“I need a website” can mean very different things: a company introduction, a page for a campaign, a store with online payments or a tool for your team to record information. Each one has a different scope, development time and cost.
Start with the goal, not the design
The most useful question isn’t “How do I want it to look?” but “What do I want people to do when they visit?” Some typical answers:
- Contact me: you need a site that builds trust and makes it easy to message you on WhatsApp, call or fill out a form.
- Buy from me: you need a catalog, a shopping cart, payment methods and order management.
- Sign up or register: you need forms, databases and, sometimes, a dashboard to manage the information.
- Help my team work better: you need an internal web application, not a public website.
The five most common types
1. Corporate website
It presents your company, your services and your contact details. It’s the foundation of your online presence and where people land from Google, your social media and your campaigns. A good corporate website has a page for each key service, because that lets Google show the exact page to someone searching for that service.
2. Landing page
A single page focused on one offer or campaign, with a single call to action. It’s ideal for Google Ads or Meta ads, because it clearly measures how many visits turn into leads.
3. Online store
It lets you sell directly: catalog, cart, payments by card, PSE (Colombia’s online bank transfer system) or other methods through payment gateways, shipping calculation and order management. A store takes more content work (photos, descriptions, prices, inventory) and more operational work (shipping, returns, customer service).
4. Installable web app (PWA)
An application that opens in the browser and can be installed on a phone with its own icon, without going through the app stores. It’s an excellent option for data-entry tools, bookings, customer portals or internal processes, because it works on any device with a single build.
5. Custom portal or platform
When you need users with roles, approval workflows, integrations with other systems or management dashboards, you’re talking about a custom platform. It requires more upfront analysis, but it handles processes that no off-the-shelf tool covers.
Quick comparison
| Type | Main goal | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate website | Trust and leads | Low to medium |
| Landing page | Convert a campaign | Low |
| Online store | Sell directly | Medium to high |
| Web app (PWA) | Frequent use from a phone | Medium to high |
| Custom platform | Digitize a process | High |
What every website needs
- Mobile-friendly design: a large share of your visitors arrive from their phones.
- Speed: Google measures loading experience with the Core Web Vitals metrics (LCP, INP and CLS). A slow site loses visitors and rankings.
- Technical SEO: unique titles and descriptions, well-structured headings, structured data, a sitemap and registration in Google Search Console.
- One-click contact: WhatsApp, phone and forms visible on every page.
- SSL certificate (HTTPS) and backups.
- Data processing policy: if you collect personal data in Colombia, Law 1581 of 2012 requires you to explain what you use it for and to ask for consent.
Common mistakes when building a website
- Putting every service on a single page. It makes it harder for Google to understand what you offer and to show you in specific searches.
- Generic copy. Phrases like “we are leaders in quality” don’t help customers decide. Explain what you do, who it’s for and how you work.
- Forgetting analytics. Without analytics you don’t know which pages work or where your customers come from.
- Not planning who will keep it updated. An outdated website erodes trust.
Next step
If you’re still not sure what kind of website you need, tell us about your case. With our AI Advisor tool you get a recommendation in seconds, and a consultant follows up with you on WhatsApp to define the scope. You can also learn about our web design service.