Marketing teams are juggling more tasks than ever, from multiple channels to ever-evolving digital tools. And when internal resources are stretched too thin, web projects stall, opportunities slip through the cracks, and growth slows.
Bringing in external website support doesn’t mean you’re just offloading tasks. It allows you to unlock new expertise, fresh ideas, and faster execution. Whether your team is struggling to keep up or your website performance is lagging, recognizing the signs your marketing team is struggling early can help you fix problems on time and stay ahead.
In brief:
- Overloaded teams produce lower-quality work and miss deadlines. Bringing in external support can alleviate stress and improve productivity.
- Stagnant or declining performance metrics signal issues.
- Conducting a skills audit identifies areas for training or external expertise.
5 Clear Signs Your Marketing Team Needs External Website Support
If you notice the following signs in your marketing team, it means they’re struggling to manage your business’ website and need help.
1. Website Maintenance is Pulling Your Team Away from Core Marketing Efforts
If your marketing team spends more time fixing website issues than running campaigns, it’s a sign that outside help could make a big difference. A slow, glitchy, or outdated website takes valuable time away from strategy, content creation, and lead generation. Instead of focusing on optimizing campaigns, writing high-converting copy, or analyzing performance data, your team is stuck handling plugin updates, troubleshooting broken pages, or figuring out why the site is running slow.
Website maintenance is ongoing. Security patches, software updates, SEO optimizations, and technical troubleshooting can pile up, turning a marketing team into an IT support group. If website tasks keep pushing marketing priorities to the back burner, it might be time to bring in external website support.
A web design agency or freelancer can take care of the backend work, and keep the site running smoothly while your team focuses on growth.
2. Stagnant or Declining Performance Metrics
If website engagement metrics are slipping, which includes higher bounce rates, shorter session durations, or declining conversion rates, it’s time to take a closer look.
These website metrics often indicate a frustrating user experience, whether from slow load times, confusing navigation, or content that doesn’t resonate with your audience. For B2B enterprises, where long sales cycles and trust-building are a priority, a poorly performing website means missing out on important partnerships.
A slow website is one of the biggest culprits behind declining performance. Speed matters more than ever—just a 0.1-second improvement in load time can boost conversions. Time to First Byte (TTFB) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) are additional metrics to watch, as they directly impact how fast users perceive your site. Regular performance audits using Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix can uncover slow-loading elements, such as large images, unoptimized code, or excessive third-party scripts.
Content structure also plays a role. If scroll depth is low or users bounce quickly, the content may not be engaging or easy to skim. B2B buyers often seek in-depth information, but if key details are buried under long blocks of text or unclear navigation, they won’t stick around.
For teams stretched thin, outsourcing technical SEO and performance optimization can help identify and fix these bottlenecks. An external team can handle server optimizations, content delivery network (CDN) setups, caching strategies, and mobile optimizations, allowing your marketing team to focus on lead generation and conversion strategies.
3. Skill Gaps Are Hindering Website Growth
When your team lacks the right skills, it can hamper your website's performance. The most common skill gaps include:
- Data and analytics: Struggling with analytics makes it tough to make data-driven decisions.
- Performance marketing: Rapid technology changes can leave you behind if your performance marketing isn't up to date.
- Content and copywriting: Skilled human writers bring depth and authenticity to your website.
Conduct a skills audit to decide whether to train your team or bring in outside experts. Encouraging collaboration between departments promotes knowledge sharing, while building a culture of continuous learning helps your team to refine digital strategies.
4. Your Website Isn’t Scalable or Flexible for Growth
If your site struggles during traffic spikes or as your user base grows, it's a clear sign your marketing team needs external website support. A scalable website runs smoothly under pressure.
With a scalable website design, performance won’t be an issue. You can compare your site to competitors using tools like PageSpeed Insights and BuiltWith to identify missing features. Assess load times, hosting frameworks, and technical aspects to build a stronger foundation.
Many businesses, who recognize their current website setup isn’t fit to scale, turn to a headless CMS solution to create a higher-performing website.
5. Your Website Feels Stale, and Innovation is Stalling
If your website hasn’t changed in years while competitors are launching fresh, engaging experiences, it could be a sign that your marketing team is overloaded or missing key skills.
A lack of new ideas, outdated design, and slow adoption of new digital trends can make your brand feel stagnant—especially in B2B, where trust and credibility are tied to a strong online presence.
Marketing teams are often expected to drive innovation, but when day-to-day tasks take up all their time, website improvements fall to the bottom of the priority list.
Gaps in SEO, UX design, conversion optimization, and content strategy can limit your ability to experiment with new approaches that keep your website competitive. Without the right expertise, important updates (such as interactive content, AI-driven personalization, or modern user experience features) never make it past the brainstorming stage.
What Are Your Solutions?
If your marketing team is stretched too thin, you have a couple of solutions at your disposal.
Hiring a Web Development or Design Agency
Bringing in a web development or design agency provides a full suite of skills, including design, SEO, coding, and more. This leads to quicker turnarounds, efficient web project management, and tailored solutions that truly reflect your brand.
Agencies bring scalability and specialized expertise that can be difficult to match with an in-house team. Whether you need a full website overhaul, custom integrations, or ongoing maintenance, an agency can handle complex projects efficiently while keeping up with industry best practices and emerging technologies. With their experience across different industries, they can also offer fresh ideas and solutions that internal teams might not have considered.
While agency services come at a cost, they often save time and resources in the long run by delivering high-quality work that doesn’t require constant rework. To make the most of an agency partnership, clearly define your goals, maintain open communication, and choose an agency that understands your brand’s vision.
Working with Freelancers
Freelancers can be a great option when you need specialized skills without committing to a full-time hire. Whether it’s web design, development, or SEO, finding the right freelancer starts with defining your project scope. Outline your needs clearly, then explore reputable platforms to find candidates with the right expertise. Reviewing portfolios and client feedback helps gauge their experience, but direct conversations will give you a better sense of their reliability and communication style.
Setting clear deadlines and expectations from the start helps keep the project on track. Freelancers often juggle multiple clients, so confirm they have the availability to meet your timeline.
Combining Internal and External Resources
Using both internal and external resources gives you the flexibility to scale without overloading your in-house team. This approach lets you handle day-to-day operations internally while bringing in outside experts for specialized tasks or larger projects.
Keeping workflows organized will make collaboration smoother. Instead of juggling multiple tools, integrate project management platforms like Asana or Jira to track progress, assign tasks, and keep communication clear between your team and external partners.
For technical projects, combining off-the-shelf solutions with custom-built features helps you meet immediate needs while leaving room for growth. If your website needs to scale or integrate with other systems, a headless CMS might be worth considering. Separating the front end from the back end makes it easier to update content, improve performance, and connect with CRMs, analytics tools, and other platforms.
To align your internal team with external specialists, create a digital design system that includes branding guidelines, UI components, and coding standards.
Make the Right Choice for Your Marketing Team
If your team is stretched thin, struggling with technical roadblocks, or missing key skills, it might be time to bring in external support.
The right tools and technology can also ease these challenges. A headless CMS is one option that gives marketing teams more flexibility to create, manage, and scale content without relying on developers for every change. If your current CMS feels limiting, making the switch could unlock new efficiencies and keep your team focused on growth.
Transitioning to a headless CMS doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Our headless CMS implementation checklist breaks it down into clear, actionable steps, so you can get started right away.
