Do businesses need conventional websites anymore?

Summary

The article suggests that the growing capabilities of third-party platforms may reduce the need for traditional business websites.

Abstract

The author reflects on the evolving necessity of conventional websites for businesses, noting that ten years ago, having a fully-equipped website was essential. However, with the advent of sophisticated third-party platforms offering built-in audiences and lower costs, the requirement for traditional websites is becoming less critical. The author shares personal experience, having transitioned from maintaining a WordPress blog to writing exclusively on Medium, citing the ease of use and audience reach as significant benefits. Similarly, businesses like GoBurger and Peet's Coffee are leveraging platforms like GrubHub and Amazon, respectively, to handle transactions and customer interactions, which saves them time and resources while potentially reaching a wider audience. The article concludes that while third-party platforms may not be suitable for every business due to concerns over control and customization, their advantages in user familiarity and audience reach could make them a strategic choice for many companies.

Opinions

The author believes that third-party platforms can replace traditional websites due to their built-in audiences and lower maintenance costs.
Personal experience has shown the author that platforms like Medium offer significant advantages over a personal website, such as reduced time and financial investment.
The author suggests that businesses, including restaurants and retailers, can benefit from using platforms like GrubHub and Amazon, which provide familiar interfaces and streamlined purchasing processes for customers.
There is an opinion that the convenience and reach of third-party platforms outweigh the benefits of customization and control offered by traditional websites.
The author speculates that the trend towards third-party platforms may lead to a decrease in in-house company designers focused on website/product UX/UI, with a shift towards marketing roles or positions at major third-party hubs.
The author expresses uncertainty about the future role of designers in the face of AI advancements and the potential for AI to take over design tasks.

As third-party platforms continue to grow and enhance their capabilities, the necessity for traditional websites will diminish.

If you had asked me ten years ago if businesses need a fully-equipped website, I would have found the question absurd and responded with an emphatic yes. But nowadays, the question is more complicated, especially with the availability of superior third-party platforms that offer built-in audiences and lower development and overhead costs.

Take my own experience as an example. Years ago, I started a blogging business using WordPress — the most popular website for bloggers back then. However, WordPress also demanded much of my time and money to maintain. Not to mention the rigorous SEO and marketing efforts required to attract readers to the site regularly.

Fast forward a few years, and I’ve ditched the personal blog site and write exclusively on Medium. It took minutes to learn and set up, and I can reach a relevant audience while also reducing the time and money needed to run a traditional website.

Sure, I gave up some customization options, but that’s a minor trade-off in the grand scheme. The convenience and reach offered by Medium far outweigh the benefits of a personal website.

But it’s not just writers like me who have the luxury of eliminating a conventional website via a third-party platform. Whether you sell or market information, products, or services, there’s likely a platform you can leverage to replace or perform the heavy lifting of your site.

For example, a local restaurant in my neck of the woods called GoBurger strategically utilizes GrubHub to host their menu and order transactions. Their actual website is an outdated landing page directing customers to GrubHub and their social network.

This strategy of not having a conventional website does not appear to hurt them, as they always seem busy, and from what I hear, they plan on opening more restaurants.

GoBurger saves a ton by not hiring web designers or technicians to develop or maintain their site — allowing them to focus on their incredible burgers. As a customer, I prefer the GrubHub page because it’s familiar and easier to navigate than other restaurant websites.

Another well-known third-party platform many companies now utilize is Amazon. When I’m ready to purchase my beloved Peet’s dark roast Swiss water-processed decaf coffee, I don’t visit Peet’s website to order the product — instead, I opt for Amazon’s convenience. My information is readily accessible, and they have a streamlined purchasing process — even offering automatic ordering and delivery options.

Don’t get me wrong, Peet’s has a beautiful website, and I’m sure they receive customers who buy from there often. But the company could just as easily send users to their favorite shopping hub and save themselves the headache of designing, programming, and maintaining an eCommerce setup.

Choosing a third-party website, such as Medium, GrubHub, Amazon, Booking.com, CarMax, etc., can be a strategic decision to save companies time and money — an appealing consideration to any business.

Of course, using a third-party website is not for every business, as many will argue they have little control over things such as design, user and customer experience, and other critical factors.

However, what these third-party platforms lack in control and customization, they make up for in having a familiar user interface and a wider audience reach. In my opinion, these advantages can tip the scale in favor of these platforms over custom or conventional websites, making them a beneficial choice for businesses.

The way things are going, it’s only a matter of time before every industry or market sector has a third-party option to replace their complex or conventional website needs — if they don’t exist already. Ultimately, we will be left with simple landing pages directing consumers to their favorite platforms to handle the more complex tasks.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure where this leaves us designers. I assume it means fewer in-house company designers focusing on website/product UX/UI and pivoting into more marketing designer roles. However, some designers will still need to work on the significant third-party hubs. That is, if AI doesn’t take over everything first.

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