.

Blogs (from the term web log) are like an online journal or diary. Some, just like a diary, contain more personal information. Others are used for business promotion, product/service introduction, and training. Blogs are increasingly becoming the website of choice and are often found as the home page on personal, and even small business, sites.

Search engine websites usually contain a search mechanism for the entry of search terms or keywords and the resulting pages contianing links to, and sometimes descriptions of, sites that match the search. These are called search engine results pages (SERPs).

Dicussion boards or forums are websites that provide a platform for interactive (though not usually real time) communication between people who may be distant from each other in both time and geography. Conversations (threads) and the individual entries in them (posts) are organized and presented in a manner which makes following, indeed finding, them easy. Threads are generally topical and sometimes begin with someone posting a question, followed by others answering it or commenting on previous answers.

E-commerce sites are business sites that also offer merchandise for sale. Although sometimes presented in an basic HTML page-by-page format most current e-commerce sites use dynamic page generation, database support, interactive features and usually have a shopping cart.