Do people still visit websites?
They do, but not like they did it 10 or 20 years ago. In the 90's (oh, we're back here again), text-based websites were the only source to find info about your favourite celebrities, books and games. It all gradually shifted to a 'heavier' content of graphic and videos.
It's been a while since the advent of the Internet. Many people have used it at a full scope, others - failed it, due to lack of adaptability.
The content volume problem
Until the late 2000's, the way out for content-creators was - creating quality content. At that time, most of the online marketing was premature and 'quality-talents' were finding their niche and traffic easily.
Since 2010, competing in content production on your own became much harder. Meaning that, personal websites were expected to create tonnes of articles in order to compete with the giant social media generator. It is even more insane today, in 2021.
The content renewal problem
Websites are like silos, where all the content is mainly static. No new user comes to write quality articles for you, or produce anything - unless you run your own social media platform. Most of personal/startup websites are tied to a person who runs it, therefore, there is only one (or two) content-creators for it.
A site with a small community could create much more traffic in 6 months, discussing movies and games, than a static website in 2 years. You get the mathematical probability of starting your own, personal/corporate website for content promotion.
Reader's interest
These days, Internet users switch more to the reader/RSS apps, if they really like your content. They don't visit your actual website, but load your content from a 3rd party application.
The website interest had shifted due to many reasons. However, there are exceptions, where personal/corporate websites beat the social media and other platforms.
Main reasons people leave websites
- lack of interaction
- lack of community
- lack of celebrity (trend) affiliation
- lack of engagement
- lack of rewards to return
- lack of quality content
- bad design
- complicated navigation
- website is too slow
Main reasons developers leave websites
- search engines don't 'discover' you
- it's too hard to promote your website
- you achieve better results in social media, etc
- content writing isn't for you
- content renewal is money/time-consuming
- maintenance aspects
- financial aspects
- you're not serious about your website
- there is no market need for your website
Website advantages for visitors
- it's personal
- it's niche-oriented
- it wins by content quality
- it's spam-free
- you get a niche product directly
Website advantages for developers
- you create what you want (no censuring)
- you control what you create
- you build your own design and an image
- you own your content
- you maintain it and service it - you learn something
- you get the traffic directly into your hands
Is it still worthy to start a website?
For a niche category - it is. For content marketing, corporate and startup actions - you must have a business plan. You must understand the budget and other business aspects of it. Otherwise, it will be almost impossible to go rogue against the ocean. The competition of being discovered is brutal.
If you're expecting your bills getting paid by your own website - prepare to fail. Just having a quality product, content, service won't guarantee you nothing for an online presence. Therefore, it all takes time to develop a way through.