Web Design vs Website Administration: Why Your Business Needs Both to Survive
One of the most common questions we see in our search data is a seemingly simple one: “Is web design coding?” It is a valid question. To the average business owner, the digital world is often a blur of acronyms like HTML, CSS, UX, SEO. You just want a website that works. However, confusing Web Design with Website Administration is like confusing an architect with a facility manager. One draws the blueprints and makes the building beautiful; the other ensures the pipes don’t burst and the security alarm actually works. If you treat your website as a “set and forget” asset, you aren’t just missing opportunities, you are actively inviting risk.
The Architect vs The Caretaker
To understand why you need both, we must define the difference.
1. Web Design (The Visuals)
Web design is the front-end visual layer. It is what your customers see. A web designer is concerned with user experience (UX), colour psychology, layout and conversion paths. They answer questions like:
- “Does this button make people want to click?”
- “Is the navigation intuitive on a mobile phone?”
- “Does the typography match the brand voice?”
While web designers often know how to code (HTML/CSS) and create simple websites, their primary focus is aesthetics and usability.
2. Website Administration (The Engine Room)
This is the term that often stumps business owners. What is website administration? If web design is the paint and the furniture, administration is the foundation, the wiring and the locks on the doors. It is the technical, ongoing maintenance required to keep a website alive on the internet.
It isn’t about making things look pretty; it’s about keeping them secure and functional.
What Does an Administrator Actually Do?
You might think, “My site is live, why do I need to pay for administration?” The reality is that modern websites, especially those built on content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, are living software platforms. They require constant attention.
A Website Administrator’s duties include:
- Security & Patch Management: Software evolves. Hackers find new vulnerabilities every day. Administration involves applying security patches immediately to close these backdoors.
- Plugin Management: Most modern sites rely on third-party plugins for functionality (contact forms, sliders, SEO tools). If these aren’t updated, they break.
- Uptime Monitoring: Ensuring the site is actually online. If your server goes down at 2 AM on a Sunday, an administrator is the one who gets the alert, not you.
- Database Optimisation: Over time, website databases get clogged with “digital dust” (post revisions, spam comments), slowing down your site speed.
The Cost of Neglect
Neglecting administration is dangerous. According to recent security reports, over 90% of WordPress vulnerabilities are related to plugins (Source: Patchstack).
If you aren’t administering your site, you are leaving the front door unlocked. A hacked site doesn’t just cost money to fix; it destroys customer trust instantly.
Don’t Let Your Investment Rot
We see it too often: The “Build and Rot” syndrome. A business spends thousands on a beautiful new website, launches it with champagne and then never logs in again for two years. By the time they return, the site is riddled with malware, the contact forms are broken and Google has de-indexed their pages because the load speed is too slow.
We believe a website is a service, not a product.
Our Website Maintenance & Administration espertise will give you peace of mind. We don’t just build your site and walk away. We stay on as your digital caretakers.
- We run daily backups so you never lose data.
- We perform weekly security sweeps to block threats.
- We update your content so you don’t have to wrestle with the backend.
You wouldn’t buy a car and never change the oil. Don’t do it to your business’s most valuable marketing asset.
Is your website secure, or is it a ticking time bomb? Contact Black Cliff Media today to ask about our expertise.
Thanks for reading!
This article is part of our Marketing Knowledge series , where we share practical insights from our daily work in web design, branding and digital content.
If you’d like to explore related topics, see all articles in our Marketing Knowledge section.
Frequently Asked Questions: Web Design vs. Website Administration
What is the difference between web design and website administration?
Web design focuses on the front-end visual layer including user experience, colour psychology and layout. In contrast, website administration acts as the “engine room” by handling the technical maintenance, security and updates required to keep the site functional.
What are the main duties of a website administrator?
An administrator manages the living software of your website. Their tasks include applying security patches to close vulnerabilities, updating third-party plugins, monitoring uptime to ensure the site is online and optimising the database for speed.
Why is neglecting website administration dangerous?
Neglecting administration leaves your site vulnerable to security threats. Reports indicate that over 90% of WordPress vulnerabilities are related to outdated plugins. Without regular updates, you risk malware infections and broken functionality which destroys customer trust.
What is the “Build and Rot” syndrome?
This term refers to businesses that launch a new website and then fail to maintain it. Over time, the unmanaged site suffers from slow load speeds, broken contact forms and security breaches which can lead to Google de-indexing the pages.
About Black Cliff Media
We’re a UK-based creative agency specialising in video production, website design and development, branding and visual content. Every article we publish is reviewed by our team to make sure it reflects our real project experience, so it is not just theory.
If you’d like to see how we apply these ideas in real client work, check out our latest projects.
