Who Really Owns Your Website? Why Renting Your Online Home Is Costing You
Your website is the only piece of digital property your business actually owns. Social media and marketplaces are great for foot traffic, but they can change the rules on you tomorrow. Many website platforms also leave you paying every month for a site you can't fully control or take with you. Use the platforms for reach, but own your home base.
Ever feel like your website is working against you?
Broken buttons. Vendors who don't answer. Support tickets that go nowhere. Changes you can't make without paying someone or waiting days. And money walking out the door while you wait.
You didn't build your business to be held hostage by technology you don't control. But that's exactly where a lot of service businesses end up.
Do you need a website if you have social media?
Every business needs a website. That sounds basic, but a surprising number of small businesses are still trying to get by on a social media profile alone.
I understand why. For a long time, a website meant an expense owners didn't want to take on and expertise they didn't have. That was a real barrier. It isn't anymore.
Social media is not your home. You don't own it, you don't control it, and the platform can change the rules tomorrow. Your reach can drop overnight. Your account can get restricted. The features you depend on can disappear. When that happens, you have no say in it.
Your website is the only piece of digital real estate that is actually yours.
Five sessions. Real fixes. A clear next move.
One on one, within ten days. $500.
Start the Sprint$500. Full refund if the first session isn't for you.
Foot traffic is not a foundation
That doesn't mean you should ignore social media or online marketplaces. They have something valuable, and it's foot traffic.
Picture the best store in the world, with great products, fair prices and an amazing experience. If it's somewhere nobody knows about, it won't sell much. Put that same store in a busy mall where people are already walking around, and now it has a real shot.
That's the value of the big platforms. The people are already there. Use them. Post, run ads, show up where your clients spend their time.
What you shouldn't do is confuse foot traffic with a foundation. Your business shouldn't live there. When the platform changes its algorithm, its pricing or its terms, and it will, you need somewhere that belongs to you. That's where your leads land, where your reviews and proof live, and where people go to decide whether you're the real thing.
Are you renting your website?
Here's the part most owners don't think about until it's too late. Even if you have a website, you may not really own it.
Many website platforms and page builders give you someone else's structure with your logo on it. You pay every month, often $50 to $200 or more, for a site you don't fully control, can be painful to change, and in many cases can't take with you if you leave. Your site, your content and your search rankings are all tied to their platform.
And when something breaks, you're back to support tickets and waiting.
Websites are the most unique thing in your business's technology. No two businesses have the same one, and no platform can make yours exactly right. What you actually want is a site that reflects how you think, how you work and what you're trying to say, and that you can change whenever you need to.
Solo. Not Alone.
Software, creative support, and education to help service-based business owners turn interest into trust and bookings.
See Club SoloWhat does it cost to own your website now?
This used to be the hard part. Building your own site meant hiring a developer or an agency, and that kept a lot of owners stuck on platforms.
That's changed. Today, a properly built website can cost around $200 a year to run, not per month, per year. That can include free hosting and a site you can change, improve and extend any time, by describing what you want to an AI that does the building.
It doesn't tell you a change will take three weeks and a change order. It doesn't charge $150 an hour. You stay in control of your own home base.
That doesn't mean every business should rip out its website tomorrow. But it does mean "we're stuck with it" is no longer true.
How to tell if you really own your website
Can you take it with you? If you left your platform today, could you move your site, your content and your pages somewhere else without starting over?
Can you change it when you need to? If you need to update a headline or add a page, can you do it the same day, or are you waiting on someone?
Do you know what you're paying for? Add up every monthly and annual fee tied to your site, including add-ons and plugins.
Who controls your domain? Make sure your domain name is registered in your business's name and account, not your web designer's.
If the answers make you uncomfortable, you're renting, and it's worth knowing what it would take to own it.
The Problem Is Rarely Where It Hurts: How to Find the Root Cause of a Business Problem
4 min readFrequently asked questions
Do I need a website if I'm active on social media?
Yes. Social media is a great place to reach people, but you don't own it or control it. Your website is the one place online that belongs to your business and can't be taken away by a platform change.
What's wrong with website builders?
Nothing, for some businesses. The trade-off is that you often pay monthly for a site you don't fully control and can't easily take with you. It's worth knowing that trade-off before you commit.
How much should a small business website cost per year?
It varies widely. A properly built site can run on as little as a couple of hundred dollars a year, while many platforms charge that every month. The right answer depends on what your site needs to do.
Should I own my domain name?
Always. Your domain should be registered in your business's name and in an account you control, so nobody else can hold it hostage.
If your website feels like it's working against you, we'll look at what you actually own in the Next Level Sprint: five sessions, one on one, within ten days.
Start the Sprint$500. Full refund if the first session isn't for you.
Dave Zaron has spent 16 years building the systems behind high-stakes launches, including the infrastructure for #TeamSeas, the $30M campaign led by MrBeast and Mark Rober. He helps service business owners who've hit a plateau see exactly what's keeping them stuck.
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