For the past two decades, “getting online” meant building a website. For businesses, brands, and individuals alike, a homepage was the foundation of a digital presence. But the internet has changed, and the expectations of modern creators and entrepreneurs have changed with it.
The creator economy is maturing. What started as passion projects and personal brands has become a new kind of business ecosystem, one powered by social platforms, fueled by content, and monetized through everything from subscriptions to merchandise. Today’s creators are not only entertainers or influencers, they’re educators, service providers, community builders, and entrepreneurs. According to Goldman Sachs, the creator economy is expected to reach $480 billion by 2027, driven by a wave of independent creators launching their own products, services, and brands. But unlike traditional small businesses, most creators aren’t starting with a domain name or a web template. They’re starting with a link, a single and simple page site.
That single link, usually placed in a social media bio, is becoming the most important piece of digital real estate for creators. It’s where audiences are converted, products are sold, communities are formed, and content is monetized.
A Multi-Entry Internet
We’re entering an era where there’s no single entry point to building a digital presence and tools are evolving to meet creators where they are. The internet is becoming more modular, more flexible, and more responsive to how business is actually done across social platforms and mobile ecosystems.
That shift is giving rise to a new category of tools that align with how creators build today. From vibe-coding platforms such as Base44, that enables anyone to create fully-functional, custom software solutions and applications using natural language, without the need for traditional coding, to link-in-bio tools such as Hopp by Wix, that gives creators a robust link-in-bio solution that’s fully customizable and designed to do much more than route clicks, creators now have a range of starting points that match their goals and scale with them over time.
These tools are offering creators multiple on-ramps to building their digital presence, whether they’re launching a full-scale web app, selling products directly from their social profiles, or growing an audience-first brand. The platforms that succeed will be the ones that offer both flexibility and focus, meeting creators where they are today, and giving them the resources to scale.
Digital Presence Is No Longer One-Size-Fits-All
This shift reflects a broader trend in marketing and consumer behavior, with 65% of Gen Z preferring to discover products through social media rather than websites or search. That doesn’t make websites obsolete, it makes them part of a broader strategy. Digital presence is no longer a linear funnel; it’s a constellation of entry points.
For creators and entrepreneurs, flexibility is essential. Some want to start with a lightweight hub and grow over time. Others need a full suite of tools from day one. What matters most is control over branding, customer relationships, and monetization, areas where social platforms currently hold most of the power.
Smart creators and entrepreneurs leverage the unparalleled distribution and discoverability social provides them, but maintain at least a minimal online presence solution which allows them to keep control of their customer data under one cohesive brand.
A New Kind of Infrastructure for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
The creator economy is redefining what digital entrepreneurship looks like. Creators are building scalable, diversified businesses across platforms, and the infrastructure supporting them has to keep up.
Rather than replacing websites, we’re seeing an expansion of what it means to have a digital presence. It’s now a spectrum, from social touchpoints and lightweight mobile hubs, to fully-featured web applications and storefronts. The connective tissue is a flexible ecosystem that lets creators move seamlessly between those layers as their needs evolve.
At Hopp by Wix, we’re focused on supporting that spectrum. Whether a creator starts with a single link or grows into a robust, multi-platform presence, the goal is the same: to give them the tools they need to build, grow, and most importantly, fully own their online identity.
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Yaron Orenstein
Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Hopp by Wix
Yaron Orenstein is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hopp, a Wix company and online presence platform for creators, professionals, and SMBs who start their business journey on social media. A seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in Consumer, Mobile, and Enterprise sectors, Yaron brings deep strategic expertise to building the operating system for modern, social-first businesses. Since co-founding Hopp, he has led its evolution from a link-in-bio tool to a comprehensive business presence solution, helping the new generation of entrepreneurs streamline operations and unlock growth opportunities. His vision is to make Hopp the operating partner for modern Creators and SMBs: Social-First, Mobile-Native, Built for Growth.
