5 Things You Don’t Need To Build Your First Website

I’m going to start with the five things you don’t need to build your website, and then the five things you do need. 

1. You Don’t Need to Have Your Business Running For a Certain Amount Of Time (Or Have Earned a Certain Amount of Money)

The first thing is this: you do not need to have your business or side hustle running for a certain amount of time, or have earned a certain amount of money, to have or need a website.

This mindset is really just selling yourself short. We often make up milestones we think we need to hit before our business is “legit” enough to do the next thing. But typically, you know in your gut when it’s time to get a website.

For some people, that’s day one. For others, it’s more like my experience, where I freelanced for about six to ten months before deciding to make it official with a website. And for some people, they won’t even launch their business until the website is set up.

Or maybe you’ve had a couple of clients through friends or social media, and now you’re feeling that gap because you don’t have a place to send people. You’re thinking, I booked someone through Instagram, but now this next person wants to see more than just a post. They want a website. You don’t have a home base yet.

In those cases, yes, you probably do need a website. What I don’t want you to fall into is the trap of thinking there’s some test you have to pass to prove your business is ready for one. That “ready” point looks different for everyone and depends a lot on your business and what you’re doing.

2. You Don’t Need Custom Coding Or To Hire a Developer

Second, you do not need custom coding or to hire a developer to build your first website, or honestly, for most websites ever. Custom-coded websites are very 15-years-ago. That’s the hill I’ll die on. Technology has advanced to the point where you simply don’t need it.

You likely do not need a developer. If you’re listening to this podcast, you’re probably starting a service-based business or maybe an online course business, something along those lines. You do not need a custom-coded website.

And I’m not even talking about AI advances here. I’m talking about website technology before AI was even a thing. 

Now, I’m not saying your website isn’t built using code, or that code isn’t happening on the backend. But you don’t need to code yourself, and you don’t need to hire someone to write custom code for you in order to have a website.

Instead, you can use what’s called a website builder. It often feels similar to using something like Canva, if you’re familiar with that, where you’re dragging and dropping elements to build your website yourself. So just take the coding and developer aspect off the table.

Again, yes, some people do need a developer. If you’re starting an app company or building software, absolutely, you’re hiring a developer. But if you’re starting a copywriting business, bookkeeping, a design company, or maybe you’re a midwife, a doula, or a counselor, you do not need a custom-coded website.

3. You Don’t Need To Invest Thousands in a Custom Website

You do not need $1,000 or more for a custom-designed website when you’re just starting.

Yes, you can hire a designer to custom build a website from scratch, start to finish, if you want to. And if you have the funds and feel confident that a custom website makes sense for your specific business, then sure, that can be a valid option. But for most businesses, that’s not what I recommend.

It’s usually better to invest less money into your first website and have something you can edit, adapt, and change yourself. In the first three years of your business, things are likely going to change a lot.

What often happens is someone spends $10,000 on a custom website, and then one, two, or three years later, it feels like a waste because they need to redo it anyway. Maybe they change their business name, their services, their messaging, or their aesthetic. A lot shifts early on.

Those first three years of business are similar to the first three years of a child’s life. You go from laying there, to sitting up, to crawling, to walking. Businesses grow and change in the same way, and a lot can happen in a short amount of time.

That’s why I think starting with a template makes more sense. Earlier in my career, before I sold website templates, I worked one-on-one with clients only. I didn’t have a template shop yet.

And this exact issue is what motivated me to create my templates and eventually start selling Showit templates. I had amazing women coming to me for their very first website. As my prices increased to $10,000, or more for custom websites, I’d often think, I really want to work with her, and she really wants to work with me. But I don’t think she needs to spend that much right now.

Some of these women were even willing to go into debt to get their first website. And as someone who also teaches business, my honest opinion was that this wasn’t the best business move.

One of the best things about service-based businesses is that they can be very low-cost to start and have low monthly expenses, while still having high profit margins. So going into debt for a website right out of the gate often doesn’t make sense.

That’s why I created my website templates with these business owners in mind. You’re new, you want to move from freelancing or side hustling into a legitimate business, and you want to spend less than $1,000 on your website. That’s where templates come in. 

You don’t need the “super website” when you start. Most people don’t. But it is really nice to spend under $1,000 and still have a website that looks custom and professional through a template. And for some people, they continue using templates long-term, and that works beautifully. A lot of people do that. 

Or maybe when you’re five years in, you hire a designer to revamp everything and get a completely custom website.

4. You Don’t Need To Have Your Website Copy And Branding Photos Ready

You don’t need to have every photo or every piece of website copy written before you start. This is something that often hangs people up. You’ll think, I need to get a photoshoot done. I need to write everything. I need to know exactly what I’m going to say on my website before I even begin.

But you can actually buy a website template first and then figure out your photos and copy after. What I’ve seen through my own customers is that the template can actually inform those decisions, rather than the other way around.

If you don’t have a super clear vision yet for your brand photos or overall style, it’s often easier to choose a template first. Then you can get brand photos done after you’ve purchased the template. The same goes for writing your copy. Once you see the layout and sections, it’s much easier to think, okay, this is what this About page includes, or these are the sections on the Services page. Now I know how to write copy for that.

So I actually think it’s a better decision to pick the template first and then do photos and copy afterward. It’s usually faster and more effective.

5. You Don’t Need a Giant Business Plan

You do not need a giant business plan with all of your goals and hopes for the next five or ten years before you have a website.

You might not consciously think this is a requirement, but a lot of people feel like their business just isn’t “there” enough yet to have a website. So let me be clear: you do not need a five-year business plan. You don’t need to know that you’re in this for the long haul.

You just need to know what you’re selling right now and have a little bit of money set aside to create your website. That’s it. Know what you’re selling, have a bit of money ready, set aside a little bit of time, get the website up, and then make that money back once you start booking clients or customers from your new site.