The Silent Chaos Hiding Behind Your Business Website: Marketing Operations Part 1

Part 1: Is Your Website Actually Yours?

Feeling unsure, a little embarrassed, or just tired of asking your “web guys” for help you’re not even sure is worth the expense? You’re not alone.

Most small business owners don’t realize their website is holding them back until it breaks. Or worse—until they try to make a basic update and realize they’re not even in control of it.

This is Part 1 of our blog series that focuses on ensuring your marketing operations are working for you - and not holding you back. We’re breaking down the behind-the-scenes issues that quietly drain time, money, and momentum—and showing you how to fix them.

Let’s start with your website.

Common Website Management Issues That Block Progress

Here’s what we’ve found again and again in client audits—across platforms like WordPress, Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace:

• Admin accounts not set up under a business-owned name and email address

• Hosting or platform settings not optimized for security or performance

• Outdated templates or themes that break things behind the scenes

• SSL certificates not configured correctly

• Domains tied to personal or inactive email accounts

• No dev or staging environment to test changes safely (or no one knows how to use it)

• Uploaded images that aren't being used by the website (but are slowing your site down)

The result? A business can’t make simple updates without breaking something—or needing to chase down a vendor every single time.

Your site might look great. But under the hood? It’s a mess, and you aren't going to show up in search results unless you get them fixed.

What This Means for Your Marketing

Your website isn’t just an online brochure—it’s the engine behind your marketing.

But if the foundation is unstable, everything else wobbles:

• SEO investment won't work

• Content can’t be published reliably

• Speed, security, and visibility take a hit

• You lose time patching problems instead of planning ahead

By the way, these aren't just a website issues—it’s a marketing operations problem.

Tip: No, this isn't a business operations problem

This might feel like IT or business ops—but it’s actually marketing operations.

If you can’t publish content, track performance, or make changes to your website without something breaking, that’s not just a tech issue. It’s a marketing problem.

Marketing operations is about making sure your tools, data, and platforms are set up to support growth. And if your systems are blocking progress? It starts here.

5 Simple Fixes to Take Control of Your Website

You don’t need to be a tech expert to tighten things up. Start with these steps:

1. Make sure your name and email own everything

Check that your business (not a vendor) is listed as the owner on your website platform, domain registrar, and Google accounts. Use a business email—never a personal Gmail or something you’ll lose access to.

Tip: If you need to give a vendor access to email, create a shared email that you control but they can access. This also helps when they need two-factor authorization!

2. Document all your logins in one place

Use a password manager or secure doc to track logins for your website, domain, email provider, analytics, and more. Never use the same password across all accounts—if one gets hacked, the rest are exposed. You should always know who has access and how to take it back if needed.

3. Update your platform and theme

Whether you’re on WordPress, Wix, or Shopify, make sure your platform, apps/plugins, and theme are all updated regularly. Updates keep your site secure and prevent things from breaking.

4. Set up (or ask for) a dev site

Before making big changes, use a staging or development site. This is where updates can be tested safely without taking your live site down. If your platform doesn’t have one built-in, talk to your developer or host.

5. Stop paying vendors who won’t give you access

If someone is “managing” your site but won’t give you full (admin) access or show you what they’ve set up—it’s time to cut ties. You’re the owner. You should have control.

Not Sure If This Is You?

Run a Risk Check Review → This 5-minute checkup helps you find the cracks before they cost you time, money, or trust.

Up Next: The Marketing Tools You Think You Own—But Probably Don’t

In Part 2, we’re talking about the stuff behind your site—Google Analytics, Ads, Business Profile, and more. Spoiler: if you didn’t set them up yourself (or don’t remember how), there’s a good chance you don’t actually own them.

Wondering if this is you? We run weekly open office hours for questions just like this. Join today and jump in!