The Right Type of Web Site

Choosing the Right Type of Web Site For all its diversity in content, the Internet really doesn’t have that many different types of Web sites.

Why do so many Web sites look alike? The main reason is that people want their sites to be easy to use, free (or close to it), and similar to other sites they’ve seen or experienced. This has resulted in the emergence of some standard types of Web sites. A number of components for these sites can be found in ColdFusion. Where applicable, we’ve noted it in the following list. The most common types of sites include

• The Product Site: The most common type of site. Generally, the site offers some basic information about a company, its products, staff members, perhaps a product demo, and a way to contact the organization to get more information. Examples of this kind of site would be www.symantec.com, www.amf.com, and www.nadelectronics.com.
• The Commerce Site: A storefront on the Internet. Whether it’s a single company that carries just its own specialized products or a retailer that sells a wide array of products, these sites are geared toward selling products and offering accessories to complement those products. An example of this kind of site is www.macys.com. ColdFusion offers tools that can help you add a shopping cart, a search function, and more to your site easily.
• The Portal Site: A site that aggregates content from a wide variety of sources. Portal sites tend to be rich in content and links but short on graphics. The idea is to provide users with a launching pad to other destinations on the Internet, though in recent years, many of these portals are adding features to try to keep their users on their own site. An example of this kind of site is www.yahoo.com. ColdFusion includes robust search capabilities that enable you to have more content-rich sites that are easily indexed and searched.
• The News Site: A site that, in general, mirrors an offline counterpart, such as ABC News. These sites provide a lot of the same information as their offline counterparts through the use of text, video, audio, and graphics, and also provide services geared toward the online audience, such as chat sessions, newsletters, and personalized content. An example of this kind of site is www.cnn.com. ColdFusion includes tools for adding chat to your site as well.
• The Application Site: A type of site that offers perhaps the greatest diversity of all the sites. Application sites are geared toward a specific purpose, such as banking, investing, automobile purchasing, travel planning, photo galleries, event planning, or online greetings. Some of the commonalities among these sites include user accounts, password protection, and the widespread use of e-mail campaigns to try to keep users coming back. Examples of this kind of site include www.egreetings.com, www. imotors.com, and www.bankofamerica.com.
• The Personal Site: Personal sites also offer a great deal of variety in their design and function. Personal sites usually include some of the designer’s work, opinions, and rants; links to other sites; and pictures. Examples of this kind of site are www.loungeboy.com and www.katswindow.net.