Mitch Traphagen Photo
The late David Carr, famous columnist for The New York Times was early in calling attention to the fact that most web traffic is via mobile devices using apps. Today that is hardly a secret. He also referred to the rest of the web, meaning websites, as “the wild web.”
It may well be “the wild web” but it can’t be dismissed. Ironically, your website is what makes you real (human, I suppose) on the web. If you are an artist or a business, your website is your identity, it is your address in the massive megalopolis of the internet. In short, it makes you real.
Not even a Facebook business page has quite that level of cachet. A Facebook page could well feel to your customers as a solicitation. Should they “Like” it or not? Are the posts credible or are they self-serving?
Your website is important for being real on the web in ways that Facebook alone can’t do. Whether your customers are across the globe or across the street, they can type your name into Google, find your business, your art, along with everything from your phone or text number, to your email address, to your latest projects or your latest products. It is all on your website.
The wild web? Perhaps so. But having an address in the form of a website is necessary — if you are real, you need a place to live. Make it a good place.