According to Wix, there are 27 types of websites:
https://www.wix.com/blog/types-of-websites
Types of websites
But, I think these can be synthesized down to a much smaller number:
1. Websites that are commercial and/or transactional:
Business website
Non-profit website
Membership website
Consulting website
Booking website
Startup website
School website
Event website
Entertainment website
Travel website
Landing page website
Subscription website
2. Websites that are interactive or interest-base
Personal website
Blog website
Portfolio website
Online forums
Community website
Petition website
Hobby website
Entertainment website
Event website
Wedding website
Memorial website
3. Websites that provide information
Informational website
Directory website
News and magazine website
According to this article, the most common type of website is #3, websites that provide information. With the development of AI, these websites are no longer relevant because people can get questions whose answers consist of facts answered by an AI model or an application tied to one.
Let's assume that the number of sites that are active among the three categories is equal. This would imply that 33% of websites are no longer necessary or useful. THis may not be "True" because most AI model and their applications cannot respond to events happening in real time. However, it's likely that this will change as AI gets more powerful.
Another 33% of the websites are essentially commercial billboards. I don't see any reason that shopping can't move from the broader internet to applications that allow a direct 1:1 relationship between merchant and consumer. If people are no longer browsing the internet for information then how useful or websites non-transaction oriented websites. For example, Nike is a publicly traded company. It's main website is to sell shoes and apparel. Fine.
It also has sites dedicated to investor information and news. This is not the reason that the website was built.
It has a job board. Again, this is not the reason was built but it may last for a while because this is still the prevailing system for finding work... for now.
It also has a large set of sites that are geared toward maintaining a good relationship with consumers - managing orders, shipping, returns, order status, FAQs. Again, not the reason the site was built but today, still pretty useful.
I guess my point is that up 60% of the web, perhaps a bit less, is no longer relevant. We may all have built the muscle memory of browsing the internet but that might not be enough to save it as it stands. This also puts businesses built on top of this habit in danger. What does Google sell advertising against when traffic to the web drops dramatically because information can be accessed through AI and 50% of commercial websites are boring and built for a small niche group of people (e.g. professional investors)?
If the web is smaller and mostly dominated by interactive websites focused on content and opinions, is there not a different (and better way) to navigate it? Can we not also make that navigation somehow personalized?
One would think so... or at least I would.
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