Should I give up my business website?
March 14, 2023 1:39 AM Subscribe
I’m considering whether I should terminate the hosting of my business website with integrated shopping cart for financial reasons.
I ran a small craft business pre-pandemic selling both through my own stand-alone website and through Etsy for years. However, I was thinking of winding it up because maintaining profit was always a struggle due to lack of manpower, capital and economies of scale.
Then Covid happened. I had to close my shop due to lockdowns, shipping and other issues. I started freelancing in an unrelated field in order to make ends meet while my shop was shut.
The pandemic really drastically changed my worldview in many negative ways and made me question a lot of things in my life. During this period, I lost interest in my passion and crafting altogether. I’ve decided that I no longer wish to be a crafter professionally or as a hobby because it’s only resulted in a lot of clutter in my tiny apartment and not much money.
I’ve been feeling pretty bitter and stupid about the time, money and energy I invested in my passion which I will never get back. However, it will be dumber if I continue to invest more time and money into this.
Post-pandemic, my business is less viable than ever because shipping and supplies costs have gone up permanently and so on. I’ve reopened my shop post-Covid recently but after two years of being shut and not being active on social media, I’m not seeing enough sales on my personal website to justify the expensive monthly hosting fees. I’m skint and could use the money.
To drum up sales, I would have to spend time and energy promoting my site on social media again and in my old hobby communities but I’m totally burnt out on my hobby and have lost all interest in it. I would rather focus on my job hunt for a regular job. I plan to keep my Etsy shop and rely on platform traffic to sell the remaining stock. I’ve always gotten more sales from Etsy than my stand-alone website anyway because driving traffic to a personal website is so difficult.
The current plan is to terminate my hosting, keep my domain name for now and set my url to redirect to my Etsy shop. I do hope to terminate my domain name eventually as well and wonder how long Mefites think I should keep it. One site suggested five years. I do hope to start a new business in the future but I’m not sure I will continue using this domain name because my new business will probably have a different focus and market.
On the surface, everything seems decided but pulling the plug for good is a big step for me given all the work I’ve put into it over the years. My business has been a big part of my identity so closing the website means admitting my failure and it’s breaking my heart. I feel great regret and sorrow that things didn’t work out so I’ve been putting the termination off. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of running my own business and hate the thought of becoming an employee again at my age but I have to do it for financial reasons. It's true that I have learned a lot from running my own business but at what price? I've lost so many years when I could have been making more money doing other things.
I paint and have been hosting my portfolio (traditional fine arts paintings, not digital) on my website. I’m not a pro, just a weekend painting though I would love to be a full-time artist. If I close down my website, I will have to find a free website to host my paintings somewhere so that I have a portfolio ready to show others. Instagram? Does anyone have any suggestions?
I’ve been feeling terrible lately as I wrestle with my decision. I feel like a total loser in life. I dread starting all over again in middle age from the bottom in some new field and have no idea what I’m going to do next. I have no idea if I will ever start and own a successful business one day.Does anyone have any practical advice about the website termination issue and dealing with grief over letting my business go?
I ran a small craft business pre-pandemic selling both through my own stand-alone website and through Etsy for years. However, I was thinking of winding it up because maintaining profit was always a struggle due to lack of manpower, capital and economies of scale.
Then Covid happened. I had to close my shop due to lockdowns, shipping and other issues. I started freelancing in an unrelated field in order to make ends meet while my shop was shut.
The pandemic really drastically changed my worldview in many negative ways and made me question a lot of things in my life. During this period, I lost interest in my passion and crafting altogether. I’ve decided that I no longer wish to be a crafter professionally or as a hobby because it’s only resulted in a lot of clutter in my tiny apartment and not much money.
I’ve been feeling pretty bitter and stupid about the time, money and energy I invested in my passion which I will never get back. However, it will be dumber if I continue to invest more time and money into this.
Post-pandemic, my business is less viable than ever because shipping and supplies costs have gone up permanently and so on. I’ve reopened my shop post-Covid recently but after two years of being shut and not being active on social media, I’m not seeing enough sales on my personal website to justify the expensive monthly hosting fees. I’m skint and could use the money.
To drum up sales, I would have to spend time and energy promoting my site on social media again and in my old hobby communities but I’m totally burnt out on my hobby and have lost all interest in it. I would rather focus on my job hunt for a regular job. I plan to keep my Etsy shop and rely on platform traffic to sell the remaining stock. I’ve always gotten more sales from Etsy than my stand-alone website anyway because driving traffic to a personal website is so difficult.
The current plan is to terminate my hosting, keep my domain name for now and set my url to redirect to my Etsy shop. I do hope to terminate my domain name eventually as well and wonder how long Mefites think I should keep it. One site suggested five years. I do hope to start a new business in the future but I’m not sure I will continue using this domain name because my new business will probably have a different focus and market.
On the surface, everything seems decided but pulling the plug for good is a big step for me given all the work I’ve put into it over the years. My business has been a big part of my identity so closing the website means admitting my failure and it’s breaking my heart. I feel great regret and sorrow that things didn’t work out so I’ve been putting the termination off. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of running my own business and hate the thought of becoming an employee again at my age but I have to do it for financial reasons. It's true that I have learned a lot from running my own business but at what price? I've lost so many years when I could have been making more money doing other things.
I paint and have been hosting my portfolio (traditional fine arts paintings, not digital) on my website. I’m not a pro, just a weekend painting though I would love to be a full-time artist. If I close down my website, I will have to find a free website to host my paintings somewhere so that I have a portfolio ready to show others. Instagram? Does anyone have any suggestions?
I’ve been feeling terrible lately as I wrestle with my decision. I feel like a total loser in life. I dread starting all over again in middle age from the bottom in some new field and have no idea what I’m going to do next. I have no idea if I will ever start and own a successful business one day.Does anyone have any practical advice about the website termination issue and dealing with grief over letting my business go?
Putting in the effort is already a great thing. Sometimes giving up one thing can have a better start.
posted by medal manufacturer at 4:30 AM on March 14, 2023
posted by medal manufacturer at 4:30 AM on March 14, 2023
Best answer: How do the costs break down between the annual domain registration fees, hosting costs, and the fees for the integrated shopping cart? Why not keep your website for your portfolio and do a gradual transition instead of feeling like you're "pulling the plug for good"? I suspect the shopping cart is the expensive part and you'll be paying for the domain for a few years anyhow. There are some pretty low cost hosting options out there, I like Nearly Free Speech if you're technically inclined.
posted by yeahlikethat at 5:27 AM on March 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by yeahlikethat at 5:27 AM on March 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: yeahlikethat: My hosting provider has cheaper monthly plans but I believe the size of the gallery will be limited. I will contact the company to see how many images I would be allowed to upload under their cheapest plan. My current premium plan allows for unlimited images but it is expensive. How many paintings should I keep up ideally if I wish to approach gallery owners?
posted by whitelotus at 5:59 AM on March 14, 2023
posted by whitelotus at 5:59 AM on March 14, 2023
It's always a good idea to have a "Plan B" on the back burner, in case your "Plan A" doesn't pan out. In fact, having plans C and D helps, as well. My wife and I co-owned a business that failed during the pandemic. Even before the pandemic hit, we knew it was going to be a longshot, and we made sure we had a backup plan as a safety net. My point is that just because you are closing your business doesn't mean that you failed. You followed your passion, you made some money and had some success, and now it's time to move on to something new.
posted by JD Sockinger at 6:55 AM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JD Sockinger at 6:55 AM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you're really ready to give up completely, try selling the website. Not sure how you would handle the content/rights to photos on there, but I'm sure the actual domain can be sold, especially if it's several years old. Nicheinvestor.com is a marketplace for websites of all sizes, and I'm sure there are other places thay specialize just in domain sales. (I am not affiliated with them, but I have used them to buy websites before.)
I'm sure you can find hosting for a couple bucks a month without the cart option and it should allow you to upload plenty of photos for a portfolio.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 8:44 AM on March 14, 2023
I'm sure you can find hosting for a couple bucks a month without the cart option and it should allow you to upload plenty of photos for a portfolio.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 8:44 AM on March 14, 2023
I'd recommend keeping your old domain for a year or two, but definitely dump the expensive hosting. There are lots of other options for low-cost portfolio hosting, but no need to conflate these two decisions.
Regarding the feelings of failure: You're not a failure. You found another path and you're pursuing that. PERIOD. How long would you have to keep your shop open (in your mind) to not be a failure? One more year? Five more years? The rest of your life? Everything comes to an end, for so many reasons. This is not a judgement of your character.
posted by hydra77 at 9:47 AM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Regarding the feelings of failure: You're not a failure. You found another path and you're pursuing that. PERIOD. How long would you have to keep your shop open (in your mind) to not be a failure? One more year? Five more years? The rest of your life? Everything comes to an end, for so many reasons. This is not a judgement of your character.
posted by hydra77 at 9:47 AM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: From a business perspective I would take the domain/hosting decision from that angle. I'm not sure what tools Etsy gives you, but if you can see referrals, then if you can downgrade your plan (or move the URL) and keep it up until you're either out of stock or not seeing any traffic from it.
For the fine art business, you should be able to find lower-cost hosting for it. Even if you only put lower-res images for your 'back catalogue' and then make a link clear where pros can request higher-res images that could work.
For your grief and midlife changes, I guess I have three main thoughts.
One is, it's okay to grieve your business. Pandemics and other factors intervened and here you are wrapping it up - that's hard. It's okay to give it that time.
Two is, it's okay to get a job right now before you decide on a career. I would love to have someone with your background on my small business team and I am sure there are businesses out there near you who would be delighted to have you for a year or two while you find your next thing.
Three, once you do find a path that attracts you, remember - a lot of people make changes at midlife - a LOT. It's okay, even great. I used to interview them for a living and there's something about finding a new passion at midlife when you have all kinds of experience under your belt that can be deeply satisfying. I suspect it will feel a lot more joyful once you've had a chance to grieve this change.
posted by warriorqueen at 9:57 AM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
For the fine art business, you should be able to find lower-cost hosting for it. Even if you only put lower-res images for your 'back catalogue' and then make a link clear where pros can request higher-res images that could work.
For your grief and midlife changes, I guess I have three main thoughts.
One is, it's okay to grieve your business. Pandemics and other factors intervened and here you are wrapping it up - that's hard. It's okay to give it that time.
Two is, it's okay to get a job right now before you decide on a career. I would love to have someone with your background on my small business team and I am sure there are businesses out there near you who would be delighted to have you for a year or two while you find your next thing.
Three, once you do find a path that attracts you, remember - a lot of people make changes at midlife - a LOT. It's okay, even great. I used to interview them for a living and there's something about finding a new passion at midlife when you have all kinds of experience under your belt that can be deeply satisfying. I suspect it will feel a lot more joyful once you've had a chance to grieve this change.
posted by warriorqueen at 9:57 AM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
It sounds like you might be overpaying A LOT for your website? Your domain should cost maybe $15 a year, and if you don't handle a lot of traffic, you can get decent hosting for a wordpress site for about 5$/ month a places like bluehost etc...
A wordpress site with a woocommerce shopping cart is basically free to build as it's all open source. You only need to pay a fee per order to your online payment provider (ie Stripe, Paypal). So, if you're hesitant about taking it all offline, you can also simply switch over to a much cheaper version in the meantime?
posted by PardonMyFrench at 12:50 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
A wordpress site with a woocommerce shopping cart is basically free to build as it's all open source. You only need to pay a fee per order to your online payment provider (ie Stripe, Paypal). So, if you're hesitant about taking it all offline, you can also simply switch over to a much cheaper version in the meantime?
posted by PardonMyFrench at 12:50 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Square offers a free online store if you use them for payment processing. I gave up my Squarespace site last year for reasons similar to yours but kept my URL which now points to the Square store.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Update: Thank you yeahlikethat for the suggestion, I have downgraded to the cheapest hosting plan possible and will be keeping my website in a dormant state until I have money and am ready to start something new.
posted by whitelotus at 1:00 AM on March 16, 2023
posted by whitelotus at 1:00 AM on March 16, 2023
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If you had never tried running the business, I think you would have always looked back with regret and wondered what could have been.
I'm sorry that it didn't work out. It's okay to let this go. Your business did not succeed, but that does not make you a failure.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 2:52 AM on March 14, 2023 [9 favorites]