What is a Destination Site?

A destination site is a website with an assortment of content and jumping off points, intended to serve as a portal to the web for its users. Companies design such sites with the goal of making them the first stop for users interested in a particular topic or range of topics, and government agencies can use similar site designs. It is also possible to have a personal destination site centered around an individual.

One example of a destination site might be the site for a regional government. The website can provide a variety of resources, including options for paying renewal fees and fines online, accessing information about regional laws and events, and so forth. The idea is that any user needing to do something relating to regional government would go to the destination site first to see if it offered the needed service or information. Having a resource with as much information as possible collected in one place attracts more viewers, making the website's base larger and more diverse.

Destination sites may include a range of services, including access to email, news readers, web search, weather reports, and other personalized services. Instead of having to hopscotch across several sites, a user could go to one place and use a single login to access all these services. Many computer users find this appealing, as it saves time and allows them to view data in a centralized location. The destination site can also do things like saving data and using it with partner sites, allowing people to make online purchases, access content elsewhere, and so forth without having to log in again.

A destination site can serve as a portal of information about a location, like a tourism website with multiple regional partners, or a single person, like a website for a person to communicate information about where she is online. The personal destination site might include links to social networking and other websites where the person has an account, so people interested in following her can access a detailed list of options.

Some privacy advocates have concerns about the destination site model, arguing that it can create security vulnerabilities and breaches. Storing information with a single site can make it harder to switch services and people may not be aware of how their information is used, including sales to other companies. If a company goes bankrupt, it can also leave subscribers vulnerable, as all their data is stored with one site, and they may lose access to email, personalized news feeds, and other services all at once.