Do You Have Professional Website Management — Or Is It Just “Looked After”?
- scopemarketinglabs
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
A conversation I have often when discussing new websites with potential customers goes something like this:
“But we’ve had our website person for years… they’ll be upset if we leave.” 😭
Loyalty is admirable. But loyalty should go both ways.
If someone is professionally managing your website, they should be:
Monitoring it
Updating you
Keeping up with industry changes
Protecting your rankings
Improving performance over time
If they aren’t — that’s not loyalty. That’s neglect.
Let’s break down the key technical areas every modern website must have covered.
1️⃣ SSL Certificate (Security) 🔓
What it is (in simple terms):SSL is the little padlock 🔒 in the browser bar. It encrypts data between your website and your visitor.
Why it matters:
Google flags non-SSL sites as “Not Secure”
Customers lose trust instantly
It affects search rankings
It’s been standard since 2014–2018
SSL technology began in 1994. By the mid-2010s, Google made it clear: secure sites rank better.
Most modern platforms like Wix (who I am partnered with) include SSL automatically (and security).
If your site doesn’t have SSL in 2026… that’s a serious red flag 🚩.
2️⃣ Mobile Optimisation 📱
What it is (in simple terms):Your website must work properly on phones and tablets — not just desktop computers.
Why it matters:
Over 60% of traffic is mobile
Google ranks sites based on mobile-first performance
Poor mobile layout = lost customers
Since around 2015, mobile responsiveness has been a major ranking factor.
If your site:
Looks broken on a phone
Loads slowly
Has tiny unreadable text
You’re being penalised.
3️⃣ Sitemap 📱
What it is (in simple terms):A sitemap is like a roadmap that tells search engines how your website is structured.
Why it matters:
Helps Google find all your pages
Improves indexing
Supports SEO
Sitemaps have been essential since the mid-2000s.
No sitemap = search engines guessing how your site works.
4️⃣ Bad Backlinks 📛 (and Disavowing Them)
What it is (in simple terms):Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours.
Good backlinks = helpful votes of confidence.Bad backlinks = spammy or low-quality links that hurt your reputation.
Why it matters:
Google penalises spammy link profiles
Old “cheap backlink packages” (common 2012–2016) can damage rankings
These need to be reviewed and disavowed
Disavowing tells Google:
“I don’t endorse these bad links.”
If your site has been around for years and no one has audited backlinks — you could be carrying hidden damage.
5️⃣ Ongoing Monitoring & Analytics 🔎
Professional website management marketers don’t “set and forget.” There's heaps of other factors that I have not even listed here.
I monitor:
Core Web Vitals
Page speed
Security status
Indexing errors
Broken links
Traffic behaviour
Keyword performance
Most professionals use paid analytics software to monitor website health continuously.
If your “website person” hasn’t:
Sent reports
Raised issues
Suggested improvements
Explained Google updates
… then they are not actively managing your site.
They are just hosting it.
The Real Question
If your website:
Isn’t secure
Isn’t mobile optimised
Has no sitemap
Has toxic backlinks
Has no performance monitoring
Isn’t hitting strong Google health scores (80%+)
Then you’re not being looked after.
You’re being left behind.
And in 2026, that costs you real customers.
Final Thought for Professional Website Management 🧐
There’s nothing wrong with loyalty.
But loyalty should never come at the cost of performance.
If your website is a critical part of your business — and it should be — then it deserves professional management.
Professional management means:
Ongoing monitoring
Paid analytics tools
Regular reporting
Strategic updates
Technical oversight
Future-proofing
If you want your website to perform like a professional asset, it needs to be managed by a professional.
Not a hobbyist. Not someone who “had a go.”
Not someone who set it up years ago and hasn’t evolved with the industry.
The internet moves fast.
If your website isn’t actively managed, it’s actively slipping.
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