Are Websites Even Needed Anymore?
I've been designing and developing websites for about four years now. Most of that time I worked with Webflow, building all sorts of projects — marketing landing pages, corporate websites, e-commerce stores, and sometimes even web apps. In the beginning, I had a steady stream of clients — I was growing, learning, and genuinely enjoying the process. But over time, I reached a point where I had to actively look for new clients and "sell" my services.
That's when I hit a hard truth: it's extremely difficult to sell a website for a high price, especially when it's "just" a marketing site. Clients often don't see real value in the website itself — and honestly, I couldn't always explain it either. And with AI, ChatGPT, and a flood of design- and code-generating tools, the perceived value of people who build just websites has dropped even more.
At some point, I started feeling like I was trying to sell something useless. A website on its own almost never brings profit to a business — it just creates a nice impression. Even if you spend a lot on it, unless it's tied into the company's other processes, it's basically money thrown away.
So I started looking at things more broadly — seeing business as an interconnected system focused on profit. A website is just one cog in that machine. Then I asked myself: "How can I actually be valuable to a company — help it make money, not just make something pretty?" The answer came naturally: stop making standalone websites and start building automation and integration systems that actually power the business.
Why Building Websites "in a Vacuum" No Longer Works
A website only works when it's part of a system — when there's SEO, traffic from ads, sales funnels, chatbots and messaging touchpoints, a sales department, logistics, document flow, internal communications between departments, and so on. Only a systemic, integrated approach can make a company profitable without the founder constantly pushing it forward.
That led me to a new question: Can I build those systems myself? And technologically, that's absolutely possible today. Tools like 8N8, AgentKit (built on OpenAI), Make, Zapier, and even "vibe-coding" concepts using Cursor or Claude Code let you create connective solutions in just a few days — automations that take away a huge chunk of manual operations.
This isn't just my personal impression. According to McKinsey, generative AI adoption has grown from 33% in 2023 to 71% in 2024, and 92% of executives plan to increase AI investments over the next three years. A Forbes report notes that 64% of companies expect AI to boost productivity, and ARDEM reports that automating business processes can reduce operational costs by up to 30%.
From Designer to System Thinker
I've never considered myself an expert in just one area, but over the years, I've worn many hats — sales, marketing, IT, logistics, document management. And I've always been drawn to being a generalist. I never had the patience or interest to do the same thing for years. And I think now is exactly the right time for people like that.
Today, one of the most important skills is systems thinking: understanding how the whole machine works. Whether it's a business or an IT product, the market is full of AI tools that can become your "hands." What truly matters now is architectural business thinking — the ability to see how to combine all these tools into meaningful, goal-oriented systems. AI, in that sense, is your orchestra — and you're the conductor. You don't need to be an expert in marketing, logistics, or CRM. You just need to understand how the system works — and where to plug AI solutions into it.
Once you automate one process, you connect it with others. Gradually, the whole system starts working on its own — reducing human error, cutting costs, saving time, and generating profit. And really, what business owner would say no to that? After reflecting on all this, I realized that this is exactly the field I want to move into — because I see real value and growth potential there, both for myself and for the businesses I'll work with. And something tells me that kind of win-win collaboration could be very successful.
