Well, there sure is a lot of information in this thread. Very good info too.
To answer your question, they are killing it because they are providing something of great value. A great website is not going to be able to kill the market if the product or service is crap. A website is a very powerful tool - but the company must provide value at the end of the day - no matter how good or bad the website may be.
And beyond a website itself, there is a lot of exposure and/or promotion that must be designed, implemented, and constantly improved. Like a garden, a website is a thing that should grow and produce benefits. Therefore, it has to be tended to. That is a skill that is extremely valuable, as all successful companies devote a LOT of time and money to grow and increase profits, and gain market share - of which a website is a key factor in doing that.
Your question, as posed above, should be; how much more successful could these companies be if they had a high-quality website? Lots - believe me - lots. They are successful in SPITE of their terrible ugly websites. I believe they are doing themselves more harm than their competition could - and I know a lot about this - because I use the SAME technique against my competition. When one of my potential customers looks at one of my many competitors websites and then looks at mine - I get them as a customer 100% of the time. My competitors would have a better chance at gaining business if they had NO website at all. But I am glad they have never taken the time and energy to do a little research to figure this out- LOL!
With that said - don't be too quick to throw up any bare bones or ugly website to concentrate on sales. You are on the right track - but don't settle for a website that will hurt you. As I mentioned earlier, I have redone mine at least 6 times, and my results have increased every time too - more sales - more referrals - better ranking, yada, yada, yada. My reputation has soared as well, as my website paints me as the ultimate authority in my field, due to a very extensive and hard hitting blog. My website is not only engaging to viewers - it is a RESOURCE to them. This is important stuff!
What I should have said earlier, as a perfect example of what a website can do is this; When you compare a movie poster for a coming attraction, that is no comparison to the power that the preview of the same movie will deliver. That's the power your website should deliver as well. Make it impossible to be ignored - make someone stop and look at it - and STEER them to learn more, or ultimately become a customer. That's a tall order for a poster - but it is a given for a good website.
One more point. Wordpress is the most popular framework to build a website in the entire world. While it has its faults and weaknesses, no product is a perfect solution 100% of the time, unless you pay to go first class, of course, with a company that can do it all for you. You don't have to worry about spending hundreds of thousands. I spent $250 for a lifetime membership to Divi, and about $100 for some additional plugins that are absolutely fantastic. I could spend more, and probably will as I grow - but it won't be more than one or two hundred bucks. As the biggest framework, they also have the biggest selection of add-on plugins you could ever hope to see. If you're not a fully capable coder able to do everything by yourself, this is the next best thing - unless you want to spend 1-3 thousand and have a pro do a really good job for you. I wanted that option but didn't have the money. I am not sacrificing anything by doing things myself. My sites can stand side by side any sites. You can do it too.
Good luck.
