Domain Names And The Appconomy

It’s easy to see how the growth of the mobile industry is unstoppable and changing the way we interact with our mobile devices.

Using the iPad for the first time was a revelation in where the world is heading and similar to the 90’s and websites being the new frontier we now have apps. The incredible thing about tablets either Android or Apple is that they are faster, the display is sharper and the user experience is better.

As someone who has always held an interest in domain names and their perceived value it started to dawn on me I hadn’t used a browser on the iPad for over 10 days. Just about everything I needed was accessible via an app.

The home screen I set up was full of apps for sites like Twitter, You Tube, and Facebook. So if it was a gaming app, an app for productivity or the Google Docs on the GDrive app, to do lists, with the Reminder app, or watch videos on YouTube they were all there. Nowhere in my day to day use of normal surfing did I need a domain name typed into a web browser.

Of course I’m not trying to say this is the end of search and web browsing but what I can definitively say that unless I was using my desktop for work research, domains didn’t matter, as there is an app for everything.

As a passionate domain owner I’ve realised I need to accept my portfolio may no longer be worth what it was 2 years ago. For normal users, browser usage is decreasing in favor of apps. Most major websites of significance have an app, which makes use prettier and easier to use than the browser version.

Apart from searching for solutions on Bing and Google, most people only visit a few websites daily therefore when apps for these are widely available, browser searching will fall away from levels we currently know.
Apps having the ability to replace domain names as the id and location of sites now don’t come as a shock to those who’ve been around since the boom times of the net. Domains names have been created as a nicer and easier way to remember a complex web address.

Working in the industry I can imagine a future where sites exist as placeholders for app download pages. As human nature shows through the use of technology touching an app icon on a tablet or smart mobile phone, is even easier than trying to find the correct web address. Especially after Google decides to throw out another algorithm change just as you think you have corrected your site since the last update.

The future is in favor of this app economy. Windows 8 ‘Metro’ has its interface designed to be used with apps, surfing the web is almost treated as something that had to be included. So App developers and consultants you’re on the money as web browsers will eventually be a second best to app stores which I have to realise will make the relevance of domain names decrease over time as I guess so too will the value of some.

We are already experiencing this among mobile startups worldwide whose primary products are mobile and tablet apps. They are happy to use prefix domains, dash domains and numerical domains as they are aware their app will actually be discovered and from inside an app store, and not the internet.

As a portfolio owner of several domain names I can think of all the reasons on the planet to argue against what is happening. However working among the industry I can’t pretend the internet isn’t going through some fundamental changes. For two decades, typing a domain name into a browser was the only way to navigate to a website. Now, there are several. Sales for smart phones will hit 1.6 billion in 2016; sales for tablets will be around the 450 million mark. We are seeing some people use their smart phones as a primary internet device. As the user experience is made to engage users with smart phones and tablets engineered web traffic is likely to decrease, especially in my developed world first.

So thankfully I get to see the world as glass half full. I've made a lot of friends setting up internet companies and with that can come some riches too. However as I sit here and write this I an also appreciative of having been introduced to the exciting world of apps. I think the smart people in the industry are placing a down side to the value of a good domain. Great domains will still achieve great value and sale prices. Imagine ten years from where we are now.  Nothing stays the same and the internet changes at a break neck pace.

Nokia phones as heavy as bricks and websites were where you went to because they had the information or product you desired. How will things be in the next five years? You would be a brave and naive person to think domain names and websites will still be having the importance they have today.