How to Create Your First Business Website Without Overthinking It
Skip the platform research. Your copy is the real work.
You're launching a new business, and you know you need a website. Before you spiral into a Google rabbit hole looking for the perfect platform, the perfect hosting, and the perfect domain name, let me save you some time.
I'm Olga Kolgusheva, and I run Applet Studio, a small web design company. I also sell Squarespace templates and courses for designers. In the past six years, I've helped over 2,000 business owners launch their websites on Squarespace and on other platforms like WordPress and Showit, and I've seen the same mistakes come up again and again with first websites.
Your Real Work Is Clarity, Not Tools
Building a website can get really overwhelming. A lot of people start by asking ChatGPT, and it gives them generic answers, too many ideas, and too many decisions. They end up in analysis paralysis, unable to stop researching.
Looking for the perfect tool and the perfect domain name is secondary work. Your primary work is getting really clear on what you do, for whom, and how.
Here's an exercise. Open a blank Google Doc, or a Word document if you prefer, and start with a brain dump. Write down who you work with, what you offer, a short description of each offer, and what your process looks like: the steps someone takes to get started. Then organize it in a structured way.
Don't use ChatGPT just yet. If you start prompting it now, it will give you a lot of information that's hard to make sense of, and it will only overwhelm you. What you need at this stage is simplicity and clarity.
If you want the full step-by-step for this part, I've covered it in How to Build a Website That Actually Gets You Clients.
Your Hero Screen Is Not About You
Start with the first screen of your homepage, your hero section. This is where most people write something like: "I'm Olga, welcome to my site. I have six years of experience in web design."
That's the wrong thing to put there. Those details belong much further down the page, because they don't answer your visitors' core questions. People come to your website to find out whether you offer what they need and whether you're the right fit for them. Your website isn't about you; it's about them.
So instead of "Welcome to my website," put something like "Wedding photographer in St. Louis," or "CPA services for small businesses in Los Angeles, with a two-day turnaround." Lead with your value proposition: the specific thing your clients want to see on the first screen.
Build the Rest From Small Blocks
Below the hero, add more detail: your mission statement, why you work with a particular kind of people, your values, short and concrete descriptions of your offers, and an FAQ block.
Each of these sections is just a short bit of copy that fits into a bigger puzzle. Looking at your website this way, as a set of small, structured building blocks, makes it far less daunting to write.
Do You Even Need an About Page?
I lived without an about page for five years. Instead, I included small sections of about copy on my other pages.
And the about page isn't really about you either. It's about your ideal client and how you can help them do what they want to do. On my own about page, I focus mostly on my values, because that's what attracts my ideal client. For you, the focus might be different, but it needs to tell people something that resonates, so they feel you're the right person to hire.
Write for a Real Person, Not an Avatar
Another common mistake is speaking to everybody, or to a very generic avatar. Say you ask ChatGPT to create your ideal client avatar and it gives you "a woman in her 30s with two kids." Then you try to write copy for that person. It doesn't work.
A better approach is to picture someone you actually know. Maybe it's a past client you'd love more of, an acquaintance, or someone you follow on Instagram. You know their lifestyle and their taste, so you can speak to them directly, as if you were sitting across the table from them in a coffee shop.
I hope by now I've convinced you that copywriting comes first, and everything else comes second.
Your Goal Is to Hit Publish
With your first website, the goal is to get it out there. It's not going to be perfect.
A lot of people spend up to six months just thinking about a website without launching anything. It's a very common trap for new business owners: brainstorming, planning, and never actually putting it into practice.
What if I told you that you can write your website copy in under two hours, then put it on the platform of your choice?
Which Platform Should You Use?
I recommend Squarespace because it's so easy to use, and you can either buy a Squarespace template or start from scratch with a free one.
Another platform I recommend a lot for first websites is Strikingly. It has really good templates, it's easy to use, and it's inexpensive: around $16 a month for the Pro plan, billed yearly, and your domain name is free for the first year.
I also design custom websites on Showit, but Showit is a little more advanced. Squarespace has more back-end features, like scheduling, a built-in CRM, and e-commerce, which Showit doesn't offer. Readymag and Framer are good options too, but they're also more advanced. If you want a template you can simply fill in, go with Squarespace or Strikingly.
Honestly, though, it doesn't matter which platform you pick. They all use similar concepts in web design: similar building blocks, similar user experience, similar design patterns. Pick something that you open and immediately understand. Don't overcomplicate it.
Does Your Domain Name Matter?
Not as much as you'd think. Get a .com if you can, but there's no evidence that other domain endings rank better or worse.
Once your site is live, submit it to Google Search Console so Google can crawl it. Then make small, iterative improvements over time.
Launch Small, Improve Over Time
Say you launch a one-page website tomorrow. Then you add more pages as your business grows. A year from now, you'll take that first website and improve it: tweak your offers, refine your wording, use better images, maybe hire a photographer for custom photos.
A year or two in, as your business grows, you'll be ready to hire a web designer. But you'll have built the foundation yourself, from the ground up, and that foundation starts with copywriting, not tech details.
Think in Micro-Conversions
Here's another tip. As you write each page, think about it in terms of micro-conversions.
When people discover you online, they don't hire you right away. There's a kind of dating period. People usually find my website, then check out my Instagram to see that I'm legit, that I'm active, and that this is a real business rather than an abandoned website.
The same will happen with you. People will discover your site and skim it. And they do skim. They don't read. So your copy needs to be short, bite-sized, and well-structured, with good headlines. They'll check your LinkedIn or Instagram to make sure you’re a real deal, and then they'll want to take a next step.
That next step is the micro-conversion. For me, it's signing up for my newsletter. I offer small freebies and downloads; people give me their email address, and they get to know me better through the newsletter.
For you, it depends on your business. It might be filling out a form, or scheduling a free call or appointment. Whatever it is, your copy needs to lead there. That might mean rewriting your hero screen, or the whole logic of your homepage, so that it guides people toward that call.
The Bottom Line
With your first website, the goal is to hit publish, not to create the perfect website for the perfect situation, because that doesn't exist.
Writing your copy in a Google Doc is 50% of the work. Then you take it, plug it into the simplest platform you understand, publish it, and improve it slowly over time. You'll add pages, rewrite your offers, and maybe invest in a photographer and professional branding later. But the first step is hitting publish.
So instead of focusing on your tech stack, focus on your marketing and your messaging. There are so many websites out there that look really basic, but their owners run six-figure businesses. It's not mostly about how pretty the design is. It's about the right copy, and resonating with your ideal client.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first when creating a website for a new business?
Get clear on what you do, who you do it for, and how working with you works. Write it down in a Google Doc before you choose a platform or a domain name. The platform is secondary; the message is the real work.
What should go on the first screen of my homepage?
Your value proposition: what you offer and who it's for, like "Wedding photographer in St. Louis." Save your personal introduction and experience for further down the page, since visitors first want to know whether you offer what they need.
Which website platform is best for a first business website?
Pick one you find easy to understand. Squarespace and Strikingly both let you start from a template and fill it in. Showit, Readymag, and Framer are more advanced. All of them use similar web design concepts, so the choice matters less than people expect.
Do I need an about page?
Not necessarily. You can include short about sections on your other pages instead. If you do have one, focus it on your ideal client and what resonates with them, like your values, rather than your biography.
Does my domain name affect SEO?
Not in any meaningful way. Get a .com if you can, but there's no evidence that other domain endings rank better or worse.
How long should it take to launch my first website?
Your copy can be written in under two hours, and a simple site can go live soon after. Many new business owners lose months planning instead. Launch something simple, submit it to Google Search Console, and improve it over time.
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