There are many varieties of Web sites, each specializing in a
particular type of content or use, and they may be arbitrarily classified in any number of ways. A few such classifications might
include:
- Affiliate: enabled portal that renders not only its custom CMS but also syndicated content from other content providers for an agreed fee. There are usually three relationship tiers. Affiliate Agencies (e.g., Commission Junction), Advertisers (e.g., Ebay) and consumer (e.g., Yahoo).
- Archive site: used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with extinction. Two examples are: Internet Archive, which since 1996 has preserved billions of old (and new) Web pages; and Google Groups, which in early 2005 was archiving over 845,000,000 messages posted to Usenet news/discussion groups.
- Blog (or web log) site: sites generally used to post online diaries which may include discussion forums (e.g., blogger, Xanga).
- Content site: sites whose business is the creation and distribution of original content (e.g., Slate, About.com).
- Corporate website: used to provide background information about a business, organization, or service.
- Commerce site (or eCommerce site): for purchasing goods, such as Amazon.com.
- Community site: a site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards, such as MySpace.
- Database site: a site whose main use is the search and display of a specific database's content such as the Internet Movie Database or the Political Graveyard.
- Development site: a site whose purpose is to provide information and resources related to software development, Web design and the like.
- Directory site: a site that contains varied contents which are divided into categories and subcategories, such as Yahoo! directory, Google directory and Open Directory Project.
- Download site: strictly used for downloading electronic content, such as software, game demos or computer wallpaper.
- Employment site: allows employers to post job requirements for a position or positions and prospective employees to fill an application.
- Fan site:
A web site created and maintained by fans of and for a particular
celebrity, as opposed to a web site created, maintained, and controlled
by a celebrity through their own paid webmaster.May also be known as a Shrine in the case of certain subjects, such as anime, and manga characters. - Game site: a site that is itself a game or "playground" where many people come to play (e.g. MSN Games and Pogo.com).
- Geodomain refers to domain names
that are the same as those of geographic entities, such as cities and
countries. For example, Richmond.com is the geodomain for Richmond, Virginia. - Gripe site: a site devoted to the critique of a person, place, corporation, government, or institution.
- Humor site: satirizes, parodies or otherwise exists solely to amuse.
- Information site: contains content that is intended to inform visitors, but not necessarily for commercial purposes, such as: RateMyProfessors.com, Free Internet Lexicon and Encyclopedia. Most government, educational and non-profit institutions have an informational site.
- Java applet site: contains software to run over the Web as a Web application.
- Mirror (computing) site: A complete reproduction of a website.
- News site: similar to an information site, but dedicated to dispensing news and commentary.
- Personal homepage: run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include.
- Phish site: a website created to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business (such as Social Security Administration, PayPal) in an electronic communication (see Phishing).
- Political site: A site on which people may voice political views.
- Pornography (porn) site: a site that shows pornographic images and videos.
- Rating site: A site on which people can praise or disparage what is featured.
- Review site: A site on which people can post reviews for products or services.
- School site: a site on which teachers or administrators can post information about current events at or involving their school.
- Search engine site: a site that provides general information and is intended as a gateway or lookup for other sites. A pure example is Google, and the most widely known extended type is Yahoo!.
- Shock site: includes images or other material that is intended to be offensive to most viewers (e.g. rotten.com).
- Warez: a site designed to host and let users download copyrighted materials illegally.
- Web portal: a site that provides a starting point or a gateway to other resources on the Internet or an intranet.
- Wiki site: a site which users collaboratively edit (such as Wikipedia).
Some websites may be included in one or more of these categories.
For example, a business website may promote the business's products,
but may also host informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above. For example, a porn
site is a specific type of eCommerce site or business site (that is, it
is trying to sell memberships for access to its site). A fan site may be a dedication from the owner to a particular celebrity.
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