The first thing everyone asks about a website is the price. There's a question that should come before it: what kind of site do you need? Get that wrong and you either pay for features nobody uses or end up with a site that doesn't sell.
What each one is for
A business website is a handful of pages about the company, its services, maybe prices or past work, and how to get in touch. Its job is to be found and to get people to call or write.
An online shop adds a catalogue, a cart, payment, delivery and somewhere to track orders. It's there to sell while you're busy with something else.
A landing page is one page about one offer, usually built for an ad campaign. It wants exactly one thing from the visitor: an enquiry, a call, a sign-up.
When a business website is enough
For most service companies it's all they need. Clinics, workshops, builders, accountants, salons, transport firms. Nobody puts a dental check-up in a cart. People want to know you're legitimate, what you do and how to reach you. Make the site fast on a phone, write clearly, put the call and messenger buttons where a thumb can find them, and test that the form actually reaches you.
When an online shop is worth it
When you sell products at fixed prices and someone on your side can handle orders every day. Before you commission one, have answers to three questions. How will people pay: card online, bank transfer, cash on delivery? Who delivers, and how do you price delivery? Where does stock live, and who updates the site when something sells out?
If stock is kept in an accounting program, the shop has to talk to it. Otherwise you'll be selling things you don't have.
Landing pages for campaigns
If you're paying for ads on Facebook, Instagram or Google to promote one service, send people to a page about that service, not to your home page. One offer and one button turn more visitors into enquiries than a site where people have to go looking.
What tends to work here
A business site in Romanian and Russian with Viber, Telegram and WhatsApp buttons works for a lot of local companies, and for many of them the messengers bring in more enquiries than the form does.
If your prices change often, a catalogue without a cart works well: people browse, then ask about the price or availability.
Once a shop is up and running, separate landing pages for seasonal campaigns are a sensible next step.
Leave room to grow
You don't have to build everything on day one. A well-built business site can take a catalogue, a blog or a shop later, as long as it's built on something that allows it. Tell whoever builds it what you're planning for the next couple of years, even if you're only paying for the first part now.
Not sure which one fits? We can help you decide as part of our website development work.