Heard a client call our old website a 'digital brochure' and it hit different

Honestly, I was on a call with a long term client from our first year, maybe 2018. We were talking about their new site and they said, 'Yeah, the old one was fine, but it was basically just a digital brochure.' Ngl, that stuck with me all week. Back then, we were so proud just to get a site live that looked good and had a contact form. The whole goal was just to be online. Now, if a site isn't pulling in leads or helping with sales, it's not doing its job. We built that first site for like $3,000 and thought we'd nailed it. The shift from making pretty things to making things that actually work for the business is huge. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where a simple comment made you see how much your own goals have changed?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_kim2mo ago

Heard a similar thing called a "business card on the internet.

ray2101mo ago

Exactly. That old idea of a website as a digital business card is what got a lot of people in trouble. They spent money on a fancy looking site that just sat there. If it doesn't answer questions or make it easy for someone to buy from you, it's useless. The whole point is to get the phone to ring or the cart to checkout.

paul_sanchez2mo ago

Oof, that "digital brochure" line is so spot on. It really shows how the whole point of a website has changed. Like @the_kim said, calling it a "business card on the internet" is the same idea. We used to think just having that online presence was enough. Now it's clear that if a site isn't actively working to bring in customers or make things easier for them, it's just taking up space. That shift from just looking good to actually doing a job is probably the biggest lesson in this work.