There are so many options when it comes to web design: Colors! Layout! Content!
While there is a whole lot of creativity that goes into designing a website, there is certain style “formulas” that some business types tend to follow. Selecting the right style for your company’s website can be quite a challenging decision, as it requires a lot of research and a deep understanding of your target audience. To clear things up, we’ve created a basic guide for three different types of businesses and which website style best suits each one.
Local Brick-and-Mortar Stores
Even stores that do most of their business in an in-person setting should maintain a robust online presence. Local retailers often use websites to attract new visitors and retain their interest, so a brochure-style site makes the most sense for this type of business. Brochure-style websites usually don’t include many pages and have a limited amount of content. The primary goal with this style is to make a big impact within a small timeframe, so it’s crucial to provide users with the information that they’re searching for in an interesting way. This might mean utilizing a unique business description or adding visually attractive photographs. A few examples of local businesses that would benefit greatly from a brochure-style site include bakeries, local restaurants, car washes, and so on.
Larger Enterprises
Some larger enterprises – such as service companies, car manufacturers, and financial institutions – require a higher level of user involvement. This is due to the fact that these types of businesses tend to offer products or services that users may not be familiar with. Because of this, a detailed magazine-style web design would likely be more fitting than the simplistic layouts that a local retailer might choose. This gives larger companies the opportunity to thoroughly inform their visitors about the products or services that they offer. With a magazine-style site, firms can use a wider variety of media types (like infographics, videos, blog posts, etc.) across multiple web pages to better convey the benefits of whatever they are selling. Besides giving businesses more room to explain their offerings, magazine-style websites also allow for more creative freedom than their brochure-style counterparts.
Online Only Businesses
Retailers that sell their products mainly (or entirely) online typically use an e-commerce website style. This particular style is used to showcase a broad directory of for-sale products to consumers. Unfortunately, managing a large inventory and each product’s listing on a website can be quite the undertaking, which is why many online-only businesses choose to partner up with a web agency like WEBii that specializes in building and maintaining e-commerce websites. Because most e-commerce site styles involve a wide array of product listings, they also require a lot more functional elements than the other styles to enhance user experience (UX) and make it easier for your visitors to search for and purchase your products. Working with a trusted web development company is a great way to ensure that all of your site’s elements are performing properly.