Types of website for a small business: what each involves.
“I need a website” can mean very different things. A single page, a portfolio and an online shop are all websites, but they involve very different amounts of planning, content and upkeep. Here are the main kinds, what each involves, and how to choose without overbuilding.
· 6 min read
The short version
Most small businesses need one of these, or a mix:
- Brochure website: says who you are, what you do and how to get in touch.
- Landing page: one page with one goal, usually for a campaign or an offer.
- Portfolio or gallery: shows your work, led by images.
- Online shop: sells products, takes payment and handles delivery.
- Booking website: lets people reserve a time or a service.
- Content website or blog: publishes articles so people can find and trust you.
- Membership site or web app: logins, accounts or bespoke tools.
Broadly, effort rises as you move down the list. The more a site has to do, the more there is to plan, build, test and look after.
Brochure website
The workhorse for service businesses: a home page, services, an about page, contact details and perhaps a few extras. It exists to be found and to turn visitors into enquiries.
What’s involved:
- Clear wording about what you do and who it’s for, which is usually the slowest part.
- Design, photography and a layout that works well on a phone.
- Search basics: page titles, headings and a Google Business Profile, so local customers can find you.
- A way to contact you that reliably reaches you, such as a form, a phone number or both.
Cost is driven mainly by the number of pages, how custom the design is, and whether your wording and photos are ready.
Landing page
A single page built for one job: a launch, an offer, an event or a new service. Everything on it points at one action.
What’s involved:
- Tight, persuasive wording, since there’s only one page to do the work.
- A form or button that works every time.
- Tracking, so you can tell whether it’s doing its job.
- Speed, because people leave slow pages quickly.
It’s the quickest and most affordable way to get online. The trade-off is depth: one page can’t carry a whole business, so many people start here and add pages later.
Portfolio or gallery
For photographers, designers, makers and architects, where the work does the talking.
What’s involved:
- Choosing and editing the images that represent you best.
- Preparing images so pages load quickly. Large files are usually what slows these sites down.
- Sensible categories, captions and descriptive text, which help both accessibility and search.
- A clear way for the right people to get in touch.
The effort is in the images more than the pages. A few hundred photos means preparing, sizing and organising a few hundred files.
Online shop
Selling online adds a layer that brochure sites don’t have: a catalogue, a basket, payment, tax, delivery and orders. It’s a bigger job than the page count suggests.
What’s involved:
- Product information: names, descriptions, photos, prices and options for every item.
- Payment, VAT and delivery rules, including costs by area or weight.
- Order emails, and a way to manage orders and stock.
- Terms of sale, returns and privacy information.
- Choosing between a shop platform and a custom build.
The number of products, how many options each has and how complicated delivery is matter far more than how many pages the shop has. Shops that need custom options, such as personalised products or customers uploading their own files, take more again.
Booking website
For salons, clinics, trades, classes and venues, where customers pick a service and a time.
What’s involved:
- Your services, durations and prices set up properly.
- Availability rules: opening hours, breaks, holidays and how far ahead people can book.
- Reminders, and a calendar that stays in step with the one you already use.
- Deposits or payment at booking, if you want them.
Most booking sites sit on a tool built for the job rather than being built from scratch. The work is in setting it up around how you really run your day, and making it feel like part of your website.
Content website or blog
If you win customers through what you know, publishing is how people find and trust you.
What’s involved:
- A structure for your topics, so articles are easy to find and link together.
- A realistic rhythm for writing, and a clear idea of who writes what.
- Clear headings and internal links, which help readers and search engines.
- A way to collect email addresses, if you want a newsletter.
- Patience, since search results build over months, not days.
The build is modest. The commitment is the writing, which is why a plan for who writes what, and how often, matters more than the design.
Membership site or web app
Logins, accounts, private areas, client portals, calculators or tools. This is custom software with a website on the front.
What’s involved:
- Scoping exactly what it should do, and what it shouldn’t.
- Accounts and security, including how passwords and sign-ins are handled.
- Data protection, since storing people’s information carries legal duties.
- Testing across devices and unusual situations.
- Ongoing maintenance and support.
It can be the right answer, but it’s the one to approach in stages: build the smallest useful version first and learn from real users.
What’s true of every kind
- Content takes longer than design. Having your wording and images ready speeds everything up.
- It needs looking after. A domain, hosting, and someone responsible for updates and security.
- It should work for everyone. Quick on a phone, easy to read and usable with a keyboard or a screen reader.
- It should be findable. Sound structure, sensible titles and, for local businesses, a Google Business Profile.
- It should be yours. You own the design, the code and the domain.
How to choose
Start with the job the website has to do for you. If it’s “be found and get enquiries”, a brochure site is probably enough. If it’s “take bookings” or “sell products”, you’re in the heavier categories, and it’s worth deciding which parts you need on day one and which can wait.
Most sites are a mix: a brochure site with a blog, or a shop with a few content pages. That’s fine. Starting with the simplest version that does the job, then adding to it, is almost always cheaper and quicker than building everything at once.
Not sure which kind fits? Answer a few quick questions and we’ll recommend a plan, or send us a message. Our web design page explains how we work.