Why would anyone make a website in 2023? Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena has some ideas

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Technology, Business

4.3 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2023

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today I’m talking to Anthony Casalena, the founder and CEO of Squarespace, the ubiquitous web hosting and design company. If you’re a podcast listener, you’ve heard a Squarespace ad. I was excited to talk to Anthony because it really feels like we’re going through a reset moment on the internet, and I wanted to hear how he’s thinking about the web and what websites are even for in 2023. If you’re a Vergecast listener, you know I’ve been saying it feels a lot like 2011 out there. The big platforms like Facebook and TikTok are very focused on entertainment content. Twitter is going through… let’s call them changes. People are trying out new platforms like Instagram Threads and rethinking their relationships with old standbys like Reddit. And the introduction of AI means that search engines like Google, which was really the last great source of traffic for web pages, just doesn’t seem that reliable anymore as it begins to answer more questions directly. It’s uncertain, and exciting: a lot of things we took for granted just a couple years ago are up for grabs, and I think that might be a good thing. I love talking to people who’ve been building on the web for this long, and Anthony was no exception – we had fun with this one. Also I think this is the most we have ever talked about pressure washers on Decoder. Links: Google sunsets Domains business and shovels it off to Squarespace - The Verge How Did Squarespace Know Podcasts Would Get This Big? - The New York Times Watch Squarespace CEO on Leveraging AI Into Website Building - Bloomberg Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23559195 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced by Jackie McDermott and Raghu Manavalan, and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters, and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for this show comes from the podcast This is Small Business Next Generation.
0:05.7	In this new DocuSeries from Amazon, follow four teams of aspiring entrepreneurs as they
0:10.5	compete in the Rice University Business Plan competition, pitching their best business
0:14.9	ideas to top VCs and investors for a chance to win up to $3 million for their startups.
0:20.8	Co-hosts, Andrea Marquez, and Mitch Gilbert are your guides.
0:24.2	Who will have what it takes to succeed?
0:26.3	This is Small Business Next Generation is out now.
0:29.3	Go listen on your favorite podcast app and subscribe to keep up to date.
0:59.3	A unified spend platform that lets you control all your spend, automate, compliance, and close
1:05.2	the books in real time.
1:06.9	You can get started at Brex.com slash decoder.
1:09.8	That's B-R-E-X dot com slash decoder.
1:13.4	Hello and welcome to Decoder.
1:16.8	I'm Neilipetel, Editor and Chief of the Verge, and Decoder is my show about big ideas and
1:21.3	other problems.
1:22.3	Today I'm talking to Anthony Castellina, the founder and CEO of Squarespace, the ubiquitous
1:28.0	web hosting and design company.
1:30.5	If you've been on the web, you've visited a Squarespace site.
1:33.8	And if you're a podcast listener, you've heard a Squarespace ad.
1:37.2	I was excited to talk to Anthony because it really feels like we're going through a reset
1:41.4	moment on the internet.
1:42.8	And I wanted to hear how he's thinking about the web and what websites are even for in
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.