It’s Saturday morning. You’re technically not working. Except you’ve already checked your email twice. You remembered an estimate you forgot to send. There’s a customer you need to follow up with. You checked the bank account. Then you checked it again, just in case some money magically appeared during the last 20 minutes. And somewhere on that never-ending list is: “I really need to do something about the website.” Sound familiar? Welcome to small-business ownership.
At DFW Website Designers, we’ve worked with small-business owners for more than 17 years, and after building 1,250+ websites, we’ve learned something: Small-business owners don’t really get weekends. There’s always one more thing. Your website shouldn’t be one of them.
The Small-Business Saturday To-Do List
The typical Saturday for a small-business owner might look something like this:
- Answer emails
- Send an estimate
- Follow up with a customer
- Check invoices
- Pay a bill
- Post something on Facebook
- Check Google reviews
- Update the website
- Google the business
- Wonder why that competitor keeps showing up above you
- Tell your spouse, “I’m almost done.”
Two hours later… You’re still working. The problem isn’t that small-business owners don’t know how to do these things. It’s that you’re trying to do everything.
You Became a Business Owner, Not a Website Manager
Think about why you started your company. Maybe you’re an incredible plumber. Attorney. Electrician. Contractor. Accountant. Chiropractor. Consultant. Landscaper. Insurance agent. Manufacturer. Restaurant owner. You probably didn’t start the business because you were excited about WordPress updates, image compression, mobile breakpoints, contact forms, SSL certificates, page titles, meta descriptions, hosting, plugins, backups, or search engine optimization.
Yet somehow those things end up on your list. That’s one of the strange realities of running a small business. Eventually, every owner becomes CEO. Salesperson. Bookkeeper. Customer service department. Marketing director. IT department. And occasionally… the person Googling “Why did my website suddenly disappear?” at 10:47 on a Saturday night. That’s probably one job too many.
Your Website Should Be Working While You’re Not
Here’s the good news. Unlike you, your website doesn’t need a weekend. A properly designed website can continue working while you’re at dinner, watching a movie, spending time with your family, mowing the yard, or attempting the increasingly mythical activity known as taking Saturday off.
Your website can still explain your services. Introduce your company. Display customer reviews. Showcase your work. Answer common questions. Generate leads. Collect quote requests. Provide directions. Encourage phone calls. Help potential customers find you. That’s why we don’t think of a website as simply another marketing expense. It’s a business tool. And unlike most employees, it works nights and weekends without asking for overtime.
Stop Putting “Fix the Website” on Next Week’s List
This happens constantly. A business owner knows the website needs attention. They know it’s outdated. They know the photos are old. They know something doesn’t look right on mobile. They know services are missing. They know the copyright still says 2019. They know the contact form hasn’t been tested since approximately the invention of electricity.
So they put it on the list. “Fix website.” Then Monday happens. Customers call. Employees need something. A project runs late. An invoice doesn’t get paid. The phone rings. A meeting gets added. And suddenly it’s Friday. The website gets moved to next week’s list. Again. Six months later, nothing has changed. Meanwhile, potential customers are visiting that website every day.
Your Customers Don’t Know You’re Busy
This is important. A potential customer doesn’t know what’s happening behind the scenes. They don’t know you worked 60 hours this week. They don’t know you’re short-staffed. They don’t know you’re juggling 15 projects. They don’t know you’ve been meaning to replace that homepage photo for two years. They simply see the website.
And they form an opinion. If your website looks outdated, confusing, neglected, or difficult to use, some visitors may assume the business is the same way. That may be completely unfair. But first impressions aren’t always fair. They’re fast.
DIY Works — Until It Doesn’t
We’re big believers in entrepreneurship. If you’re starting a company with almost no budget, sometimes doing things yourself makes sense. Build the website. Create the logo. Set up the social media. Write the content. Figure out Google. Do what you need to do to get started. But as your business grows, your time becomes more valuable.
Eventually, you have to ask: Is this still the best use of my Saturday? If it takes you four hours to accomplish something a professional could handle in one, the real cost isn’t just four hours. It’s everything else you could have done with that time. You could have followed up with leads. Closed a sale. Visited a customer. Worked on operations. Spent time with your family. Or—and stay with us here—done absolutely nothing for an afternoon. Small-business owners are apparently allowed to do that. We’ve heard rumors.
The Same Goes for SEO
Search engine optimization is another task that frequently ends up on the owner’s someday list. “We need to work on our Google rankings.” Absolutely. But SEO isn’t usually one giant thing you do on Tuesday afternoon. It involves many pieces working together. Your website structure. Page content. Service pages. Location information. Page titles. Headings. Internal links. Google Business Profile. Reviews. Local relevance. Fresh content. Technical performance. Mobile usability. And more.
You don’t have to become an SEO expert just because you own a business. You need a strategy and people who understand how the pieces fit together.
Social Media Is Another Hungry Monster
Then there’s social media. Facebook wants content. LinkedIn wants content. Google Business Profile wants updates. Nextdoor wants attention. Tomorrow they’ll all want more. Social media can be an excellent way to keep your company visible and remind people that you’re active, local, and available.
But consistency takes time. You have to come up with the idea. Create the graphic. Write the post. Resize things. Publish it. Then wake up tomorrow and do it again. Sound familiar? That’s exactly why many small businesses post enthusiastically for two weeks and then suddenly disappear for six months. The owner got busy doing what actually pays the bills.
Know What You Should Own — and What You Should Delegate
One of the hardest lessons in business is learning that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. There are parts of your business that require you. Your relationships. Your experience. Your decisions. Your leadership. Your expertise. Your vision.
Then there are tasks that simply need to be done well. Those are excellent candidates for delegation. Your website is one of them.
Take Something Off Your List
At DFW Website Designers, our job isn’t to give small-business owners another project to manage. It’s to take one away. We help businesses with: Website Design & Redesign Modern, professional websites designed around your business and customers. Search Engine Optimization Helping search engines better understand what you do and where you do it. Website Hosting & Support Keeping your website online, maintained, and supported. Social Media Marketing Creating consistent content that keeps your business visible. Landing Pages Focused pages built around specific campaigns, services, or offers. Local & City Pages Content designed to strengthen your presence in the communities you serve.
The goal isn’t technology for technology’s sake. The goal is simple: Help your business look better, get found, and generate more opportunities online.
What’s Your Saturday Worth?
Business owners spend a lot of time thinking about money. Sometimes we don’t think enough about time. Your Saturday has value. So does your Sunday. So does dinner with your family. So does an afternoon when you’re not checking email every seven minutes. You built your business to create something worthwhile. You probably didn’t build it so you could spend Saturday afternoon fighting with a WordPress plugin.
Let Us Handle It
If “do something about the website” keeps appearing on your weekly to-do list, maybe it’s time to cross it off permanently. DFW Website Designers has spent more than 17 years helping businesses throughout Dallas–Fort Worth and beyond build and manage their online presence.
We’ve built 1,250+ websites, and we understand something about small-business owners: You’ve already got enough to do. Your website shouldn’t be another thing on the list. Let us handle it. Then go enjoy what’s left of your weekend. You can check the bank account again Monday.
