11 Essential Parts of a Website

When a customer visits your website, it’s often their first impression of your business. You want that experience to be smooth, easy, and engaging. 

To achieve that, it’s important to understand how the essential parts of a website work together to create a user-friendly site.

From the header to the footer, each part plays a role in helping visitors navigate and find what they’re looking for.

To make this easier, I’ve broken down all the main parts of a site with clear and short explanations. 

Let’s explore them!

11 Key Parts of a Website Layout

Let’s get to know the key parts so you can understand the basic anatomy of a website. 

1. Header

A Header is the top part of a website, often running across the page and featuring clickable elements like the logo, navigation links, and login buttons. 

It's designed to grab attention and help visitors find what they need quickly. Most websites have a header on the homepage, with some variations on other pages. 

There are different types of headers, such as:

A good header keeps important information easy to access and improves the overall user experience. You can check out some best website header examples to get a better idea.

Tips: Use Dorik AI to create any types of website with professionally designed headers. You just need to write a prompt describing your requirements. The AI builder will generate your site in seconds. It requires no coding knowledge. 

2. Menu Navigation

The menu navigation helps visitors find their way around by showing them different sections they can visit. Usually, the menu sits up in the header, so it’s easy to spot. 

Your menu should be organized in a way that makes sense for your business. For example, PayPal’s menu is a perfect example of a mega menu. This type of menu is especially helpful for websites with lots of pages. 

When you hover over the main links like Enterprise, a drop-down menu appears. It shows many more links organized into categories like Payments, Risk & Operations, and Resources.

On mobile devices, this menu might be simplified into a hamburger menu, represented by three little lines stacked on top of each other. People tap it to see more options.

3. Feature Image 

The Feature Image (also called the Hero Image) is the big picture you see at the top of a webpage that immediately grabs your attention. 

It sets the mood for the rest of the page and often includes a headline or a call to action, like Place Your Order or Learn More.

For example, the above feature image shows delicious sushi with a headline that invites you to Feel the sushi of Japan.  

It quickly shows what the website is about. It can also showcase your products. Remember, it should always connect with the overall message of your site.

4. Sidebar

The Sidebar is that narrow vertical column you see on the side of a website's main content. It provides extra options, links and information. 

For example, Growthguy's website shows a sidebar on the left side of the main content with a CTA section and table of contents. This website is build with Dorik, the best AI website builder in the market. 

You can often include links to other content, ads, or even a search box that keeps everything organized without taking up too much space.

One of the key benefits of a sidebar is that it can be used to promote your newsletter or monetize your site with ads. You can also advertise your own products. It’s a handy space that can boost engagement and revenue.

However, some modern websites are moving away from sidebars and choosing a full-width layout instead. 

That said, I believe you should choose what makes the user experience better for your site.

5. Website Content

Website content is everything your visitors see and interact with on your site. It's not just the written text, which we often call web copy, but includes all the elements that communicate your message, including text, images, videos, and even audio.

This content is essential because it explains what your website is about, what you offer, and how visitors can benefit from it. 

Every piece of content on your site plays a specific role, and even the small words on buttons or menus are significant. These short bits of text, like 'Buy Now' or 'Sign Up,' are the driving force that guides visitors to take action. 

It's important to carefully plan all your website content. Well-structured content helps your visitors understand your brand as clearly as you do.

Tips: Take help from Dorik AI for content creation (web copies and images)

With Dorik AI, you can easily create SEO optimized content for your website. The builder offers a robust AI Text generator. You can generate all types of website content from headings, paragraphs, and any specific details. There are options like text regeneration, voice & tone setting, spelling & grammar fixation, and many more. 

For visual content, Dorik AI provides an amazing AI Image Generator. You can generate both photos and illustrations within the builder. All you need is to provide a prompt for generating your images. You can also choose your desired photo size like Landscape, Portrait, and Square.

6. Footer

The Footer sits at the bottom of all the website pages and stays the same no matter where you are on the site, just like the header does at the top. 

Footers are where you put important information like contact details, privacy policies, terms of use, and links to your social media.

Moreover, it often contains a sitemap with links to all the pages on your site. This can be really helpful for your visitors as they can easily find pages or offerings that are not included in the header.

Related Read: Website Footer Examples

7. Logo

The Logo represents your brand. People can recognize your brand and remember it through your logo.

Usually, you’ll find the logo in the top left corner of the website header. It’s often clickable, so visitors can easily return to the homepage with a simple click. 

8. CTA

A CTA or call-to-action can be a popup, ribbon, slide-in, email opt-in box, or even a simple text link. It typically uses short phrases that tell users what action to take next. 

You can see various examples of CTAs above, like Read More, Subscribe, Add to Cart, etc.

Without CTAs, people can leave your site without taking any action, which could lead to fewer conversions and sales.

9. Landing Page

A Landing Page differs from other webpages. It’s a page where a visitor lands after clicking on a link in an email or from ads on platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.

Unlike other pages, a landing page focuses entirely on one goal: getting the visitor to take action. This could be buying a product or signing up for a newsletter.

You can see above that the landing page is all about encouraging visitors to purchase the book The Psychology of Money.

You’ll notice that the page is clean, with a strong headline, a clear call-to-action button ("Buy Now"), and minimal distractions. 

The core intent of a landing page is to maximize conversions by being laser-focused on a single message.

Tips: You can create a landing page in seconds with Dorik AI. You just have to provide a prompt and Dorik AI will do the rest for you. You can customize all the elements of the generated landing page easily without any coding knowledge.

However, if you find it difficult to create engaging webcopy, you can use AI landing page copy generators to smoothen your process. 

10. Forms

Forms help you gather information from visitors and can be used for different purposes based on what you need.

For example, a contact form lets visitors easily reach out to you. A signup form, on the other hand, helps you collect leads by asking for details like email addresses.

Where you put these forms depends on their purpose. A contact form might go on your Contact Us page, while a subscription form could pop up as visitors browse your site.

The main goal is to make it easy for people to fill out these forms without interrupting their experience on your site.

Dorik AI offers professionally designed and fully customizable forms so that you can achieve your goal easily. 

Related Read: How to create a contact us page

11. Sharing Buttons

Sharing Buttons are those little icons you see on a webpage that make it easy for you to share a website page or content on social media. 

When you find something interesting online and want to show it to your friends or followers, these buttons let you do that with just a few clicks.

You usually see these buttons as small icons at the end of a website, displaying the logos of different social media platforms.

Why Understanding Different Parts of the Website Matters?

You must understand the different parts of a website. Below, I’ve listed several reasons why it matters.

FAQs

What are the 3 main section of a website?

The three main sections of a website are the Header, Main Body, and Footer.

What are the four components of web?

The four components of a website are architecture, design, content, and optimization.

What is the structure of a website?

The structure of a website refers to how its pages are organized and connected. It includes the hierarchy of pages, the navigation menus, and internal links, all designed to create a smooth user experience.

Build Your Website with Dorik AI

Building a website from start to finish has never been easier. Now that you know all the main parts of a website, it’s easy to get started. I want you to give a try to an amazing no-code website builder that lets you create a stunning site in seconds.

Yes, with Dorik AI, you can choose to build your site from scratch, use AI, or use a template. You get access to a bunch of AI tools, a user-friendly interface, responsive design, and built-in SEO features.

Plus, it’s affordable with a 14 days free trial.