9 Effective Content Types You Need on Your Website + 11 Great Examples

You’re probably already quite aware that you need to regularly publish quality content. However, you might still be looking for the most effective content types you should be creating. 

Should you write long-form or short-form content? Does anyone even read blogs anymore? Do you need to film videos regularly? Let’s examine nine effective content types you need on your website and look at some examples that demonstrate what you’re aiming for.

Effective Landing Pages

One of the most important types of content you need on your website is an effective, easy-to-read, conversion-oriented landing page. 

It needs to explain clearly what your product or service is, what its benefits are, who it is for, and provide all relevant information that will help a customer or client convert.

It should also carefully take into account the needs of said customer. What problems are they trying to solve? How are they solving them at the moment? What are your competitors offering that you can do better? 

Check out the landing page for this rigging training course. It ticks all the relevant boxes:

• It immediately tells you who the course is for.
• Lists all the relevant certifications and accreditations.
• Details how long the course is, and the topics covered.
• Explains the process of passing the course.
• The price is clearly listed.
• CTA buttons are prominent.

Be as informative as you can and highlight the benefits of converting. Don’t be too sales-oriented; rather, aim to provide value. 

Customer Testimonials

Most people don’t think of testimonials when we mention content formats, yet they are an incredibly important and effective one. 

Testimonials, like other kinds of social proof, work well because they:

• establish and improve trust and credibility
• are more likely to be believed than sales copy
• can speak about your brand impartially 
• are bite-sized pieces of information that are easy to take in 

Look at Basecamp’s homepage for inspiration on how to incorporate this format effectively. 

They have highlighted a blurb from Shopify’s CEO to show that the biggest companies in the world use their solution. The most important and impactful part of his testimonial is also highlighted.

Basecamp’s homepage also features a video testimonial from an artist who explains how the tool has helped her creativity thrive, thereby appealing to a completely different segment of their target audience just as effectively. 

Finally, they feature a carousel of selected testimonials that emphasize different benefits and aspects of the software. 

You can easily adapt their design and strategy and implement them on your website, both on the homepage and your landing pages.

Highly Informative Content

Moving on to your blog content, one of the formats you should absolutely incorporate into your content calendar is a highly informative, extremely helpful and superbly valuable article. For instance, this post on the number of jobs available in the capital goods industry. 

The purpose of this type of content is to provide all the information a reader is looking for about a certain topic. Your article should be the only resource they need to answer a very specific question. In the case of our example, just how many jobs there are in capital goods. 

Here’s what it does well: 

• answers the question immediately
• provides a brief overview, introducing the topic
• highlights the benefits and expectations 
• lists a variety of career paths, includes salary details, and links out to the source of the information 

After reading, you’ll have a very firm grasp of the state of the industry and how you can become a part of it. 

You can use the above formula to craft great content that answers a specific query on any subject.

In-Depth Guides

On a similar note, another long-form, highly informative content format you need is the in-depth guide. Much like the previous example, its goal is to provide as much relevant and useful information as possible. It, however, deals with broader subjects as opposed to narrow ones. 

This guide on funding for startups is a good example. The topic is vast and complex, and can be approached from dozens of different ways. The purpose of the comprehensive guide is to teach the reader a lot, while also providing useful pointers for further research. 

Here’s the breakdown of this example:

• short introduction
• brief overview of the topic
• list of potential funding sources
• specific, actionable tips

You will, of course, need to tweak this formula a bit to match your own topics. The essence will remain the same: a brief overview followed by in-depth, actionable, and useful advice.

Reviews and Comparisons

You should also aim to incorporate review or comparison posts on your blog, if possible. Certain brands simply won’t have relevant topics to cover, but most can pinpoint a subject of interest that lends itself well to this format. 

For example, this Life Alert review is a good example of the structure a review post should take. It: 

• opens with a verdict, which saves the reader time
• provides an overview of the product 
• lists product features and pricing

When writing this type of content, it’s vital to be precise and honest, especially if you are reviewing a competitor. Ensure that all information listed is up-to-date and accurate before publishing, and periodically review and update it. 

The comparison post is a variation of the review, where you pit two products or services against each other. This Clockify vs. Toggl post is a good example of that content type. 

Note that Toggl does not blatantly claim they are the better product. It just clearly lists the pros and cons of both solutions.

This type of content will help your audience make a more informed purchasing decision. Ensure that it’s not written in an overly promotional manner, as the main purpose is to inform rather than sell.

Listicles

The final blog content type we’ll mention is the listicle. This list of the best investors to follow illustrates the format very well. 

The purpose of this type of content can be quite varied. You can use it purely to entertain and inform. You can use it to list the steps needed to do something, like start a business. It can be a list of valuable resources, like our example. 

Listicles tend to be quite sharable and popular on social networks, so you can capitalize on some interest as well. 

Depending on the purpose of the piece, i.e., inform vs. entertain, choose an appropriate number of items to feature. For example, a post on 101 ways to decorate a small bedroom will not be considered too long. On the other hand, 101 ways to clean the toilet will be overkill.

Case Studies and In-Depth Research

Original research is one of the most effective types of content that you should definitely consider creating. It is a great way to boost your credibility as a brand. It can significantly boost conversion rates as well, as it demonstrates the quality of your product or service. 

There are two ways you can structure this content format. You can create a case study based on the work you have done for a client or the results a client has achieved using your product or service. This CoSchedule customer story is a great example of this format. 

The key to this type of content is to rely heavily on facts and figures. Fill your content with tangible, measurable results. List the specific steps that have been taken. Explain the process. Detail the results. 

It’s also important to describe the client or customer well. That way, readers will understand what they can expect if they are in a similar business. Also, make sure to note that you can’t guarantee similar results for everyone, as they will depend on a multitude of factors. 

You can also create case studies that do not focus on one specific client. Leverage your product or service and showcase its capabilities or base it on a collection of data from a large number of clients or customers. 

This Ahrefs study on search traffic is a good example to check out. Notice how the information is presented visually as well as textually. This makes it infinitely more digestible and easier to understand, and you should definitely adopt a similar approach. 

List your method and process in the content to lend even more credibility to your findings.

Freebies

The freebie is something the reader can use that does not require anything from them in return. And it’s one of the most overlooked yet highly effective content types.

This tutorial on Discord server rules for example, comes with a free template that you can just copy and paste into your own “rules” channel. It’s an incredibly useful resource, and it costs absolutely nothing to access it. 

This kind of content serves to reward your audience and increase the value of your content. It can be used to attract and retain an audience and can come in a variety of formats. Templates, checklists, and printables all work very well. 

You can also choose to gate the freebie, where you ask the lead to provide contact information in exchange for an asset, which you will then use to send them personalized offers and news. 

Video Content

Finally, let’s briefly touch upon a non-textual content type you need on your website: video. 

Video can be used in numerous ways. You can:

• feature video testimonials and reviews
• shoot how-to videos for your products
• show behind-the-scenes
• provide tutorials

SEMRush can serve as a great example of the different types of video content you can create. Their YouTube channel features all kinds of formats and lengths, which you can use as inspiration for the kind of video you will film yourself. 

Remember to always clearly assign each video a purpose and adjust the content accordingly. For example, a how-to video should show the process, whether it’s physically putting together a product or a screen capture of using a piece of software. 

Wrapping Up 

Are you already creating any of these effective content types? Which one are you missing? 

Take your time to consider how best to incorporate them into your content strategy and website, and don’t forget to adjust them to the needs of your brand and audience.

Author’s bio: 

Natasha is a lady of the keyboard and one hell of a geek. She has been working for and collaborating with individual clients and companies of all sizes for more than a decade. Natasha specializes in writing about design, branding, digital marketing, and business growth.