This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Help, my website is broken. Or at least that's the situation our caller is facing. But I get it because stuff is always breaking. Stuff on my website is broken right now. It's been broken for a long time and I haven't fixed it.
And then when I do fix it, it's like something else breaks, which is basically exactly the situation they're experiencing. And if you're trying to build stuff online, you might think, hey, once I solve a problem, shouldn't that problem remain solved, solved, resolved, not in need of future resolution. But because of technology's advancement, things get better all the time, but they also get worse. It's kind of a weird thing. Also there's updates that come out that fix some problems, but break something else.
Of course, the whole variable of the phase of the moon, the whole role of astrology as it relates to websites, like my blog is a Virgo and that's just wild. I'm like, come on blog, let's just, let's come on, let's get through it, all right? It's a constant battle, okay? So the point is, all you wanna do is run your side hustle. You wanna take in orders, you wanna grow your business, like those are the fun things.
You don't wanna just spend time fixing things that are broken. But it's frustrating because that's how it works. So what should we say to our caller whose website keeps breaking? Stay tuned, their detailed question, my answer coming right up. [Music]
Hi, this is Amanda calling from Atlanta.
I'm frustrated. After spending a lot of time making a website, the images randomly stopped working one day. I didn't notice until a day later and then it took another day to get it fixed. So that was basically the better part of my week of my site looking terrible. Anyway, that was a couple of weeks ago, but then something else stopped working, my email list.
Anyone who signed up wasn't getting the proper confirmation message. So I've effectively lost whoever that was during the time it was down. Fixing it required more emails and even a call to customer support at the hosting company. I don't mean to complain, but I guess I'm just asking, does this stuff ever get any better? Thanks for listening.
- Well, you know, it's like this. Unfortunately, these things do happen. And, you know, as I said, they happen to me too. I've got a list of things that I'm currently, you know, either frustrated about or trying to fix or just trying to accept. Might not be able to fix it for a while.
I'm kind of a one-man show. You know, I've got a couple of people who work for me from time to time, but mostly I just do stuff on my own. You know, it's like the side hustle way. And, you know, you're right. It's like, it's hard to like pay attention to this stuff all the time when you really want to grow your business, you know?
So that said, you know, sometimes technology does just degrade over time. Hopefully it's not breaking all the time and not in the same way. So the best thing you can do, you know, is when your website platform has an update, like be sure to install it. You know, as I mentioned in the introduction, sometimes I can create additional problems, but mostly it will protect you from hacks. It will fix some issues you didn't even know you had, perhaps, and it will prevent things from breaking in the future, at least some of them.
Now, also, speaking of websites, like if you are not a super technical person, and I'm gonna raise my hand there as well, like I generally recommend you use one of the plug and play website platforms that are out there that do make it relatively easy. And the same is true for email management and some other services. But speaking of websites in particular, there are a bunch of these, you know? And most of their users are not programmers or coders. So they try to make it as simple as possible.
You know, you've got Squarespace, you've got Wix, WordPress, Webflow. The list could go on. Just for disclosure, some of those companies have been sponsors of the podcast before, but they're good companies, you know? And there are others as well. Like this is an industry that's very competitive because so many people need websites.
So I think for the most part, that's the way to go. Sometimes things break. It's annoying, but don't give up. You know, keep your eyes on the prize. Why are you doing this in the first place?
You know, ultimately your goals are worth more than just a broken plugin or an email form. Get past the frustration and let's get back to what matters. That's what I try to tell myself anyway, when stuff breaks for me. All right, thanks for tuning in today. sidehustleschool.com/questions.
Come check it out if you've got any questions. I guess that's what it's for, since that's the name of the page. Okay, okay. We've got a new episode coming out tomorrow every single day. Subscribe, follow, wherever you like to listen.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
