Web Site Story

CollegeHumor’s Web Site Story takes something almost everyone in digital work has lived through—the slow-motion chaos of building a website—and turns it into a full-on musical. It’s funny right away because it’s familiar. The kickoff starts with big dreams and confidence. Everyone’s excited. Then the requests start piling up, the scope gets fuzzy, and somehow the site needs to do everything for everyone… yesterday. If you’ve ever been on a web project from either side, you know exactly where this is going.

The reason the video works so well is that it doesn’t invent problems—it just exaggerates the real ones. The client isn’t trying to be difficult. The agency isn’t trying to be rigid. They’re just speaking different languages. The song-and-dance format makes that disconnect obvious in a way a blog post or slide deck never could. You laugh because you recognize the moments:

• Can we just add one more thing?
• This shouldn’t take long.
• Why is this suddenly complicated?”

For clients, the sketch is a great wake-up call without feeling like a lecture. It shows how small, casual decisions add up and why simple changes rarely stay simple once they hit design, development, and approvals. Because it’s funny, it’s easier to watch and say, Okay… we’ve definitely done that, instead of getting defensive about it.

For agencies, it’s both therapy and a reminder. Therapy, because it’s validating to see your daily reality turned into a joke. A reminder, because it reinforces why process matters. Clear goals, written requirements, and boundaries aren’t there to slow things down—they’re what keep projects from turning into musical chaos. The video makes the case for better communication without ever saying the words best practices.

What really makes Web Site Story stick is that nobody’s painted as the bad guy. Everyone means well. Everyone wants a great site. They don’t realize how quickly things spiral when expectations aren’t aligned. That’s why the sketch still gets shared in agency forums and client presentations years later—it feels true.

Leonard Bernstein is rolling over in his grave… but it’s still pretty funny.