4 Reasons Websites Are Often Bad

Whether it's a food supply company or another type of manufacturing, it only takes a few minutes to review the web to realize that many sites are bad. Some look like they were designed just after Y2K. Some aren't optimized for converting traffic. Many aren't designed to attract visitors. Others are just ugly and hard to use.

There are reasons many sites aren't up to par when it comes to the business's goals. Let's walk through the four most common.

You don't know your website is bad.

While highly unlikely, this is certainly possible. As we shift further into the digital transformation, there will always be a few people out there who don't realize what a good site should look like or include. Most often, these are the people who don't know their own site is bad.

The response is to educate. Today's business owners and marketers should continue to learn about current sales and marketing trends in websites and digital marketing, and many resources are available to help them continue the educational and growth process. As Jack Welch said, "The moment the rate of change outside an organization exceeds the rate of change within it, the end is near." Now is not the time to stop learning and changing.

You know your website is bad, but you don't care.

This is what happens when people who don't know their site is bad finally see the light—but only just a little. They know their site is bad, but they're still not willing to admit the negative impacts their websites are having on their businesses. The reason for this is simple.

How do you know what kind of business you're missing until you actually have that business? Regarding websites and content creation, if you're basing your decisions on what everyone else is doing and are waiting to make changes until you absolutely must, it's already too late.

Someone else already picked up that flour business. Someone else is already selling shelving. Someone else is already teaching them about chocolate.

You know your website is bad, but you don't have the money or budget to change it.

In many ways, this is the same as not caring. Business, life for that matter, comes down to choices. Maybe you need to spend more money this year on warehouse upgrades. Maybe you need to focus on the production line. Just please don't say you'd rather spend money on a bunch of print catalogs or sales sheets that will sit outside the utility closet on a rusty rack collecting dust. 

If those are your preferred ways to spend marketing dollars, it's basically the same as saying, "I don't care about my digital presence."

Investing in your digital storefront is just that. It's an investment. But it's also one that can deliver a clear ROI. It's time to embrace today's buying habits and use the tools available in order to take advantage of them.

You know your website is bad but don't know how to change it.

This is the last stage of website awareness evolution before someone decides to take action. There are a couple of choices.

First, you can rebuild your website in-house. You can hire marketing staff to take over not only your website but also all the other things that need to go with it. In many cases, doing this in-house makes complete sense, especially if you can find an amazing talent at an affordable price. In other situations, typically when businesses do not have the time to spend on learning the necessary skills or when they don't have the money to fully invest in full-time staffing, hiring an outside agency can make sense.

Learn more about the honest differences between hiring internally and working with an outside marketing agency.

It's an important decision that will become even more important in the future when your manufacturing website -- whether foodservice related or otherwise -- isn't just something you think you need. It's something you have to have in order to survive in a world where buying patterns are changing. 

Do you get annoyed when someone calls you during dinner? How do you think a chef feels when a salesperson waltzes through the back door unannounced?