Types of Website

Organized by function, a website as shown in following figure

1. Static Website

A static website is one that has web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client often static websites, because they present pre-defined, static information to the user. This may include marketing examples of websites, such as classic website, a five-page website or a brochure website are web browser. It is primarily coded in Hypertext Markup Language, HTML. Simple forms or information about a company and its products and services via text, photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation. This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors.

In summary, visitors are not able to control what information they receive via a static website, and must instead settle for whatever content the website owner has decided to offer at that time. They are edited using four broad categories of software:

• Text editors, such as Notepad or TextEdit, where content and HTML markup are manipulated directly within the editor programme.

• WYSIWYG offline editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the site is edited using a GUI interface and the final HTML markup is generated automatically by the editor software.

• WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.

 Dynamic website

A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria. Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed.

2. Dynamic Code

The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML.

A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built, and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web page is generated on the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or routines. A dynamically-generated web page would recall various bits of information from a database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side variables, etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouseover, etc.). A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of the individual user.

Dynamic Content

The second type is a website with dynamic content displayed in plain view Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database. A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the web page and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs and books.

Purpose of Dynamic Websites:

     The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.

3. Product or Service Based Sites

         Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services for sale. In the case of e-commerce websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site.

         Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of these two practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives further income.

Types of Websites

1. Affiliate

A site, typically few in pages, whose purpose is to sell a third party's product. The seller receives a commission for facilitating the sale.

2. Archive

Used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with extinction. Two examples are: Internet Archive, which since 1996 has preserved billions of old (and new) web pages; and Google Groups, which in early 2005 was archiving over 845,000,000 messages posted to Usenet news/discussion groups.

3. Blogs

Sites generally used to post online diaries which may include discussion forums (e.g., blogger, Xanga). Many bloggers use blogs like an editorial section of a newspaper to express their ideas on anything ranging from politics to religion to video games to parenting, along with anything in between. Some bloggers are professional bloggers and they are paid to blog about a certain subject, and they are usually found on news sites.

4. Brand Building

A site with the purpose of creating an experience of a brand online. These sites usually do not sell anything, but focus on building the brand. Brand building sites are most common for low-value, high-volume Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

5. Celebrity Website

A website whose information revolves around a celebrity. These sites can be official (endorsed by the celebrity) or fan made (run by his/her fan, without implicit endorsement).

6. Community Sites

A site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards.

7. Content Sites

Sites whose business is the creation and distribution of original content.

8. Corporate Sites

Used to provide background information about a business, organization, service.

9. Dating Sites

These are site where users can find other single people looking for long range relationships, dating, or just friends.

10. E-commerce Sites

A site offering goods and services for online sale and enabling online transactions for such sales

11. Government Sites

A website made by the local, state, department or national government of a country. Usually, these sites also operate websites that are intended to inform tourists or support tourism

12. Information Sites

Most websites could fit in this type of website to some extent. Many of them are not necessarily for commercial purposes

13.  Media sharing Sites

A site that enables users to upload and view media such as pictures, music, and videos

14.  Mirror Sites

A website that is the replication of another website. These types of websites are used as a response to spikes in user visitors. Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads

15.  News Sites

Similar to information site, but dedicated to dispensing news, politics, and commentary.

16.  Personal Sites

Websites about an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include. Many personal homepages are rare, thanks to the modern era of social networking sites such as MySpace, but some are still used for at home businesses. This website is different from a Celebrity website, which can be very expensive and run by a publicist or agency.

17.  Phishing Sites

A website created to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business (such as Social Security Administration, PayPal) in an electronic communication.

18.  Torrent Sites

Websites that index torrent files. This type of website is different from a Bittorrent client which is usually standalone software.

19.  Political Sites

A site on which people may voice political views, show political humour, campaigning for elections, or show information about a certain political party or ideology

20.  Sites

A site that shows sexually explicit content for enjoyment and relaxation. They can be similar to a personal website when it's a website of a porn actor/actress or a media sharing website where users can upload from their own sexually explicit material to movies made by adult studios.

21.  Review Sites

A site on which people can post reviews for products or services

22.  Search engine Sites

A website that indexes material on the internet or an intranet (and lately on traditional media such as books and newspapers) and provides links to information as a response to a query

23.  Social bookmarking Sites

A site where users share other content from the Internet and rate and comment on the content

24.  Social networking Sites

A site where users could communicate with one another and share media, such as pictures, videos, music, blogs, etc. with other users. These may include games and web applications.

25. Web Portal Sites

A site that provides a starting point or a gateway to other resources on the Internet or an intranet. Some websites may be included in one or more of these categories. For example, a business website may promote the business's products, but may also host informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above.

References

• Prof. Nitin kamat, Mr. Chinmay Nitin Kamat, Digital Marketing, Himalaya Publishing House, Second Revised Edition 2000.