Orbit Media "average website lifespan = 2y 6mo 27d" (2.66 years) — Wayback review of top-200 marketing sites, NOT DIY-SMB

Claim: Orbit Media's Wayback Machine review of the top 200 marketing sites (Alexa list) states verbatim: "The average website lifespan is 2 years 7 months. Actually, it was 2.66 years which is 2 years, 6 months, and 27 days." Orbit's own 78-client average is 6 years 4 months.

Source: Orbit Media.

Confidence: Single-source / Directional.

Caveat — population mismatch: This measures redesign cadence of top marketing sites, NOT DIY-SMB survival. Top marketing sites have budget and reason to redesign frequently; SMB DIY sites do not. The number is widely-cited as if it were a longevity-of-SMB-sites figure — it is not.

Why this matters for Candid: When a vendor or agency cites "websites only last 2-3 years," this is usually the source — and it is being repurposed from a different population. Cross-link Research brief: Built to Last — why most SMB sites rebuild every 3-4 years (piece 5 of 15) for the broader rebuild-cycle context.