Do not order a website until you read this: landing, corporate or store

A website type is chosen by what the visitor must do, not by fashion or budget. One offer and one action: a landing page. Several services and a wish to be found by them: a corporate website. Choosing, comparing and paying for goods: an online store.

A mistake here is expensive: a landing page that later grows a catalogue and a blog becomes an awkward corporate site, and a store without real stock stays empty and does not sell. That is why at QIO we start every review with the visitor action, not with the platform.

A landing page builds a single route from context and offer to action. It suits an advertising campaign, a product launch, an event or a single service with a clear price. The structure is short: problem, offer, proof, terms, form.

Its weak side is search. One page rarely covers several queries, so a landing page lives on advertising and mailings rather than organic traffic. If you need search traffic, make the landing page part of a corporate site instead of a separate domain.

• Fits: a campaign, a launch, one service, event sign-ups.
• Does not fit: several directions, a catalogue, plans for search traffic.
• Platforms: Tilda for a fast launch, WordPress or 1C-Bitrix when the page belongs to a larger site.

A corporate website is needed when a company has several services or products, the audience compares suppliers and decisions take time. Structure does the work: home, service sections, cases, about, contacts, journal. Each section answers its own query and leads to an enquiry.

Such a site lives for years and accumulates search traffic, so the technical base, clear URLs and the ability to add sections without a rebuild matter from day one. In 2026 visibility in AI assistants was added to the list: pages with concrete answers, prices and terms get cited more often.

• Fits: services and B2B, several directions, a long sales cycle.
• Does not fit: a single promotion or a temporary campaign.
• Platforms: 1C-Bitrix for integrations and corporate processes, WordPress for content projects, Tilda for small companies.

An online store pays off when there is an assortment, regular orders and the capacity to serve them: warehouse, delivery, payment, returns. The core is the product card, filters, cart and checkout, surrounded by integrations with accounting, payment and delivery services.

If there are few products or every order is discussed with a manager, a catalogue with a request form can replace the store. It is cheaper to build and support, and B2B conversion is often higher.

• Fits: retail with dozens of items or more, repeat orders.
• Does not fit: single complex orders, made-to-quote products.
• Platforms: 1C-Bitrix and OpenCart for full stores, WordPress with WooCommerce for small ones.

Answer five questions before talking to a studio. The answers point to the type more precisely than any price list.

• What should the visitor do: send an enquiry, call, buy, compare?
• How many directions or products do you have and how often do they change?
• Where will visitors come from: advertising, search, referrals, social media?
• Who will update the site and how often?
• Which systems must connect to the site: CRM, accounting, payments, delivery?

A landing page is for one action, a corporate website for directions and search, an online store for assortment and orders. If you hesitate between two types, start with a corporate website: it is easier to extend with a catalogue or landing pages than to rebuild a landing page.