The Perils of Inexperienced WordPress Support: A Cautionary Tale and a New Beginning
When the Covid pandemic hit, my wife and I made the difficult decision to shut down our web design business, Sierra Websites. We carefully transitioned the care and maintenance of our clients’ websites to their chosen WordPress support companies, trusting that they would continue to provide the same level of dedication and expertise that we had always strived for.
Fast forward to 2024, my wife and I found ourselves at her hearing aid healthcare center for her bi-annual checkup. As we chatted with the co-owner, whom we had worked with back in 2018 to craft a new website for their business, we couldn’t help but notice the stress and frustration etched on her face. She confided in us about the ongoing struggles she was having with their current site care company, who consistently took an excessive amount of time to maintain and update the content on their website.
Seeing her distress, I offered to take a look at the site and see if there was anything we could do to help. Little did I know, this simple offer would lead us down a rabbit hole of inexperienced and negligent WordPress support that had left their website in shambles.
As we conducted an audit of the hearing aid center’s website, the extent of the damage became increasingly clear. We discovered a multitude of issues that had been left unaddressed, each one chipping away at the site’s functionality and user experience.
Abandoned draft pages littered the backend, leaving behind a trail of unfinished work and broken links. Essential services pages were missing, leaving potential customers in the dark about the center’s offerings. The main menu, a crucial navigation tool, was riddled with broken links, making it nearly impossible for users to find the information they needed.
But the problems didn’t stop there. We found that completed appointment requests, a vital aspect of the center’s business, were being routed to the site care company’s email address instead of the hearing aid center’s owners. This egregious oversight was costing them potential customers and revenue, all while they were paying for “professional” support.
Under the hood, the situation was just as dire. Outdated and unnecessary plugins plagued the site, increasing security risks and slowing down performance. Premium plugins, which the center had paid for, were left with expired licenses, rendering them useless. It was clear that the site care company had not been keeping up with even the most basic maintenance tasks.
As we dug deeper, we discovered outdated services pages, missing business telephone number links, and inconsistent hours of operation throughout the site. The center’s banner and logo were outdated, failing to reflect their current branding. Even the reviews, a critical aspect of building trust with potential customers, were not appearing on the main reviews page, and testimonial links were broken.
The list of issues seemed endless, and it was heartbreaking to see how much damage had been done to the hearing aid center’s online presence. It was clear that the prior WordPress support company had been charging a premium for their services while delivering subpar, and sometimes even harmful, maintenance.
We knew we had to take action. Our Website Repairs service, offering both basic and advanced repair options, was the perfect solution for the hearing aid center’s extensive issues. We quickly put together a proposal, which was accepted without hesitation, and got to work on restoring the site to its former glory.
Using Basecamp for project management, we meticulously identified and documented every issue, creating a comprehensive to-do list that would serve as our guide throughout the repair process. The list was pages long, a testament to the neglect the site had suffered under the previous support company’s care.
As we worked tirelessly to repair the site, it became increasingly clear just how much damage inexperienced or uncaring WordPress support companies can inflict. They not only fail to maintain and improve the sites under their care but often actively contribute to their decline, all while collecting monthly fees from unsuspecting clients.
The hearing aid center’s website was not an isolated case. Far too many businesses fall victim to these types of support companies, trusting that their online presence is in good hands, only to discover too late that their investment has been squandered.
After three to four weeks of intensive work, we finally had the hearing aid center’s website back in top shape. The center, recognizing the value of true professional support, agreed to our monthly Website Support plan, ensuring that their site would never again fall into disrepair.
This experience reignited our passion for web design and development, and we realized that we couldn’t stand by and watch businesses suffer at the hands of inexperienced or negligent support companies. With renewed energy and determination, we made the decision to resurrect our web design business, this time under the name Grand Canyon Web Design.
Our mission was clear: to provide businesses with the high-quality, reliable website support they deserved. We would draw upon our years of experience and expertise to ensure that our clients’ online presence remained strong, secure, and effective.
As we embarked on this new chapter, we knew that the lessons we had learned from the hearing aid center’s website would serve as a constant reminder of the importance of our work. We vowed to be the support company that businesses could trust, the one that would always go above and beyond to ensure their success.
So, to all the businesses out there, we offer not only a cautionary tale but also a message of hope. With Grand Canyon Web Design, you have a partner that understands the value of your online investment and will work tirelessly to protect and nurture it.
Your website is too important to leave to chance, and with us by your side, you can rest assured that it will always be in the best possible hands.