5 Big Myths That Are Keeping You From Launching Your Website
IN THIS POST, YOU’LL LEARN:
How I was allergic to technology but became addicted to website building.
5 common myths that are keeping you from launching your website (I was guilty of all of them!).
What to do about it!
HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH WEBSITE BUILDING
I used to be intimidated by websites. I knew nothing about it and I thought it was something very complicated, that required coding.
A decade ago, I paid a website design agency 1000$ cash and 5000$ worth of barter deal just to build a simple Wordpress website. The second time, I knew a little more about it, and I paid 1000$, but it took 3 months and the process was chaotic.
Since then, I learned how to create websites using on Wix, Weekly, Wordpress, Shopify, Squarespace, and Ontraport. You can see some samples here:
Empowered by this experience, I also took a course on Search Engine Optimization to make our previous business (Kocoon Spa) rank in the first 3-5 results on Google, for facials, waxing, and day spa in Beijing.
I realized that what was overwhelming me was some beliefs I had around websites, and once there were demystified, I fell in love with the technology and became a nerd!
Let me debunk some facts for you and make it very simple.
5 COMMON MYTHS ABOUT WEBSITE BUILDING
MYTH #1: “I NEED TO KNOW CODING.”
You don’t need to know coding, because today you have what we call website building systems called CMS, which stands for “Content Management Systems”. This means that you have a platform that allows you to design your website and manage it, without creating it from scratch using codes. You start with a template, and then you customize it to your brand (colors, fonts, placement of elements etc,..).
There are so many platforms on the market, you may feel overwhelmed by the selection process. I would say that Squarespace’s learning curve is steeper than the other CMS, but it’s well worth investing some efforts, as to me, It’s the best!
Some people do add some codes to add extra functionalities or features, that are not provided by the system. For example, in Squarespace, I wanted to have a background behind a specific text. I found a code on the internet by searching “add a colored background to a text in Squarespace”, and I followed the step-by-step instructions.
Honestly, you can make a beautiful website, without using codes at all.
MYTH #2: “A WEBSITE IS COMPLICATED TO EDIT AND MANAGE.”
I would say that if you have a Wordpress website, the answer is yes. You have to back up your site, update your plugins, spend time on forums to find a solution to a problem. If you’re tech-friendly and love to make tweaks to your website, Wordpress is for you.
If you use Squarespace, it’s easy and hassle-free. You don’t need to do anything. No back up, no need to download plugins, and you can edit your website from your smartphone app. You also don’t need to sign up with a separate service provider for your email, and your domain name (your website’s address such as www.yoursite.com), you can have everything in one place, all managed from your Squarespace website. The support is amazing, whenever I have a question, I just get on a chat with them or send them an email.
I took a quick video of my screen to show you how I add a sentence on a page in just 40 seconds:
All in all, complicated depends on what service provider you choose!
MYTH #3: “MY BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE DEFINED AND HAVE ITS FINAL SHAPE IN ORDER TO LAUNCH MY WEBSITE.”
Your website is going to grow with your business, and if you’re your own boss, things probably move pretty fast once you make a decision!
Maybe you’ll organize a retreat and you’ll want to announce it on your website, of perhaps you want to increase your prices, change wording in a sentence, or even re-write you bio!
This is why I believe that for entrepreneurs, having the freedom to make those changes without waiting in line is critical. You don’t want to waist time asking for someone to do this for you and checking after.
“Progress Is Better Than Perfection”
It’s unnecessary to wait until everything is perfect to launch your website. That day will never come, your business is a work in progress. The hardest thing is to get started. Create your online presence today, and edit along the way.
MYTH #4: “EVEN IF I HAVE A WEBSITE, I’LL HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY IN ADS OR IN WEB AGENCY SERVICE FEES TO MAKE IT BE SEEN.”
Website building agencies need to make income, and they will cultivate the belief that “SEO” is a very complicated thing and that you need to pay a monthly fee to have your website rank high in Google.
SEO means search engine optimization- and it is not rocket science once you know the tricks. You just need to know some best practices in order to make your website be seen and rank higher in search engines.
Example of 1 strategy: Give descriptive names to your images when you upload them to your site. If you’re using a photo for your bio, you can name it:
“Your first name + your last name + activity + city” → Karen Smith Cranio Sacral Therapy Istanbul.
Being specific in your keywords is better than being to generic, such as just “therapy”, because otherwise you’r competition with all the businesses with the word “therapy”.
Or you can see here, how I named the image of this blog post:
SEO is not fast, but it’s easy, and it’s free. If I can do it, you can do it. If you don’t want to do it, it’s the kind of task that you can delegate easily to a student or intern.
See how I made Kocoon Spa rank in second organic result for facials on Google without paying for any ads:
MYTH #5: “I HAVE MANY FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM, I DON’T NEED A WEBSITE.”
Let me ask you this:
I you only have an instagram (for example), how will you collect your followers’ email to convert them into clients?
What if a prospect is looking for an information about your business before making a purchase, do they need to browse your entire Instagram account to find it?
Where will they pay you to purchase your product or services?
How will they make a booking or place an order when they want to do this after you’re offline?
Do you book every client manually? How will you do when you become too busy?
A friend of mine had a very successful profile on Instagram, but one day, her account was shadowbanned by Instagram. She was so disappointed and lost all the hard work she had done for years!
If you want to educate, not everything will fit in a IG post, especially if you want to give the most impact. What if you want to share a deeper content, for example under the form of a PDF guide, a mini-course, an ebook, or a video tutorial? Instagram may not be the most appropriate option, but you can do all this with a website, by simply sharing a link.
All in all:
→For growth: Your website is the best tool to gain email subscribers, gain clients, bookings, and sales.
→For conversion: It’s the most appropriate format, to share content that will turn your visitors into clients (because they’re reading- not not just “passively browsing to kill time”, they’re probably ready to take an action if they think you’re the right fit for them).
“Your website is the best tool to take your visitors on a journey from awareness stage (of what they need) to decision stage (purchase).”
CONCLUSION
If you have not launched your website yet, it’s probably because you believe in one of the above myths. Now, you know that:
You don’t need coding.
It’s easy to maintain and manage.
You can start today, and edit along the way as your business grows.
You can make it be a magnet to attract clients to you by applying SEO strategies.
You can use it in synergy with your social media accounts to increase your conversions and grow your business.
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