Source: Facebook’s director of product design on why websites may be a dying business

App. Bots and Mobile Web Will Dominate Information Distribution

In an age of apps, bots and platforms, Jon Lax, head of product design at Facebook thinks websites are a dying business. Designers who focus on website may be loosing out and becoming less reliant to what the market wants. It seem to him that they are the prerogative of Brands and are becoming less relevant in a world moving to a more utilitarian approach to communications. As he says “I think the trend of mobile has fundamentally changed the dynamics of how information is distributed. It turns out that people like feeds and it  does a good job for them. That’s just what we’re experiencing right now.”

Website Design for Brands
Lax  draws a line between Branding and product design saying that Websites are dominated by marketing and brands, where it is important to stand out and be different. Products, however, are  designed to solves a problem. “You can do that aesthetically in different ways, but if you’re not solving a problem, especially in digital design, you’re really just creating art. ”

He feels a nervous that so many of his designer friends are “still focused building websites and I’m not sure that’s a growth business anymore.”

Mobile the new Frontier

On a more positive note for website designers he adds “The one thing about the web is that it is such a large system that it will take a long time for that energy to unwind”

Still one has to be aware of what is happening and its clear that its all moving to mobile. He says that in the future a smartphone may be the only computer that many consumers ever have and the movement is looking at designs that are simple, consistent and utilitarian. In this environment art tends to be more brutal.

Mobile Design CheckList

Keep an Open Mind

Facebook will naturally believe in its platform and for some time has wanted business to use its pages and build business services and solution within the Facebook environment. At AXSES we have always supported Facebook and suggest all our clients have a strong Facebook presence.

AXSES created the first Facebook booking Engine for small independent hotels and have a strong commitment to Facebook. We do believe in websites and think it is important that very business have one. It’s good for branding but it is also important to control your own destiny, to be independent and build direct bookings.