Website challenges every small business struggles with

For small businesses, an effective online presence can help level the playing field against larger competitors, but the journey isn’t without its hurdles. While the majority of small businesses have websites nowadays, many struggle to utilise these as more than mere placeholders for a business more typically run offline. This is because website challenges can have a large impact on small businesses with limited resources: technical glitches that frustrate visitors, security vulnerabilities that keep owners up at night, and more to contend with on a daily basis just adds to the work. 

This guide dives into common website obstacles that small businesses face and provides actionable solutions to not just overcome them, but turn your website into the customer-generating machine it should be.

Nine business website challenges

The nine challenges we’ll explore in this article represent the most common pain points reported by small business owners across multiple industries. These include mobile optimization issues that alienate your potential visitors as well as cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could compromise your business, all with their unique set of challenges to overcome. Understanding these will help businesses thrive and create a competitive advantage over their competitors. By being aware and informed about them, you’ll not only prevent potential problems before they arise, but also create a website experience that converts visitors into loyal customers and advocates for your brand.

1. Not mobile optimized

While the proportion can vary slightly depending on the industry you operate in, most mobile traffic today comes from mobile devices. In fact, globally, 62.4% of traffic to websites was generated from such devices in 2024.

Small organizations often face challenges when it comes to properly optimizing their sites for mobile devices. Not keeping mobile device users in mind while designing a website can negatively impact the user experience, despite how good it may look on a computer. This is a common mistake to make, since we’re all used to working on a computer first! However, your customers are to be found discovering and browsing on the go on their mobile devices.

Mobile optimization enables shoppers to buy products easily, ensures customers using any type of device have an enjoyable browsing experience, and even makes your site discoverable.  In 2024, Google completely stopped even indexing websites that are not mobile optimized, meaning these sites won’t even show up on search! 

Not optimizing your website for mobile will hinder potential customer growth as well as lead to fewer conversions and sales. To avoid being left behind, small business owners should prioritize creating websites that are compatible with multiple devices out of the box.

2. Downtime

Most businesses today have a website, but with increased web traffic comes the potential for server downtime issues. Long periods of downtime can cause serious problems for both the customer experience and user engagement. 

To keep users engaged, businesses need to optimize their servers for peak performance in order to create a seamless experience. Unfortunately, small businesses with limited resources don’t always have an easy time resolving server downtime. Therefore it’s extremely beneficial to be aware of preventive measures and ways to avoid downtime in the first place.

3. Slow load times

It’s a well-researched fact that slow load times significantly reduce customer satisfaction and overall website performance, impacting sales and revenues significantly each year. Would you wait 10 seconds or more for a web page to load, or would you find another website instead? 

It’s essential that all small business owners are aware of the causes of slow site speed. In particular, oversized images can greatly reduce a website’s loading speed due to the larger file size. Furthermore, an out-of-date plugin or poorly written code can lead to a frustrating customer experience during the checkout process. 

Slow load time is a business website challenge that can be avoided by being diligent with regular maintenance and using plugins for website caching and image size optimization.

4. Poor design

Having a well-designed website is the key to success online. Unfortunately, many small business owners struggle with the challenges that come along with designing and building an effective website. Poor design decisions are often due to inexperience in web development, inadequate resources, or simply lack of time or effort. 

These decisions can be costly and have damaging effects on these businesses, like high bounce rates for visitors and difficulty scaling for growth. Small businesses must be diligent about creating an attractive website if they’re going to succeed, as good design exponentially increases the chances of visitors staying on your page and converting into customers or leads. Keep in mind that your web presence is, in most cases, the first impression you give potential customers about your business!

5. Cyberattacks and viruses

You might hear about the big companies making headlines after a security breach, but those aren’t the only ones vulnerable to attack. Small businesses can often face even more security challenges when trying to protect their website, as they may not have the resources or know-how required. Not only do these cyber attacks leave your business exposed to financial risks and loss of data, but they can also cause significant damage to your reputation. 

That’s why it is essential that you stay up to date on protection from the latest malware and viruses, invest in secure hosting protocols, and keep a regular check on your website for any suspicious activity. With the right protection measures in place, and by keeping your website up to date, you’ll be able to respond quickly, should any malicious software try and take hold of your website.

6. No dedicated IT support

Maintaining a website can be challenging for small business owners who lack dedicated IT support. Without such support, it can be difficult to keep up with changing technology and compliance requirements. 

Businesses must therefore invest in technology solutions that can help maintain intricate website details while owners and managers focus on other aspects of running the business. Outsourcing your IT support can be a great way of solving a majority of your business website challenges while keeping your website online and visible.

7. High traffic problems

High traffic is something all businesses strive for, but there can be unpredictable and unidentified website challenges that occur as a result of large, unpredictable volumes of traffic. For small businesses, these problems can be even more daunting. Issues such as lagging servers, difficulty accessing content, or crashes can all occur. In addition, the traffic can expose security threats through malware and phishing attacks. 

To help mitigate these risks, utilizing a content delivery network (CDN) and hosting your website on a scalable cloud or VPS platform are both wise steps in tackling the high traffic problems that come with having an online presence.

8. Cheap website hosting

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking cheap website hosting is “good enough”, but this can often lead to business website challenges that could otherwise be avoided. Poor performance, slow loading times, and increased security risks are all potential drawbacks, along with fewer features. The up-front savings may seem attractive, but losing customers due to a poor user experience can be devastating. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to sacrifice quality for price. There are plenty of quality options at affordable prices available today. It’s worth doing some homework and determining what kind of hosting best suits a company’s needs. After all, ensuring customer satisfaction online is paramount for a successful business.

We’d recommend checking out our hosting solutions for the ultimate in quality, reliability, and support.

9. Hardware and software failures

It can be disheartening when your website fails due to hardware or software issues, as the costs of repairs and downtime can be substantial. Troubleshooting computers and networking equipment can feel like an insurmountable task, especially with limited time and resources. In these cases, it’s important to fully diagnose the underlying causes to quickly identify whether technical assistance is needed. 

Fortunately, there are preventative measures that every small business should take to reduce the likelihood of future failures. Regular system maintenance helps protect against potential problems caused by outdated hardware or security issues. Researching reputable vendors for efficient hardware solutions is also crucial for success in resolving any current glitches or preventing them from occurring in the future.

Keep your website on track with Liquid Web

With Liquid Web’s managed IT service, you’ll have access to a dedicated team for a swift migration from your current hosting environment, as well as 24/7/365 human support to keep your mind at rest.

The Liquid Web team will identify and block cyber threat activity using threat intelligence and vulnerability management. We’re completely committed to protecting your site, application, and content. We will monitor and manage your servers and networks and correct most issues before you even know what happened, keeping you focused on running your business instead of worrying about your website.

With the right planning and precautions, many of these risks can be minimized or even eliminated. Liquid Web dedicates itself to helping small businesses overcome any challenges they may face to maintain a successful online presence. Contact us to get started!