You Don’t Need a Website Anymore

When Steve Jobs described his post-PC vision almost ten years ago, he described how PCs are like trucks; while mobile devices like iPhones and iPads are like cars. The former are specialised, while the latter are ubiquitous.

Websites are increasingly embodying those trucks. Yes, they look and function much better now than they did ten years ago. But it’s not about features, specifications, speeds and feeds anymore. Many of the recent innovations are all about the consumer, the prosumer, the non-expert, the guy or gal who just needs a place online that they can call home.

That’s a huge market. A several-billion “huge” market.

Why invest in your own online shop when you can open one on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy in less than an hour? Why invest in building a freelancing website when you can post your profile on Upwork.com or Freelancer.com where all the customers are? As a blogger, why invest time in building and money in hosting a WordPress site when free platforms like Medium can host your words for free, to a wider community? As a side-hustler, why create a website when you can post your profile on About.me for free?

The barrier to entry, the barrier to express yourself has all but disappeared. Creating an account on those platforms requires no more than a few swipes on your iPhone.

That’s not to say “traditional” websites are dead. Far from it. Premium products, established businesses, individuals, and a whole bunch of others will continue to require full blown websites.

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash