Orbit Media: average website lifespan across Inc 5000 is 2y4mo; under continuous care, 6y4mo
Created 2026-05-22
Claim: Orbit Media reports the average website lifespan across the top of the Inc 5000 list is "just 2 years and 4 months." Their own client base — sites under continuous care — averages "6 years and 4 months" between major redesigns. Lifespan is a function of architecture and maintenance, not a fixed property of websites.
Source: https://orbitmedia.com/blog/website-lifespan-and-you/
Confidence: Industry-consensus (Orbit's own benchmark + Databox survey of 145 SMBs they cite).
Honest caveat: The frequently-recycled "2 years 7 months" lifespan figure (attributed to HubSpot in many agency blogs) could not be verified at primary source. Use Orbit's 2y4mo Inc-5000 number, not the unverifiable HubSpot one.
Referenced by (3)
- reference Reference framework: 10-year cost model — rebuild-every-3-years vs foundation-first (Canadian SMB, CAD) depends-on
- rule RULE: Design every Candid client site for a 10-year operational horizon. Rebuild is a choice, not a forced move. depends-on
- reference Research brief: Built to Last — why most SMB sites rebuild every 3-4 years (piece 5 of 15) relates-to