Why are websites inactive? 3 tips to keep your website online

Websites have become an integral part of our daily lives. They serve as both communication platforms, sources of information and work tools. However, despite their ubiquity and importance, we may encounter a situation where a website is inactive. Why does this happen? What's behind those frustrating moments when, trying to access the information we need, we encounter an “Error 404” message.

In this article, we will look at the main reasons why websites become inaccessible. These range from technical aspects, such as server problems or code errors, to more complex issues like cyber-attacks or unforeseen crashes. Understanding these factors is crucial not only for site owners and webmasters, but also for ordinary users who want to better understand the digital world around them.

A new website is created every 3 seconds!

According to data published on Siteefy, the number of websites has already reached an impressive number exceeding one billion. Every minute 175 websites are created. It's worth noting that as technology becomes more accessible and intuitive, more and more people and companies are choosing to set up their place on the web. Currently, more than 71% of companies have decided to make this move.

At Let’s Domains we have hundreds of extensions, suitable for any industry. You can also take advantage of the registration of national extensions. The right extension is your key to success in the online world.

It's interesting to watch the Internet evolve. In 30 years, from 1991 to 2024, we have witnessed the number of websites take off from one to over a billion. It's also worth noting that staying competitive in this dynamic environment is becoming increasingly difficult, as it requires not only adapting to the latest technological trends, but also paying attention to the quality of content and user experience.

Although there are more than a billion websites, not all of them are active. Only 18% of all websites in the world are used in any way. The remaining 82% of websites are inactive, usually parked domains or having other uses. As of June 2023, there are 201,898,446 active websites and 904,773,457 inactive ones worldwide. This means that the number of active sites is as much as five times less than the number of inactive ones! As you can see, the number of websites is impressive, but the difference between the two states is huge.

Number of domains in the world

By the end of Q4 2022, the number of Internet domain registrations reached about 350.4 million. A domain name, which is a website address (URL), is crucial for individuals, companies and organizations that make their resources available on the Internet through it. It is difficult to determine the exact number of active domain names because it is a dynamic number. The increase in registrations we are seeing is mainly due to top-level domains such as .com and .net, which alone account for some 173.8 million registrations. While this number is up 8.7 million (2.6%) from 2021, it is down about 16 million (4.3%) from Q4 2020.

There are currently 1,544 domains, unrelated to any country, most of which have only a small number of registered names. Nevertheless, the total number of these domains is fluctuating, as new extensions are regularly added and others are withdrawn. The dominant position among domain names is held by .com, well ahead of other popular extensions such as .net and .org. Although other domains, for example .xyz, are gradually gaining popularity, .com remains the undisputed leader. The latest domain market data shows that .com domains represent nearly 160.5 million registrations. The second most popular domain is .cn (China) with 18.0 million.

Website vs. domain

As you can see, the numbers of domains and websites in the world differ significantly from each other. Why such huge differences? How, with more than a billion websites, do we have just over 300 million Internet domains available?

First of all, we need a domain to build a website. We can also use a subdomain or a sub-site. This gives us websites, of which we now have over a billion.

Before you create a website, find a domain for yourself. and choose one of the 1,100 domains available in our service.

What are the reasons for inactive websites?

One of the main reasons why websites become inactive is a shortage of resources, lack of enthusiasm or limited time to update them. Creating and maintaining a site requires constant commitment, regularity and attention to detail. Many site owners feel overwhelmed by other responsibilities or need more resources to invest in their sites. Let's take a look at if, and what, causes many sites to not function.

Lack of finances

Creating and managing a website involves various costs, such as hosting, domain registration, design and content creation. Start-ups and sole proprietorships often have modest budgets and cannot afford to hire a team to handle the necessary work of creating a website. Often these sites are created on their own, in a hurry, or are outsourced to inexperienced programmers.

As a result, the sites are made carelessly, remain unfinished or are not published at all. Over time, companies accept this state of affairs and sites remain dormant and unusable, undeveloped due to lack of financial resources.

Declining enthusiasm

Another important aspect that contributes to website inactivity is declining enthusiasm. In the beginning, site owners often show great commitment and passion towards their projects. However, over time, this initial enthusiasm begins to wane. Complicated tasks, limited available time, unexpected setbacks or lack of immediate success can confuse and dampen their motivation to care for the site on a regular basis.

As challenges and difficulties accumulate, feelings of fatigue and frustration can set in. Owners may feel pressure to maintain quality content, take care of the technical aspects of the site and keep users interested. These responsibilities become overwhelming, and the lack of immediate results is demotivating.

As a result, loss of enthusiasm leads to neglect of the site and, in the long run, to its complete inactivity. That's why it's important for site owners to find ways to maintain a fighting spirit, counteract fatigue and find satisfaction in the long term, helping to keep their website constantly evolving and updated.

Lack of time

Time is a precious resource, and many site owners struggle to find the necessary hours in their busy schedules to devote to their sites. Managing and updating a site requires constant maintenance, content creation and user interaction.

A study published by Inc.com shows that 33% of small business owners work at least 50 hours a week. Faced with competing priorities, they have difficulty allocating enough time to their online platforms, leading to inactivity.

Creating fresh content, taking care of the technical aspects of the site and maintaining interaction with users are processes that consume time and effort. In this context, it is difficult to find a balance between running the site and other life responsibilities. This, in turn, can lead to a decline in activity on their sites and an inability to keep them up to date.

Priorities

Life is full of changes, and with them our priorities can change. The decision to abandon a website can be the result of various factors and changes in priorities. It is not uncommon to abandon development plans, abandon a project, or close it down.

Often, we create websites with the goal of generating income. However, if the site is not generating the expected income, the owners make the decision to abandon it. According to Investopedia.com, as many as 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years of existence. Financial issues and lack of profitability play an important role in the decision to leave a site inactive.

Maintaining an active domain and hosting

As experience shows, even after a website has been created and launched, it can become inactive if the subscriber forgets to renew the domain or hosting. We constantly remind you that renewing your domain not only prevents it from expiring, but also saves you problems related to mail availability and contacting customers.

Hosting

Websites are visible under a specific domain, but their online maintenance is possible only through hosting. Each hosting account also has an expiration date, and if the subscriber does not renew the subscription, the site associated with the domain will become unavailable. The most common reasons for not renewing a subscription are inattention (overlooking the subscription expiration reminder message), lack of awareness (inactive or unused email address for notifications) or deciding to abandon the project.

Remember that by not renewing your hosting subscription, your site files and data will no longer be stored on the server. Without hosting, the site will become inactive and visitors will not be able to access its content.

How to keep your site active?

As you can see, keeping your website active and engaging involves overcoming numerous challenges. These can include limited resources, declining interest in running the site, lack of time and changing priorities. How do you overcome these obstacles? Here are three tips to help keep your website active:

Take advantage of artificial intelligence

With the rapid development of technology, artificial intelligence is definitely helping with content creation. AI tools, such as ChatGPT from OpenAI, generate content, saving you time and effort. With AI, you'll prepare blog posts, social media content or a newsletter outline. You will update websites without spending a significant amount of time.

Take advantage of teams that specialize in website development

The world abounds with talented web developers, graphic designers and content creators who offer their services as a package. At MSERWIS.co.uk, we connect you with professionals who will contribute to the development of your website. This way, you don't have to handle website management on your own. By delegating tasks such as site maintenance, content creation or design work, you can rest easy. Your website will remain up-to-date and attractive, and you won't spend all your time on it.

Hosting services tailored to you

Switching to the services of specific providers will help you run your business on your own terms.

What do inactive websites teach us?

Although many websites have remained inactive over the years, we should view them as steps toward a better Internet. They remind us of the constant learning and mistakes that are necessary in any development process. So if today you decided to close one project - don't worry. Perhaps you will open another one with the right tools, the support of your team, and the regular addition of content will bring the expected results. We will accompany you at each of these stages.