Can you patent a concept for a website?

Generally, there are a number of ways to protect a website idea. Patents may be possible to protect the functionalities of a website. Data structures, functional processing steps and connectivity to other systems may support utility patents. Copyrights and design patents may cover the look and feel of a website. Trademark and trade dress elements of a website can also be protected. You should consult an experienced intellectual property attorney experienced in all these areas with the details of your conception to work out a plan to protect your work.

Absolutely, you can patent a novel website. You can patent the sequence of screens, sequence of menus, the interface, anything that is novel. It is hard to guess exactly what you have in mind so it is difficult to say with certainty that you have something that would be considered to be non-obvious by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Talk to a patent attorney with experience with websites and software. It is important that the patent application be drafted so as to minimize the risk of being invalidated in a Bilski challenge. Bilski is a Supreme Court case that found a specific business method patent to be invalid. Hire an attorney who has experience in the software area.

You cannot patent an idea but you can patent the embodiment of that idea. So yes you can patent the software but I would suggest that you look into copyrighting the code. It is a lot cheaper. $40 vs $10,000.