Building SiteNitro: Why I'm Starting a New Business at 45

Solving a real problem I've watched for 25 years

I'm pivoting towards writing about a new business I'm building, and I want to share the journey as it unfolds from the ground up.

Meet SiteNitro: WordPress maintenance and hosting services specifically for small businesses who want their websites to work reliably without the technical headaches. Unlike cheap hosting providers that rely on pure automation, SiteNitro acts as your website's "pit crew" - offering human oversight, proactive monitoring, and expert support to keep sites running at peak performance.

The service bridges the gap between unreliable budget hosting and expensive enterprise solutions, with three tiers ranging from $99-$499 that include everything from hosting and security to monthly content updates and business optimization.

Why now? Why this?

I've been building and managing websites for clients for 25 years. It started after I built my own ecommerce website and garnered interest from some other business owners I knew. I built websites for them and hosted them on the server I was leasing at the time. Since then, I've built at least a thousand websites and continue to provide hosting and management services to my clients.

Here's what I've learned: Hosting has become a commodity. You can get cheap hosting anywhere - there's nothing special about it. You can get "managed" hosting as well, which simply means there's a nice user interface that makes basic server information more interesting to look at. But nobody is actually managing your website.

Most of these companies charge more, but it's still affordable. The problem I continue to see is that knowledgeable support is almost non-existent. Honestly, it's hard to support a website you didn't build. Hosting companies don't build websites - they host them. They might be able to diagnose a problem, but they can't and often won't fix it for you.

This leaves businesses and organizations stuck when they have a problem with their website. WordPress powers around 40% of all websites on the internet. I started using WordPress when it was a simple blogging tool and have been building websites with it ever since. My experience having developed website solutions for so many different businesses has given me the ability to solve almost any problem.

The real problem I'm solving: The cost of fixing problems after they happen is quite high. Most web designers will try to talk you into building a whole new website. Depending on the severity of the problem, that might be the best option, but it's costly for a business or organization. Proactive support prevents situations like this from happening.

I want to solve a big problem for owners of WordPress websites by providing truly managed WordPress website support.

The backstory: At least 10 years ago, I purchased SiteNitro.com. The plan at the time was to offer WordPress management and optimization services. Another thought was to specialize in websites for the automotive maintenance and repair industry. I kept the domain and decided now is the time to offer such a solution.

My online marketing agency, Hill Media Group, will continue to offer custom WordPress web design and development, email marketing automation, SEO, and other related services. SiteNitro will be the hosting and management of those websites, making the ongoing services I’ve been providing my clients available to the rest of the US.

Why this business model makes sense: This is easier to scale than my agency. Everything that SiteNitro offers can be systematized and taught to a beginner who has an average understanding of the internet. Though AI tools are getting better, I believe we are quite a ways away from being able to type into a chat and have the exact update we need made appear in the right place on our website. I also don't see AI tools being able to manage the unique needs of small businesses and organizations for a while either. Malicious bots are only getting smarter, which means you need someone watching on your behalf.

Hosting is getting more automated, which further removes the human element from the process. I believe that at the right price, people would rather have a real, knowledgeable person to reach out to.

To drive awareness to SiteNitro, I plan to produce useful content like I have for my other businesses.

The goal: By the end of this year, I want 50 paying customers, then 4x that by the end of 2026.

I'll be sharing as I build out this business - the wins, the challenges, the lessons learned, and everything in between. If you've ever thought about starting something new or wondered what it looks like to build a business from scratch, come along for the ride.

What questions do you have about building SiteNitro that I should address as I document this journey?

If you are interested in updates about SiteNitro services, visit SiteNitro.com and enter your email address.