While building my company website, I read a fascinating post by internet entrepreneur Joost de Valk on The future of the website. He writes about what I’m seeing firsthand: Websites increasingly need to be useful to both people and AI tools.
This idea is not new. But it’s worth repeating.
The tech and tools change. But your website will continue to be the hub for your company’s ongoing expertise.
In his post, de Valk describes the website as the “verified, machine-readable home base of a business.”
The website is doing a lot of work.
“It answers agents and takes their orders. It proves the business is real,” he writes. “And it still, sometimes, gets visited by an actual human, who had better find something authentic when they arrive.”
On kandelstrategies.com, I’m showing what that looks like.
When a New York Times reporter was writing about problem neighbors and looking for an expert, I connected her with a Los Angeles mediator I worked with. The client had recently told me why mediation could help neighbors reach an agreement. The reporter interviewed and quoted her in the article How to Deal With a Problem Neighbor. Linking to the published article lets people who do come to your website check that work for themselves.
Ultimately, human communication still drives trust. There is a big opportunity for those who can combine that clarity with an understanding of the ever-changing tech landscape, whether it’s AI or whatever comes next. Tech changes how people find you. It doesn’t replace your lived experience.