Is the ‘website’ as we know it…dead?

The future is all about ‘channels’.

Indeed, Ticketmaster is the latest company to announce they’re soon to start selling event tickets via Facebook. And BuzzFeed recently launched a Facebook-only cooking channel Proper Tasty – that gathered 3.7 million followers in its first month.

Both of these are savvy, calculated moves for sure – given the average smartphone user spends 85% of their time within five Apps, and one of those is Facebook.

All of this begs the question: if channels are go great, what’s the future role of the website for brands and businesses?

I recently found myself pondering this after chatting to someone who owns a local yoga business. Following our conversation, I decided to look this business up online.

Rather than uncover a link to a website however, I was simply presented with a business Instagram account and Facebook page.

Initially this made me feel uneasy. How can you operate as a business without a website? And, how legitimate is this operation?

After a while though, I conceded. I ended up liking the fact I could follow them in ‘real time’ via my Instagram account, and keep casual tabs on their ‘channel’ whilst browsing Facebook.

But, perhaps it is more acceptable for them – as a trendy yoga business – to forgo the tradition of a website. Is the same true for other, long-established brands though?

Thinking to the future, increasingly ‘the website’ is an online equivalent to a physical business address, or bricks and mortar store – its presence helps suggest solidity, realness, and credibility, which are tantamount to some businesses brand image.

But for increased convenience and omnipresence, it’s undoubtedly time for brands to tap into the power of communicating and selling via channels.

Will I be purchasing my next Ticketmaster event tickets off Facebook? Absolutely.

And can I foresee a future where we do our Tesco grocery shop via Instagram?

Well, watch this space…