The stresses of website management can be enough to overwhelm even the most experienced of industry professionals. Don’t panic if website management is causing you sleepless nights – you’re not alone. And we can help.
Looking to run a successful modern-day business? Unless you are marketing to the hardcore Amish, you need to employ successful website management in order to survive and grow.
Unfortunately, on the flip side, effective website management is often time-consuming and – just like that screaming child you are somehow responsible for – overwhelming. It can all become a tad stressful trying to keep up.
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Don’t believe us? According to Stanford University, three-quarters of your potential clients judge the credibility of your business upon your website.
Is your website in need of an overhaul? Does your site appear with the clunky aesthetics of drunk Teletext? Was your digital profile last updated when Bill Clinton misread ‘Oval Office’?
You are losing clients. Like, really losing clients.
The simple matter is this: your website needs to be good enough to generate and maintain traffic. Your website is such an important tool to your business that you must spend time ensuring it’s the best it can possibly be.
Website management isn’t a quick fix. It can’t be done half-heartedly, as it could be potentially very damaging to your business. In the same way that building your house with a lack of due diligence can be damaging.
Boiled down, your website needs time and effort which you may not have. Running your business and managing your personal/family life doesn’t always allow the bandwidth to also address the digital elements.
You don’t want to be overloading yourself with work. It could be dangerous for your health, and your business, if you pile more onto your plate than Mr Greedy at the buffet. Spreading yourself too thinly always results in a less competent outcome.
While you may feel the need to do everything yourself, this could have a detrimental effect on both your mental and physical health as well as your business.
Michael Freeman, a researcher at the University of San Francisco, found that business owners are 50% more likely to have mental health conditions, particularly within business founders.
He also found that three-out-of-four small business owners stated that: ‘they thought the quality of their work had been affected by their poor mental health’.
We aren’t proclaiming that everyone is incapable of managing time efficiently. We know that business owners carry out all the relevant digital tasks required for contemporary success – when they can. However, as your business grows and your time-bandwidth recedes, keeping pace with digital updates isn’t always possible.
This is because website management can not only prove difficult, but can also be incredibly time-consuming – even for seasoned professionals!
Due to website management’s time-consuming nature, it can quickly cause stress and anxiety; as you will often find yourself trying to build and manage your online stall whilst that pile of work from your business builds up.
Owning a business already comes with so much pressure, why risk your sanity by adding more to your workload?
After all, website management can be one of the most stressful and mind-numbing tasks, if you are not familiar with the process.
It’s ok to ask for help, we don’t bite (except when a cake is involved), and we want to help you run a successful website.
What Is Required To Run Your Website?
You can’t build nor maintain a good website in only a matter of hours. In the same way a cinematic masterpiece isn’t crafted in a week, regardless of what Adam Sandler has to say.
In fact, websites are complicated beasts. A complex strategy is usually required to build and maintain the perfect lead-generation website. The building of a website is not something that can be mastered overnight. It takes considerable time for people to become web developers.
Most of you reading this should already have your website set up. If not, we do help with both building and maintaining your website. We’ve gained a hefty dollop of experience. But for those who are trying to maintain their own digital presence, we have some advice for you.
8 Steps To Maintaining A Successful Website:
Update Your Website Frequently.
In order to keep the search engines algorithm happy, you need to be posting regular and original content on your website. Search engines detest inactivity, and if you leave a large amount of time between posts they will class you as an inactive business.
Make Sure The Website Is Aesthetically Pleasing
No one is going to stick around and have a look at your website if it’s ugly and hard to use. People don’t have long attention spans when viewing online content. You need to make your website easy on the eye and make it easy to navigate.
Make Sure Your Content Is Engaging Your Target Audience
There’s no point in even having your website if it isn’t reaching your target audience. This is where an expert in SEO comes in handy. They can tailor your content accordingly so that your content is pushed in your audience’s direction.
Is The Site Mobile Friendly?
Everyone uses their phones these days even more so to look up things online. This is where you need to be careful when creating content for your website, as what might look like a short paragraph on a desktop word document can look like a huge clunky piece of text on your phone. If your website isn’t tailored for mobile phones it is going to impact the amount of traffic you receive.
Does Everything Work On The Website?
You need to do everything to appease the search engine gods and this is another thing that will make your SEO ranking come crashing down. 404 error messages are very bad news for SEO, make sure you look at all your links on the website to see if everything is working.
Optimize Your Website For SEO
SEO can be your greatest tool for digital marketing but most people don’t know what it is. SEO can help you get to the top of the search engine result page, but you need to understand how to do this. In a current world of SEO mayhem, it’s hard to do on your own.
Allow The Reader To Engage With Your Content
You want your readers to stay on your website for as long as possible. Add backlinks which will send them to other areas on your page. Comments sections are great, as the reader can engage with your posts. Just watch for spam!
Use Social Media To Build Your Brand
Using social media alongside your website can be very effective. Everyone is on social media these days, following trends to build your brand, sharing posts and interacting with others. Social media is great to build your brand awareness.
That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? It’s no surprise that many people become overwhelmed by it all.
Without due care and attention, the situation can spin a vicious cycle. In the same way that if you ignore the other aspects of your daily business, doom is lurking on the horizon.
Website management could be an unnecessary additional stress if you are not comfortable or familiar with all the elements of a victorious campaign.
Why Is Website Management Stressful?
Website management is demanding, there’s no getting around it. We don’t want to scare you, but just forewarn that it can be a difficult job. After all, website management is nothing to be afraid of; unlike the supposed prequel re-boot of The Sopranos. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Regardless of how comfortable you are with website management, it can add huge amounts of strain and pressure on your already large workload.
A bit like Paris Hilton’s face, websites require constant maintenance. This can really throw people, as no matter how much time and effort you put into your website, the job is never complete. You need to constantly educate yourself with the new trends and formats, or you risk being left behind by your competitors.
Just when everything is in place, Google announces a new update or SEO-based algorithm change. It really is a never-ending cycle. People can get themselves into a bit of a rut, as they spend so much time on their website that other commitments go unfulfilled.
The job never really gets easier or quicker either – it isn’t something you can rush. The role of a website developer is often one that has long hours and sleepless nights – this isn’t something that you need.
The Dangers Of Overloading Your Workload.
Owning a business can feel like running an endless marathon. And, like enduring the tortures of long-range exercise, overloading your schedule can result in exhaustion.
The aforementioned study by Michael Freeman stated that business owners and entrepreneurs have a higher chance of suffering from mental health, including:
- 2x more likely to suffer from depression
- 3x more likely to suffer from substance abuse
- 10x more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder
- 2x more likely to have psychiatric hospitalization
- 2x more likely to have suicidal thoughts
The 24/7 Hustle explains why this could be and how it affects modern-day life.
Reddit Founder, Alex Ohanian, describes 24/7 hustle as “Hustle Porn”. He describes the condition as a particular fetishisation for people in technology-based industries. Effectively, you can overwork yourself to an early grave.
He went on to say that business owners get so caught up trying to make their business a success, that they put their own health on the back burners. People push themselves too hard, they don’t get enough sleep, and don’t take enough time out for themselves.
Statistics on working hours for those who own small-to-medium businesses make for stark reading. Some 81% of business owners work nights when they should be resting, and 89% work at weekends, making for 40-49 hour weeks.
Sacrificing your personal time with friends/family for work can lead to a number of health risks, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal diseases. You really don’t want any of these.
There’s a time when you need to look after yourself. You need to prioritise your workload to get a work-life balance. If you can’t approach each workday with a fresh and alert mind, then you won’t get the best out of your efforts.
For instance, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher barely ever slept, and she plunged Britain into one heck of a boiling mess. No good work happens when you’re sleep-deprived. Or, in Thatcher’s case, when she was awake, either.
You need to define success for yourself that involves non-work related issues and interests. Temper your passion – it is better to have a measured steady pace on your work than to burn out completely.
Use time efficiently. Web management is time-consuming. You can be doing other things to benefit yourself and your business. Invest your energy in the right task, don’t overwhelm yourself with tasks that are unfamiliar and time-consuming.
Get expert help. Many small businesses overburden themselves thinking that they can do everything. Allocating work to professionals saves you time and effort, and should ultimately help your business grow in the long term.
When To Seek Help And Hire A Professional?
If managing your website is stripping you of sleep and adding to your burdens, then don’t be afraid to look for help.
If you feel like you need assistance, we’re only a click away from transforming your website into one of your greatest client acquisition tools.
Over 80% of small businesses fail to take advantage of the available technology. We can assist in guiding you to what your business needs to take it to the next level.
Victor Thomas makes a very interesting analogy towards Ikea when it comes to hiring a web designer.
The reason they’re (Ikea) able to charge so little for their furniture is they effectively pass on much of the work that other furniture manufacturers would do, to their customers.
So, for example, you have to go around the actual furniture at the warehouse because they don’t really have salespeople there. Then you have to go and deliver it to your own house. And then you have to put it together, and those are all things that typically other furniture manufacturers would have employees do.
The truth is, when you’re assembling Ikea furniture, you’re not a professional furniture builder, and therefore the quality and the output is not going to be as good. And that metaphor applies to website design. Most people are not professional digital marketers or designers or understand user personas, or how to get traffic, or any of those things.
And so, not only are you using all of your time to build the website but then you’re not getting as high-quality an output as you would as if you just hired someone who did that full time.
Many people who are unfamiliar with website management often waste their time online trying to find an answer to their technical questions. This time is often spent confusing and stressing them out more when a professional can answer a query in a matter of minutes.
So, what can we deduce from this in-depth look at mental health, hustle porn, and maintaining your website?
If you have the time, the skills, and the know-how – then go for it.
If you can’t tell your Meta Tag from your HTML – relieve the pressure and seek assistance.
At the end of the day, your peace of mind will allow daily business activities to receive your full attention; rather than panicking about what’s still to be undertaken on your website. There’s already enough pressure upon your mental health. Alleviate some of that stress. It’s an outlay worth paying for.
Andrew Wright
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