This article is for all the small business owners in the area. Many have websites and a solid online presence that integrates traditional websites, social media, maps, GMB, and local business listings. But, it’s all too common for small business owners to rely too heavily on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as their only point of contact on the web. As algorithms change over time this could leave you at the mercy of social media bots and changing policies.
Allow me, to shine a light on the most common website mistakes that will kill your online business. That way, whether you choose to hire a professional, or do it yourself, you will be armed with everything you need to know to succeed online
Mistake #1 – Software As A Service (SAAS)
Just like building a house, your website needs a strong foundation.
Choosing to build a business website on a software-as-a-service platform is a foundational error that will impact every aspect of your website.
The major players in the SaaS space include WIX, GoDaddy, Shopify, Squarespace, and WordPress.com (not to be confused with the powerful self-hosted WordPress.org).
I can see why business owners get sucked in.
SaaS programs are sold as all-in-one systems. They make it seem so easy to build a business website. In just a few simple clicks anyone can have a website up and running with no prior web design experience, or so they say.
SaaS programs often include an upgradable e-commerce option that hooks unsuspecting entrepreneurs. They begin building their online store only to find that they must tear it all down again once they have outgrown it.
The sad truth is that they will all let you down in the long run.
– They will demolish your future growth.
– They will leave you with tumbleweeds for traffic.
– They will allow your competitors to overtake you.
– You will quickly reach the ceiling of your website’s potential.
It reminds me of the story of Alice in Wonderland. The scene when Alice enters the White Rabbits’ House. Remember where Alice expands and gets stuck inside the house? Her hands grow out the windows and her legs come out the doors.
That’s what happens when you build your website on a SaaS platform.
You simply outgrow it.
Let’s say you want to customise your website’s design and coding.
You better think again!
You’re in their world now, and anything out of the ordinary costs money. Coding alterations are very limited, and SaaS cookie-cutter design options will crush your creativity.
Thinking about adding branding to your own website?
That should be easy, right?
Yes! Simple, on a self-hosted website, but SaaS companies will often make you pay to remove their horrid logo and replace it with your own. In fact, most of these SaaS companies charge you for features that come stock standard for self-hosted websites like *WordPress.org (more on this later).
Will SaaS play nicely with other third-party programs?
Adding Google analytics, webmail, e-commerce facilities, and third-party integrations to SaaS websites can come with a fee. Sometimes SaaS companies
will sweet talk you into hiring one of their expensive specialists to make these alterations or install addons.
The overwhelming limitations of your website will soon become apparent. Once you are aware of these limitations it can be hard to jump ship.
What about search engine optimisation (SEO)?
Hint: You will need SEO if you want to get found on Google or other search engines.
SEO with SaaS is like kicking it in the sandpit while the big boys are having all the fun on the field with their self-hosted WordPress websites.
Self-hosted Word Press websites use open-source software with thousands of plugins that can help with your SEO. You can speed up your website, add extra metadata, add code to the head of your website, reduce image sizes, serve up cached pages, submit XML files, add robots.txt files and so much more.
You are armed with the arsenal you need to get found by search engines.The SEO options are truly limitless.
Sadly, the opposite is true of SaaS websites.
Your SEO options are significantly limited!
Around the time you wake up to the fact that SaaS companies are leeching off your initial naivety, you’re going to want to rebuild from the ground up.
This is going to cost you both time and money.
Allow me to explain why you must take control of the infrastructure of your business website and not outsource to a SaaS company.
Choosing SaaS places your entire online presence in the hands of an overseas software company. This leaves you at the mercy of stifling policies, meddling foreign governments, price hikes, slow server speeds, and limited design features.
It is like building a house on shifting sand, and you never own it.
Think of it in terms of the homeowner vs the renter.
A hosted SaaS website is like a rental house. You pay a fee and abide by their rules, but you never actually own the house or the land.
You’re restricted in the sorts of improvements and alterations you can make because you don’t own it. You don’t get to change any code or add any custom integrations. In the same way, a tenant does not get to knock out an interior wall or add a back deck to a rental property.Having a self-hosted website (like *WordPress.org) is like owning your own property. Every inch of that house belongs to you. You can rip down walls and change from tiles to carpet. You can do whatever you want.
Heck, if you get sick of where you built, whack it on a truck and move it to a new plot of land. You can transport your WordPress.org website to any hosting provider anywhere in the world.
With freedom comes responsibility.
If you want to own instead of rent, then you will need to keep the place in good condition.
If you have a website…
The Chitchat Newspaper has teamed up with Tradewinds Web Design and are offering FREE web audits which will let you know how successful your website is performing and assess your overall web presence of your business. If you are currently using SaaS providers to power your website, we can also help give you the tools to get found online and offer excellent SEO services.
If you are thinking of creating a website get in contact with The Chitchat Newspaper who can help get your self hosted website up and running for as little as $499.
https://www.tradewindswebdesign.com.au/
November 2024