Are you stuck with a broken WordPress website?
Is your WordPress website out of date? Broken? Can’t update or can’t log in?
Are a small business owner with a WordPress website and need help?
Updated September 24, 2024
How can a small business owner fix a broken WordPress website?
If you are a small business owner with a broken WordPress website that needs to be fixed, this article is for you. If you feel powerless about fixing the site and are afraid it can happen again because you don’t have the technical knowledge or confidence to fix it, we can help.
WordPress requires some technical knowledge to update and maintain
WordPress websites require technical knowledge which unfortunately a lot of small business owners usually don’t have. As a result, they do not know how to fix technical website issues on their own. Not knowing how to fix the website independently can be stressful, complicated, and burdensome, especially after a large investment into the development of the site.
What’s worse is when a small business owner hires a web development company to build their website in WordPress, the web development company sometimes doesn’t even show or tell the owner how to maintain the website after it’s built!
It is troublesome to hear when this happens to fellow business owners from a business operating perspective. We love WordPress for the robust power it gives a business owner to keep building on the foundation of the website. For most business owners their website is the flagship for their online presence and a broken website not functioning properly can be a big hit to their brand, unfortunately causing a potential loss of revenue.
Most of all, it defeats the whole purpose of developing a website with an open-source content management system like WordPress. Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, are supposed to make it easier for non-technical people to manage the site independently and with ease.
If this is currently happening to you as a small business owner we can help you use the right website platform for your technical knowledge.
WordPress websites require regular updates and maintenance
As mentioned, WordPress is a powerful and robust website for small business owners everywhere, however, they are not always the best option for every business owner. That’s because some small business owners are not technically savvy or do not have the time to complete regular maintenance on the website. We find that most business owners want a website to work seamlessly in the background while they are busy operating their business.
Here are a few things small business owners often do not know about WordPress websites when choosing a website platform.
They require regular maintenance. Updates to all three of the following, WordPress itself, the theme, and the installed plugins need to be completed regularly for security and to ensure all parts of the site will work properly.
They require regular backups of the database to ensure there is a clean copy of the site if ever it’s compromised. This is so the website can be restored quickly and effectively.
Business owners always should have administrative permissions. This is so they have complete control of their site to perform updates, regular content updates, create new users, install new plugins, or have full access to all the features of WordPress.
How to know if your WordPress website requires updating or maintenance
If you are a business owner who has hired a company to design and develop a WordPress but you are if your website needs updating and maintenance or you not sure why your site is causing you issues, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you hire someone to complete regular website maintenance for your WordPress website?
If not, have you updated your website since it’s been developed?
If the answer is no, your WordPress website is most likely out of date. WordPress sites that are out of date, including plugins used or the theme itself can be the very reason the site is not performing properly, or maybe only a part of the site is broken, or errors are being displayed on the site’s web pages.
Common issues experienced by business owners who have a WordPress Website
Here’s a list of the common WordPress issues for small business owners
Not sure how to log in to your website (i.e., do not know the username, password or login page)
Locked out of your website don’t know how to gain access
The website is behaving weird or information is incorrect and you don’t know how to fix it (i.e., typing mistakes, errors, bad or dead links)
Your web developer ghosted you (and you don’t know what to do)
Unable to update your WordPress site because you lack the technical know-how (e.g., you don’t know what a plugin or theme is)
The website is broken or not displaying information correctly (i.e., the Instagram feed stopped working)
Browsers like Chrome or Firefox say your website isn’t secure (i.e., needs HTTPS)
If you’re struggling with any of these issues or others, contact us to discuss a solution to help resolve your website issues.
Where and how can a small business owner fix a broken WordPress website?
Sometimes repairing a WordPress website can be quick and easy, but sometimes it can be a complicated process. Even though WordPress is free for anyone to use because it’s an open-source platform, WordPress themes are designed differently from other themes, making it challenging for any web developer or web designer to log in and know what is wrong with the site to repair the issue. If this is the case, sometimes it is better to start with a fresh install and rebuild because it is more cost-effective to fix an old and outdated WordPress site.
What to do if your WordPress website is broken
If you are struggling with a broken WordPress website we would love to discuss a platform better suited for non-techy business owners. The website platform we love to build for non-technical business owners is Squarespace.
Squarespace is extremely user-friendly for non-technical people and business owners. Squarespace is a drag-and-drop interface, similar to WordPress but without all the maintenance and update hassles. All the maintenance is included with Squarespace fees including hosting, so there is nothing to worry about or any technical things to take care of like updating themes or plugins or completing database backups.
Final thoughts
Our Recommendations for Small business owners is to build a website with Squarespace
There are a lot of things to think about when building a website and Squarespace includes them all while making the platform easy to use. To learn more about the benefits, read our article Why Squarespace is perfect for small businesses.