7 Reasons I Should Manage Your Website

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I know, it’s a bold title: ‘7 Reasons I Should Manage Your Website‘. But it’s something I really think is true – I talked to a lot of local business owners that have one of the following issues with their Thurnscoe business websites.

• No Time
• No Interest
• No Need
• No Good

All of those look like reasons to not have a business website, but they are actually the reasons why your website isn’t working for you. The reasons above are the biggest things stopping your businesses website being an asset and instead making it a liability.

I’m not normally one to name and shame, but I will be including some of the more run down websites I’ve found that are still running for local businesses.

Let me cover these off in as much details as I can:

Above is a screenshot of Harrisons Antiques, the website offers a checkout method but it doesn’t have all their products hosted. The UI is also very outdated and doesn’t respond to mobile devices. They are in the process of updating this so that’s great!

This is the simplest reason for a business website to not get looked after. Don’t get me wrong – it’s amazing when a local business is so busy they are struggling to fit in new clients, let alone manage their website.

But if you are still directing new and existing customers over to your website, and you don’t find the time to eventually fix your website, the customers will move to a better solution. This could be the formatting of the website, poor user experience, outdated and tacky design, insecure checkout (YES! I’ve seen this) or no mobile support.

Some of these are obvious but others are less obvious.

The above screenshot is from a local Koi Net Supplier. The website hasn’t been changed since 2006 and doesn’t respond at all to mobile devices.

If your business website isn’t responsive, then you are immediately shutting down up to 60% of everyone that visits you. As of Q1 2023, 58% of all global website traffic was on a mobile phone.

Now imagine you were turning away 6 out of 10 customers that physically walked into your premises, that’d be ridiculous.

Having a modern business website that works flawlessly on mobile is huge nowadays. Now more than ever, your customers want a clear and easy way to find what they want and buy as easy as possible.

Looking at a local pub, they had a similar story to many other local businesses in Thurnscoe:

The website doesn’t bring in any business so what’s the point?

To me, this is backwards thinking since the reason your website isn’t bringing in any customers is because your website has become a liability instead of an asset.

With no clear call to action, new customers might go or might not. But having a clear call button be the first thing they see, makes it more likely that the customer will reach out and enquire at your local establishment.

If it works for the regulars and there no desire to expand business, then I can understand why the website would be subpar.

Don’t get me wrong in the section – I’m not trying to be mean at all!

Some people just aren’t good at creating websites. There, I said it.

Knowing how to design, implement and maintain a business website is a skillset just like any other.

The above screenshot is of Amandas Blinds in Rotherham, you can see that the favicon for their website is still the default WordPress icon. Whilst this wouldn’t be a huge issue for a free blog site used by an individual, for a local business this shows to potential customers that you just don’t care.

It’s such a simple thing to fix, and unfortunately customers will see this and wonder what else they don’t care about. I know it’s speculation, but I think you can see what I’m saying. Imagine if Nike still had the WordPress default favicon!

I’ve put the 7 reasons below. You can jump to anyone of them using the table below:

I know websites and hosting like the back of my hand. Which gives me a unique set of skills to see objectively when something isn’t working for your business.

I’ve included some of the obvious issues above but truthfully, there are hundreds more that range from awful to nuanced.

I can take this responsibility away from you, allowing you to actually run your business knowing that your website is managed by a professional.

Something a lot of people struggle with is SEO, they either do nothing or go way overboard and get ignored by Google as suspected spam. I utilise tools and my own knowledge to make sure your business has the best chance possible of ranking on Google for certain search terms.

If you’re fixing the website, are customers being put on hold?

I find a lot of local business owners get caught in the trap of trying to do everything themselves, leading to everything being neglected at some point. It’s an act of plate spinning which ultimately ends in something being forgotten until its too late.

That could be a thing of the past. I would manage the website for you, leaving you to focus on what matters: your business!

What does ignoring your business for 3 hours to fix a website issue cost you?

Many local business have to go through something called: success! This is absolutely amazing for you and your customers, but not for your website. It’s one of the first things that gets left behind so that you can run your business.

However, this will eventually catch up with you one way or another. Hopefully, the website just falls into disrepair and needs a big revamp. But I’ve also seen businesses fall victim to hackers because the website didn’t have a security patch applied or any multi-factor authentication running.

It’s 2024, think of your average customer and the device they are using. I’d imagine they are on their mobile, especially if your Facebook links to your website.

So having a business website that works well on mobile devices is essential.

Gone are the days where you could just scale down the website or tell users to scroll across the screen to find a menu item. It just doesn’t work and potential customers will get annoyed and leave your website.

Again, in Q1 of 2024, mobile devices made up 58% of all global website traffic. Imagine shutting the door on 6 out of 10 potential customers at a brick and mortar store…

Have you ever had a security breach?

I touched on this point during the cost section, but there is so much more to it.

Since there is a stack of technology behind your website, making sure each layer is updated and secure is essential for best practices.

I’ve spoken to local business owners that have had their website taken over by hackers and completely ripped apart. Adding thousands of spam pages purporting illegal services or products. This resulted in a ton of clean up for the business and they are still recovering.

No doubt also losing trust and reputation points with customers and suppliers.

Reputation is one of those weird things that takes so much time and effort to build and is destroyed so easily.

Sick of working overtime to make sure the website is healthy?

You have a business to run, you don’t have time to worry about website patches, backups or uptime. Just like hiring another plumber for your team, you want a professional on your team to handle your website.

If a customer tells you that a link isn’t working, would you rather:

1. Tell the professional to fix it?
2. Stop the job your doing, put your tools down, head back to the office, and fix it yourself?

I know which one I would chose, and it isn’t leaving the kitchen I’m fitting to fix a website link.

You provide the most professional service you can for your work. Customers expect it and you’re more than happy to provide it for them.

But having a professional website is a different kind of beast. Not many business owners are able to build and maintain a professional grade website whilst up on scaffolding, replacing brake pads or fixing a leaking water mains!

Utilise a website professional to make sure your local business has the best chance possible on the web.

Your business website is also the only place on the internet where you have full control over the content, which makes it the best place to establish and maintain your brand or company image. Having a poor website, could drag your company down with it.

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Well that’s my little pitch finished with, I hope that’s convinced you. If not, reach out to me below and we can have a no-obligation chat 🎉

Why I Should Manage Your Website – 7 Reasons

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