Your Website Cost $5,000 and Does Nothing. Here's Why

You Spent $5,000 on a Digital Brochure

Two years ago, you hired a web developer. Maybe a freelancer from Upwork. Maybe a local agency. Maybe your nephew who "knows computers."

They built you a website. It looks fine. Professional, even. Nice photos. Clean layout. Your logo in the corner. An About page. A Services page. A Contact page with a form that sends to your Gmail.

And then... nothing.

No leads. No bookings. No sales. The contact form gets a spam submission once a week. Google Analytics shows 40 visitors a month, most of them bots. Your phone doesn't ring any more than it did before.

You spent $5,000 and got a digital brochure that sits on the internet doing absolutely nothing for your business.

This is not your fault. This is how most websites are built.

The Brochure Problem

Most web developers -- even good ones -- build websites the same way. They create pages. They make them look nice. They add your content. They hand you the keys and say "good luck."

What they build is essentially a brochure. It tells people who you are, what you do, and how to reach you. The same information that's on your business card, just on a screen.

But a brochure doesn't generate leads. A brochure sits on a shelf (or a server) and waits. It doesn't reach out. It doesn't follow up. It doesn't convert visitors into customers.

Here's what's typically missing from a $5,000 website:

• No booking system. Visitors have to call or email to book. Most won't.
• No CRM connection. The contact form sends an email that gets buried in your inbox.
• No lead capture. No pop-ups, no lead magnets, no reason for visitors to leave their info.
• No payment processing. Customers can't pay you online.
• No automation. No follow-up emails. No appointment reminders. No review requests.
• No SEO strategy. The site exists but doesn't rank for anything people search for.
• No analytics that matter. You know how many visitors you get but not what they do or why they leave.

Your website looks like a business. But it doesn't work like one.

The Update Problem

Here's the second gut punch. When you need to change something -- a phone number, a new service, updated hours -- you can't do it yourself.

You email the developer. You wait. Sometimes they respond in a day. Sometimes a week. Sometimes they've moved on to other projects and don't respond at all.

When they do respond, it's "$75/hour, minimum one hour." To change a phone number.

Or you have a WordPress site and technically you could update it yourself. But the last time you tried, you accidentally broke the layout, panicked, and called the developer anyway. Now there's a security update notification you've been ignoring for eight months because you're afraid to click it.

You paid $5,000 for something you can't even control.

This is the dirty secret of the web development industry. The initial build is the product. Ongoing support is an afterthought. Your website is "done" the day it launches, and everything after that is a struggle.

The Developer Ghosting Epidemic

Talk to any small business owner who's had a website built. Ask about their developer. Watch their expression change.

The story is almost always the same:

• Developer was responsive during the build
• Site launched, looked great
• First change request took a few days
• Second change request took a week
• Third change request got no response
• Developer took on new projects and your site became low priority
• You're stuck with a site you can't update and a developer who won't return your calls

This isn't because developers are bad people. It's because the business model is broken. A one-time $5,000 project doesn't create an ongoing relationship. The developer needs new projects to pay rent. Your maintenance request doesn't pay rent.

Some agencies solve this with retainer contracts -- $500-$1,500/month for ongoing support. Now your $5,000 website costs $11,000 in year one and $6,000-$18,000 every year after. For a site that still doesn't generate leads.

What Makes a Website Actually Work

A website that generates leads and grows your business isn't just a collection of pages. It's a system. Here's what that system requires:

It Books Appointments

A visitor lands on your site at 11 PM on a Tuesday. They want to book a service. If they have to "call during business hours," you've lost them. They'll find a competitor with online booking and book there instead.

Your website needs real-time booking built in. Show availability. Let them pick a time. Confirm instantly. Done.

It Captures Leads

Not every visitor is ready to book right now. But they're interested. Your site needs a way to capture their information so you can follow up.

A lead magnet (free guide, checklist, discount code) in exchange for an email address. A chatbot that answers questions and collects contact info. A "Get a Quote" form that captures project details.

Every visitor who leaves without giving you their information is a lost opportunity.

It Takes Payments

If you offer services with set pricing, your website should be able to collect payment at the time of booking. No invoicing. No "we'll send you a bill." Payment at the point of commitment.

This reduces no-shows by up to 50%. People who've already paid show up.

It Follows Up Automatically

Someone fills out your contact form on Monday. If you don't respond by Tuesday, they've contacted two other businesses. By Wednesday, they've forgotten about you.

Your website should trigger an instant auto-response. Then a personal follow-up within hours. Then a sequence of emails if they don't convert. All automatic. All professional.

It Connects to Your CRM

Every interaction on your website -- form submission, booking, purchase, chat conversation -- should create or update a record in your CRM. No manual entry. No data falling through the cracks.

When you sit down Monday morning, you should see every lead from the weekend, every booking, and every action item. Without checking your email.

It Ranks on Google

A website that doesn't show up in search results is a website that doesn't exist for 90% of potential customers. SEO isn't optional. It's the difference between 40 visitors a month and 400.

Your site needs proper technical SEO (fast loading, mobile-friendly, structured data), local SEO (Google Business Profile, local keywords, Canadian-focused content), and content SEO (blog posts that answer questions your customers are searching for).

It Shows You What's Working

Not just how many visitors you got. What pages they viewed. Where they dropped off. Which services get the most interest. Which lead sources convert the best. What time of day people book.

Actionable data that helps you make decisions. Not vanity metrics that make you feel good.

The Real Cost of a Website That Does Nothing

Let's do the math on what your non-functional website is costing you.

Hosting and domain: $20-$50/month ($240-$600/year)

Missed leads: If your site gets 200 visitors/month and converts 0% instead of a reasonable 3%, that's 6 leads/month you're not getting. If your average customer is worth $500, that's $3,000/month. $36,000/year in missed revenue.

Developer maintenance: $75-$150/hour for basic changes, 2-3 times per year. $300-$900/year.

Opportunity cost: Every month your website sits there doing nothing is a month where your competitors' sites are booking appointments, capturing leads, and building their email lists.

A $5,000 website that generates zero leads doesn't cost $5,000. It costs $5,000 plus every dollar it should have made you but didn't.

What the Right Approach Looks Like

Your website shouldn't be a project. It should be an engine. Here's how we approach it at Alpaca Launch.

Built in days, not three months. You pick a template designed for your industry. You customize it with your branding, content, and services. We handle the technical setup. You're live fast, not waiting months.

Changes in 24 hours, not 2 weeks. Need to update your hours? Add a new service? Change a photo? You can do it yourself from the dashboard. Or tell us and we'll handle it within a business day. No ghosting. No $75/hour minimums.

Everything connected from day one. Your website isn't separate from your CRM. It is your CRM. And your booking system. And your payment processor. And your email marketing platform. One system, everything integrated.

Built to rank. Every site comes with technical SEO baked in. Fast loading. Mobile-first. Structured data. Blog capability for content marketing. Local SEO for Canadian businesses who need to show up in "near me" searches.

Built to convert. Not just look pretty. Every page has a clear call to action. Every form connects to your CRM. Every booking triggers a confirmation. Every lead gets a follow-up. Your website works while you sleep.

You Deserve a Website That Earns Its Keep

You didn't spend $5,000 because you wanted a pretty page on the internet. You spent it because you wanted more customers. More bookings. More revenue.

If your website isn't delivering that, it's not a website. It's a liability.

The good news: you don't have to start over from scratch. You don't have to spend another $5,000. You need a platform that's built to generate business, not just display information.

See what a working website looks like -- real examples of sites that book appointments, capture leads, and grow revenue.

Talk to us about replacing your current site -- no pressure, no pitch. Just an honest conversation about what your business needs.