Are websites ending?

MediaWatch has an interview with Marchen Neel Gjertsen, editor in chief at Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The interview is a part of MediaWatch's advent calendar/depeche where each participant are asked a few questions.

Asked about what she thinks is this year's "stroke of genius" she answers:

"Maybe it's too early to say that it's downright brilliant, but right now I'm crazy about TV2 Fyn's new frontpage. I think news sites as we know them may be a thing of the past before we know it. That's why I have a lot of respect for people who dare to try something new that doesn't resemble the others in the slightest. I believe more in many small changes than in great strokes of genius.”

Context: TV 2 Fyn's frontpage is now a feed - if you are curious you can read more about it at Journalisten (article in Danish).

In that article Louise Koustrup (digital designer and developer at TV 2 Fyn and project manager for the new frontpage) calls it a thing of the past.

The end of websites as we know them is not a new prediction, far from it. The rise of social platforms and algorithmic feeds (despite never really working for publishers) has caused many ideas and assumptions throughout the years about what would come next after the website.

They are still here

But, much like newsletters who have also been predicted a demise many times, websites appear to be going strong - despite traffic from social and search declining or downright falling off a cliff for some websites and publishers.

There is no doubt that younger consumers, who didn't grow up with websites developing into what a "classic" website looks like now, are used to consuming content in different ways - predominantly through a feed of posts or simply videos with the next one waiting just below the current one (as we know it from TikTok and Reels on for instance Instagram).

So it makes perfect sense for publishers to experiment with these newer formats and user interfaces, and I will admit that I was surprised to see a regional TV station convert their frontpage into a feed. That is a very bold move.

Back in 2022, I spoke with a Norwegian local news website, which had their entire website as a feed of updates – as we know if from when newspapers are covering major stories, events etc. (They stopped publishing a year later, in 2023.)

Use what works

Despite all these things happening, I would perhaps be a little careful in predicting the end of websites as we know them. I think they will change (they have to), but I think the focus will be more in implementing some of the interfaces that work for others.

For example, a publisher with videos as part of their content and value offering could perhaps benefit from displaying these videos in a feed (we already have publishers doing that), and personalisation is increasingly becoming something that publishers are looking at.

We will also see audio becoming a more and more ingrained part of what digital publishers and websites offer – and some publishers will no doubt spin the audio into it's own offerings, products etc. (this is also happening already).

We must, however, remember that one of our core tasks is to make it easy for our users to find the most important (and/or talked-about) stories right now - and for now, a prioritized webpage still looks like one of the better ways to do that.

This is not a defence of not changing our ways, but it is my attempt at reminding us what it is, that people – in the end – are expecting from us and want us to deliver. And that is value. </>

My name is Lars and I'm the Audience Lead in Berlingske Media. I work with data, editorial insights, user needs and journalism. Find me on LinkedIn or on Bluesky.

I also publish two newsletters; Products in Publishing and Digital Ugerevy, a weekly recap on digital media and platforms.