Full Transcript
Lauren: So I have a friend who's been trying to get her website updated for like three months now. And her web designer just... won't respond. Like, she's sent emails, she's called, nothing. And I'm like, did this person just fall off the face of the earth?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: Okay so this is actually incredibly common. Like, when I talk to small business owners about their websites, this same story comes up constantly. "I had a guy who built my site, but he disappeared."
Lauren: Wait, this is a thing? I thought my friend just picked a bad one.
Honor: No, it's basically epidemic in the industry. And here's the thing... it's usually not personal. There are a few reasons this keeps happening.
Lauren: Okay, I'm listening...
Honor: The first one is... most freelancers are juggling way too many clients. They don't have stable income, so they take on every project they can get because they don't know when the next one's coming.
Lauren: Oh, so they're overcommitting.
Honor: Exactly. And then they get overwhelmed, deadlines slip, and responding to an angry client feels impossible. So they just... don't.
Lauren: That's like a waiter taking on twenty tables because they need the tips, and then nobody gets their food.
Honor: Yes! Perfect. But here's the bigger problem... the whole freelance model is kind of broken.
Lauren: What do you mean?
Honor: So a freelancer gets paid once to build your site. After that? Every support request is unpaid work. Every "quick update" is time they're not spending on the next paying project.
Lauren: Oh... so there's literally no incentive for them to help you after it's done.
Honor: Right. The financial structure actively discourages long-term support. And on top of that, freelancing is brutal right now. A 2024 survey found that 45% of freelancers saw their mental health decline that year.
Lauren: Wow. 45%?
Honor: Yeah. And 71% dealt with late payments from clients. So a lot of them just burn out and leave the industry. They get a full-time job, they move on... and your project just stops mattering to someone who isn't doing this work anymore.
Lauren: So it's not even that they're ignoring me specifically... they might literally not be a web designer anymore.
Honor: Exactly. And then there's the last category... some people just weren't professionals to begin with. The barrier to calling yourself a web designer is basically zero. Anyone with a laptop can put up a profile.
Lauren: That's like someone watching a cooking show and then opening a restaurant.
Honor: Ha! Yes. And when they get in over their head, they bail.
Lauren: Okay so... my friend's stuck with a website she can't update and no one to call. What does she do now?
Honor: Well, the frustrating thing is... if you can't reach them, and they set everything up in their name, you might need to start over. A lot of small businesses end up paying twice for the same website.
Lauren: Ugh. So how do you avoid this happening again?
Honor: The main thing is... look for an ongoing relationship, not a one-time project. When someone has a reason to keep you happy month after month, they don't disappear.
Lauren: So the moral of the story is... don't pay someone once and hope they stick around. Find someone who's invested in the long term.
Honor: That's it. The project-based model is the root of the problem.
Lauren: And if you want someone who actually sticks around... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah. We're local... right here in Arroyo Grande. Same phone number, same person. Your website is our responsibility, not a project we finished and forgot about. Updates included, no hourly bills. 79 dollars a month, month-to-month, cancel anytime. And if something goes wrong, you call and I actually pick up.
Lauren: What a concept. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.