So i was browsing facebook a couple of weeks a go and a small business has a facebook page and i noticed their online store was down i sent the owner a message on their facebook page telling them their website is down and ask if they are aware of it.
i got a response saying yes they are aware of it and that their so called “cousin” is working on their website i am not to sure on how much business they are losing but its been a couple of weeks as they are not sure on how long it will take to be fully functional and live.
i said to them i can offer assistant with the website and they told me they will contact and let me know.
what i dont understand is why would a small business owner take down a website and have it display nuthing but a 404 error page.im sure they could of left the current design and website online while the new design and online store being update.
what is the next step as i am not sure on how much business they are losing from having their website down like this.
I think it’s called: not knowing what you are doing.
You would think so, but there may be some reason.
I think at the very least they should show some kind of holding page for the site until there is something of more substance to show. Maybe with a “Coming Soon” message or something like and maybe link to their FB page, if they are still able to do some business through that.
in this case would it be a wise move to contact them again and ask either they would want their website to have a under construction page for the time being? so they have something online to show the page is under construction?
Anything is better than a 404 error.
It should not take much to make a single page.
Though think about how you word it. You don’t want it to sound like there is something broken that’s being fixed. More like telling them that something new and exciting is happening, try to make it seem a positive thing.
The FB link could be a CTA, asking visitors to use it to make contact in the meantime.
I am not sure if this is proabbly a bit too much but this is what i sent them on their facebook page
“Hi, Just curious to know on the update of your online store and just wanted to let you know if your interested of getting an under construction/maintenance page for your store while your cousin is working on the website. ill be happy to do it if you wish.” They saw it and not replied.
i am being a bit to persistant with nagging them???
I use Facebook as a social site. I belong to a few groups that have events, and a few friends sell arts and crafts type stuff. They know me well enough to know I don’t mind seeing posts mentioning the events and items once in a while. And I know them well enough that I would feel comfortable telling them “no thanks” if I ever felt they were pressuring me to attend or purchase something more than I wanted them to.
no sorry what i mean is i found someone who has their company website on wix considering of asking them if they have any plans on updating their website but just curious to know whats the best way to to explain them why using a site like wix is not good i know wix has its limits and the website currently has ads on it looks like it hasnt been updated in awhile.
Some people don’t know the beginnings of how to start a business. The same is true of how to start a business online. Yes you are correct. A simple coming soon page would help.
We periodically get Spam (i.e. unsolicited) emails about one or other of our sites, telling us that there is something wrong, outdated or needing improved (but never specifying what). They all go straight into junk.
If you’re going to try this approach, I would suggest you do it very carefully. Make the e-mail as personal as possible, mentioning the site by name, and addressing the owner by name, if that information is available. Anything to make it clear that this is a personal contact and not a Spam e-mail you have sent to hundreds of recipients.
Then be very careful about your wording. Nothing is more likely to put somebody’s back up than having a random stranger criticising them or their business. If the site is built on Wix, there’s a high probability that the owners did it themselves, so telling them it’s rubbish is not calculated to get them on your side.
If there is an instance you can point to and say "I notice [this part] of your site is out of date. If you are looking to update the site, then … ", that might be a tactful way in. Keep the initial contact general, and wait to see if they are interested in learning what you think could be improved before you go into detail.
It’s not an approach I would use, but if you want to go down that path, I’d say go slowly, tread carefully and be tactful.
there is one thing that can be changed is the background needs to be changed the color of the font and the whole layout needs to be changed so it needs to be easier for the eyes to read. it is not mobile friendly
I was thinking more about the content. If there is something concrete you can point to e.g. “I notice you haven’t updated your prices; your site still says ‘rates for 2015’”, or something like that.
Drawing something like that to the attention of the owner seems to me to be an approach which is more likely to be seen as friendly and helpful than pointing out all the things you think are wrong with the design. Once you’ve established a dialogue, then you can move on to make other suggestions for updating the site.
You didn’t answer my question - How well do you know each other?
They have given you an answer and the “ball is in their court”.
It doesn’t really matter if the site needs improvement or how many others think it needs improvement. What matters is what they want to do about the site.
i do wonder how do you even respond to someone when you cold call them and they say someone else is looking after their website but the fact is their website is not designed properly for mobile devices nor did the person who did the website themselfs.
to be honest i know someone i cold called awhile back to had a website above who does rugs but if i have a feeling they maybe selling rugs from their store but do not have a website to sell their products online.
You accept that they’re not interested in your services, and you move on. As @Mittineague says, and as others have said before, you cannot make people update their sites, or invest in a site if they don’t have one, simply because you think they should. It’s their business and their money, so it’s up to them to decide what is and isn’t needed.
^ This.
If you are going to cold call people, expect a lot of knock-backs and except them.
It’s not something I have ever done myself, so could not give any accurate statistics, but I have worked at a company that does it, they had a team of sales people who did nothing else all day but sit at the phone making calls.
I imagine the success rate should be a good way below 50%, probably closer to 1% than 50.