Your website might be live, functional, and even generating leads—but here’s the question that trips up many executive teams:
Who’s actually in charge of it right now?
It’s not a hypothetical. It’s not philosophical. It’s a practical, high-stakes question that affects your marketing results, brand reputation, and bottom line.
If the answer isn’t immediately clear—or if you’re not entirely confident in it—this post is for you.
The Website Problem No One Talks About
Most companies don’t talk about website ownership the way they should.
Instead, a website is often treated like a one-time project: hire a vendor, check off the launch, and move on to the next initiative. But in reality, websites aren’t static assets. They’re dynamic systems that require ongoing care, strategy, and decision-making.
And that’s where things break down.
Because when nobody knows who owns the strategy, performance, content, security, and upkeep of the site, the result is a slow unraveling. You start seeing symptoms:
- Outdated content
- Broken forms
- Security warnings
- Sluggish load times
- Slipping SEO rankings
- Poor conversions
- Confusion about who to call when something breaks
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. We’ve seen it across industries—from industrial supply to professional services to multi-location businesses.
The Four Common Scenarios (And Their Risks)
1) The ‘Set It and Forget It’ Website
This is the most common scenario. A company paid for a new site a few years ago. It launched. Everyone moved on.
Now, three years later, no one has updated the site. The marketing team has changed. The original developer is no longer answering emails. No one has the login credentials.
What’s at risk:
- Outdated software that invites security breaches
- Compliance issues (ADA, privacy laws)
- Missed SEO opportunities
- Poor user experience
2) The Multi-Cook Kitchen
In this case, different people manage different parts of the site: one vendor handles hosting, another does design updates, someone in-house writes blog posts, and IT steps in for technical issues.
No single person or team has full visibility.
What’s at risk:
- Conflicting priorities (SEO vs. design vs. sales messaging)
- No clear accountability
- Misaligned updates (e.g., new blog post layout breaks mobile)
- Confusion during emergencies
3) The DIYer in Marketing
Sometimes a well-meaning marketing coordinator ends up being the de facto webmaster.
They’re juggling Mailchimp, Google Ads, the CRM, social media, and now also the website. They’re capable, but stretched thin—and not trained in backend security, DNS configuration, or technical SEO.
What’s at risk:
- Mistakes that can take the site offline
- Over-reliance on plugins or band-aid fixes
- Lack of performance optimization
- Burnout and high turnover risk
4) The Absent Landlord
In this scenario, you’re paying a vendor or agency a monthly fee—but you haven’t heard from them in months.
You assume they’re handling things behind the scenes. But if you asked for a report on security patches, uptime, or conversion data… you’d hear crickets.
What’s at risk:
- False sense of security
- Stale or broken integrations
- Missed opportunities for conversion testing and improvement
- Paying for a service that isn’t adding real value
Why This Matters More Than Ever in 2025
Your website is no longer just a digital business card. It’s the foundation of your marketing ecosystem.
In 2025, that includes:
- Customer education
- Lead generation
- Recruitment
- Local SEO for service areas
- Content hubs for sales enablement
- Analytics and ROI measurement
- Integration with CRMs, scheduling tools, and inventory systems
When no one’s clearly in charge, your site turns into a liability—not an asset. And the opportunity cost is massive.
Questions Every Executive Should Ask Right Now
You don’t need to be a developer to get control of the situation. But you do need to ask the right questions:
- Who has access to our website? (Include hosting, CMS, DNS, plugins, analytics, and FTP.)
- Who is responsible for uptime and security patches?
- When was our last backup? How often are they run?
- What’s our website’s primary goal right now? (Leads, sales, education, recruitment?)
- What’s being done to improve SEO and page performance?
- Who decides when content is added or updated?
- Is our site connected to the rest of our marketing ecosystem?
If no one on your team can answer these confidently, then no one’s truly in charge.
Ownership vs. Execution: Know the Difference
Being “in charge” doesn’t mean writing blog posts or editing pages yourself. That’s execution.
Ownership means having:
- Clear authority to make website decisions
- Strategic oversight of how it supports the business
- A partner or team to execute the technical and creative work
- Accountability for performance and outcomes
You wouldn’t run your P&L without oversight. Don’t treat your website any differently.
What True Website Ownership Looks Like
We’ve helped dozens of businesses transition from chaos to clarity when it comes to their websites. Here’s what we recommend:
1) Assign a Website Owner
Give one person the authority and responsibility to oversee the website. That could be your marketing director, operations lead, or even yourself. They don’t need to do the work—but they need to own it.
2) Define Goals for the Website
Is the goal to generate leads, educate customers, support sales, or streamline operations? Define the primary objective so everyone—from writers to developers—knows what success looks like.
3) Set Up a Support System
You don’t need to build a full in-house team. But you do need experts handling:
- Maintenance and security
- Design and development updates
- Content creation and SEO
- Performance tracking
Ideally, this is a relationship—not just a vendor you email when something breaks.
(If you’re unsure what to look for, we break it down in The Hard Truth About “Set It and Forget It” Websites.)
4) Review Regularly
Quarterly check-ins are enough to stay on top of things. Use this time to review:
- Traffic and lead reports
- Site speed and uptime metrics
- Content freshness
- Conversion paths
Don’t treat your site like a mystery box. Review the data and use it to make smarter decisions.
The Cost of Not Knowing
Here’s a short (real) story:
One of our clients came to us after their site had been offline for two days. No one knew because alerts weren’t set up. It turned out their domain had expired. The only person with access? A former employee who hadn’t been with the company in over a year.
They lost thousands in sales—and more in credibility.
This type of failure is completely avoidable. But only if you know who’s in charge—and they’re actually doing the job.
The Executive’s Role
As a CEO or Director of Marketing, you don’t need to know how to tweak meta tags or restore from backups. But you do need to:
- Demand clarity on who owns your website
- Ensure your site supports your business strategy
- Hold your team or vendor accountable for performance
- Invest in it as a living part of your marketing—not a one-time expense
A strong website doesn’t just avoid problems. It creates leverage. It brings in better leads. It shortens the sales cycle. It lets your team focus on growth instead of firefighting.
How Graticle Design Can Help
We specialize in taking the guesswork out of website ownership for companies like yours.
When we partner with you, we:
- Conduct a full audit of your current website environment
- Document access credentials and backup routines
- Clarify your website goals and align design/development accordingly
- Provide regular performance reporting and insights
- Become a single point of contact for updates, maintenance, SEO, and strategy
In short: we help you own your website—without needing to manage all the moving parts yourself.
Want to see how this works in practice? Check out our post on Stop Guessing—Start Measuring Your Website’s ROI for a deeper dive into how we connect performance to business outcomes.
Final Thoughts
If you’re not sure who’s in charge of your website today, that’s your signal to act.
Because the longer this goes unchecked, the more expensive, risky, and ineffective your site becomes. And the more opportunity you lose in the process.
Your website is one of your most important business assets in 2025. Own it like it is.
Need Help Getting Clarity?
We’ve helped businesses across Longview, Vancouver, and the greater Pacific Northwest take back control of their websites—without tech headaches or vague vendor relationships.
If you’re ready for a clear picture of who’s managing what (and how to make it work better), reach out to us at Graticle Design. We’ll walk you through exactly what’s going on—and what to do next.
And if you haven’t already, check out What to Do If Your Website Goes Down to make sure you’re prepared for the unexpected.
