Choosing a site for business: a detailed guide

Types of site structures. Management
Entrepreneurs, especially beginners, often ask a difficult question: how to organize a site so that it works as efficiently as possible, bringing a stable income to the owner? Experts say that everything depends on the specific tasks that the business sets for itself, and the specifics of the content itself. Someone will need a business card site or a landing page, while someone needs a more serious site, in the form of an online store or even a portal. Each type of site has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's analyze the main types of site structures.

Landing
page Landing page (also known as "landing page") is a simple but reliable way to encourage the user of an Internet resource to take a specific action, for example, fill out a contact form, order a manager's call back, choose a product or service.

Landing is a site consisting of one page. As a rule, this is quite enough for the visitor to notice the CTA (call to action) posted on the resource and, using buttons, bargain offers and other forms, share information about himself with the site, it is clear for what purpose. Further, the company's managers are connected to the communication and try to lead the user to purchase a product or service. If you are interested in us business directory, follow the link to find out more.

Landing page includes:

a title that should be catchy, i.e. attract the attention of users and arouse interest in the products offered;
presentation of a product or service;
direct offer (offer);
thoughtful CTA (in the form of buttons, questionnaires, applications);
a variety of "anchors" on which you can catch a potential buyer (the so-called "selling triggers");
discounts and bonuses;
experience of people who have already become clients of the company (reviews, comments);
a minimum package of legal information (licenses, certificates, permits).
Landing Advantages:

Availability. The development of a landing page as a whole is much cheaper than the organization of a site, which, in addition, will require technical support.
Concreteness. The user does not run up his eyes from profitable offers, but is given the opportunity to focus on one product or service. This makes it easier to lead him to the desired action.
Attracting new customers or expanding the existing base. A well-designed and structured landing page should be relevant and solve the client’s questions in such a way that he doesn’t want to leave here and begins to perform certain actions (for example, he left his contact details).
Definition of the target audience (which helps to increase sales).
A variety of options for "selling triggers" (you can choose according to your taste: promotions with timers, great offers, gifts, bonuses, etc.).
Landing Cons:

Offer limited. A landing page is designed for one product or service. Otherwise, there is a high risk that a potential client will leave the page without making a purchase.
A bet on a simple and understandable product that you want to buy spontaneously, without analyzing its characteristics for a long time.
It almost does not depend on SEO promotion, it works with direct traffic.
Short "lives" as goods and services tend to become obsolete quickly.
For whom:

brands launching new products and wanting to attract the attention of buyers;
companies with a narrow and limited specialization (several products or services);
who has not yet “grown up” to a full-fledged site for some reason.

Business card site
Another type of site structure - a business card site - simple in configuration, the main task of which is the presentation of the company. It allows the consumer to obtain the necessary information about the brand in order to further prepare him for buying a product or service offline. To learn more about best online background check, follow the link.

The structure of a business card site, unlike a portal and a corporate site, includes only the basic points:

information about the company (or project);
description of goods and services with indication of their cost;
Contact details;
feedback form;
news and current promotions;
photo and video materials.
Pros:

Easy "assembly" with the help of a website builder, accessible even to a person who is not versed in programming.
Does not require large financial investments (no need to invite a technical specialist for administration).
The possibility of "growth". If desired, you can always upgrade to a corporate site.
Cons of a business card site:

Lack of automation (applications and customer requests require manual processing).
Not suitable for e-commerce.
Difficulties with promotion. It is almost impossible to get to the top of the search results due to the weak indexing of the site due to the small number of pages. An exception can only be a new or low-competitive line of business.
Who is a business card site suitable for:

Offline business. In this case, the site will perform an informational function only.
Companies with a modest budget that do not want to spend money on maintaining a corporate website.

Corporate site
Considering the types of site structures, it is necessary to mention the corporate site. A resource with great functionality, which, in addition to informative support of the company's activities, solves a number of other important tasks: attracts new partners, finds customers, talks about their products for the purpose of selling, etc.

A corporate website is also necessary for communication between company employees. As a rule, it plays the role of an internal database.

The structure of the corporate website is quite complex, it includes many sections and pages:

brief information about the company;
detailed description of goods and services;
systematization of sections and headings (rubricator);
the ability to search the site;
blog (if available);
news;
various visualization (photo and video content);
Contact Information;
feedback form;
feedback / questions / comments;
legal documents (licenses, certificates, diplomas, etc.).
Pros:

Adaptation to any business tasks.
A reliable tool that helps to shape the image of the company. A corporate website is usually trusted more than a landing page.
The ability to place content of various types (text, graphics, diagrams, videos, pictures, etc.).
Indexing in search engines.
Ability to timely upgrade.
Minuses:

Financial expenses. It takes a lot of effort to launch a corporate website.
The need for technical administration and maintenance. The functionality of the corporate site should be improved in a timely manner, and the information should remain relevant so that visitors visit it more often.
You will not be able to sell online (for e-commerce, the format of an online store is more suitable).
A corporate website is indispensable for:

Entrepreneurs who want to make the brand more recognizable and improve search results.
A business that offers a limited range of products, but needs a detailed description of it (i.e. something between a landing page and an online store).
Companies that operate in the mode of an extended transaction cycle. The user first gets acquainted with the goods and services on the site, and then buys them offline. This is the most successful scheme of work in the case of high-value goods (for example, real estate) or professional services (educational, medical, etc.).

E-shop
A handy tool for e-commerce. An online store is often created in addition to the main site in order to sell goods and services of the company on its platform. This is a kind of virtual showcase that helps the client make his choice. For this purpose, the online store offers a detailed description of each product item (with photos and technical specifications), which can be added to the basket and then purchased online.

It is very important that the interest of a potential buyer in the product is constantly “warmed up”. For this, sales on the Internet necessarily include different types of communication with the client: using social networks, blogs, promotion in search engines, contextual advertising, email newsletters, etc.

The structure of an online store can be different, for example, include:

the main page, which should immediately attract the attention of the visitor;
registration form;
pages with product categories;
rubricator;
product search filter by specific parameters;
high-quality cards of goods and services (detailed description with photos) so that the buyer receives comprehensive information about them;
the possibility of evaluation and comparison;
placing an order with the ability to track its status;
customer reviews;
feedback form with information about the return of goods;
integration with payment services;
various documents.

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Pros:

Maximum convenience for users who can make purchases directly on the site without leaving home.
Favorable prices. Unlike retail, an online store significantly saves on renting premises, salaries of employees, window dressing and signage.
Analysis of requests and consumer behavior, on the basis of which you can quickly change your marketing strategy.
The possibility of promotion using various tools, including contextual advertising.
Rapid reorganization and modernization.
Minuses:

Development of an online store is a time-consuming process that requires financial investments. In addition, you will need to draw up a clear action plan that must be followed at each stage of creating a site.
The risk of dissatisfied customers. Many are disappointed with the quality and characteristics of the product, since the initial acquaintance with it takes place online, and more detailed - at the time of receipt. The discrepancy between expectations and reality in the future may cause distrust of buyers.
The need for business to constantly be “in good shape” (improve the site, monitor the relevance of information, respond to the comments and wishes of customers). If you do not work on the functionality of the online store, you can lose part of the revenue.
Online trading involves certain risks when working with payment systems (both for the seller and the buyer). The duty of a business is to choose reliable partners and take care of the security of transactions.
An online store will be the best solution for:

Companies offering a wide range of products and services.
Business planning to expand the geography of sales.
Entrepreneurs seeking continuous development and an effective marketing strategy.

Portal
This is the largest resource that has collected up-to-date information on a specific topic on its platform. The main difference from other sales sites is in the expert presentation of the material, which should inspire confidence among customers. The portal is not an online store, it does not sell directly, but tries to keep the attention of users and prevent them from switching to another resource.

An example of a portal can be a real estate website that provides information about renting and selling housing, there is a category of services, articles on real estate are collected, it is possible to get advice online, you can chat on the forum or read reviews about developers, etc. The image above is our example of work. Learning Portal.

The portal includes:

multi-format content on a specific topic;
articles and interviews with experts;
directories;
list of goods and services;
convenient site search;
forums;
reviews and comments.
Pros:

Constant development of the brand.
The ability to get into the top of the issuance of sites (a large amount of content will help with this).
Attractiveness for advertisers due to good traffic.
Minuses:

Portal development is an expensive and time-consuming project.
It will be necessary to assemble a team of like-minded people, consisting of industry experts who are confidently guided by the needs of the target audience.
For the site to work stably, this must be monitored by the “technical department”, the maintenance of which will have to spend a lot of money.
Strict framework for information security.
For whom:

Giant companies that want to achieve maximum traffic and promote their products on a resource independent of aggregators.
Companies whose main product is content and whose main income comes from advertising.
A business that promotes a new product to the market, which has yet to earn the trust of consumers.

"One is good, but two is better"
We have looked at the main types of site structures. In the end, it should be added that a business is not at all obliged to make a choice in favor of one resource, since it may have limited functionality. Companies often prefer to develop several sites at the same time. For example, an online store is ideal for e-commerce, and to get customers interested in a new product, you can try a landing page.