Why Your Website Doesn't Need to Be Perfect to Be Powerful
Table of Contents
Website overwhelm is real, and it usually looks something like this:
You have big dreams for your site: multiple collections to showcase, various services to offer, a blog, an online shop, email sign-ups, and possibly some digital resources down the road.
But every time you sit down to actually work on it, you get completely overwhelmed thinking about everything it needs to include.
So you just...don't work on it at all.
I have to smile about this because, honestly? I felt the same way when I started my Cozy Art Life website back in February.
Even though I've been designing websites for over 13 years and work on 3-4 websites every single day for my contract job, I still experience that familiar wave of overwhelm when staring at my own blank webpages.
Yet this fact remains the same, every single person starting a new website is going to experience some level of overwhelm or some sort of paralysis.
It doesn't matter how much experience you have.
When you're starting with a blank slate, you have to get started in order to think about and see the things you want to create or change.
Website paralysis isn't helping anyone, especially not the people who are already looking for your work.
Get the Foundation Done First
You know what helped me get unstuck?
Thinking about building a website like building a house.
You can't put a wreath on the door when you have no door.
You can't paint the walls before you have the drywall up.
You can't figure out what decorations to put on the counters before the counters are even installed.
You have to build the foundation first, then put up the walls, and THEN you can start thinking about the interior decorating.
Your website works the same way.
When I launched my Cozy Art Life website eight months ago, I knew I wanted to keep some brand elements from my old business while creating something new. I had some photography I could repurpose and knew my general color palette, but I was starting with completely blank pages and having to think through the entire customer journey from scratch.
Having a deadline helped push me to make decisions and get started.
And you know what? I launched with a website that was "good enough," not perfect. It was functional and helpful for the people I want to serve.
The foundation doesn't have to be perfect - it just has to exist so you can start building on it.
Your Website Should Be Your Best Employee
Once you get going, though, your website should be, in my humble opinion, where you spend the MOST time when it comes to your marketing. (Not on social media.)
That might seem backwards to some people…
Social media gives you immediate validation in the form of likes, comments, and follows. It feels good.
But here's the thing: your website should be like an employee in your business. It should be doing work for you.
If it's not doing that work, if people aren't signing up for your email list, buying your products, engaging with your blog posts, then it's time to go back and make it work for you.
I think about this like the movie Serendipity.
You know, where two people meet in a café, and the woman writes her phone number in a book that gets lost? Then the guy has to spend a year trying to find that phone number again, hoping for some serendipitous reunion.
That's precisely what you DON'T want your website to be doing.
You don't want to leave things up to serendipity.
You want to make that connection, get their email, and develop a genuine relationship that moves past that initial meeting.
When it comes to the customer journey, I talk about four phases: Connect, Cultivate, Choose, and Cherish. We want to guide people from their initial connection all the way to the point where they cherish what you offer, whether that's your services or products.
Your website needs to be guiding people along that journey.
When you invest energy in your website and make sure that the customer journey is clear, it frees up your time in other areas of your business, allowing you to focus on what you really want to do.
Websites Are An Iterative Process
Websites are always iterative. You're always in process with them.
If you never update them, you probably have a sad, neglected website that really needs some TLC.
Currently, I have 11 or 12 blog posts available on my website. A few posts ago, I started adding a table of contents to my blog posts because I realized it would be helpful for readers.
I now have a Google Sheet where I keep track of all the older posts that require a table of contents (that I’ll add when I have time). It's something I'll go back and do, but I'm not stopping everything right this second to make all my old posts perfect.
This is how sustainable website growth works.
You create a process, adjust it as you go, and write down the things you want to fix later.
Then, during your "website week" or "website day" (maybe once a month or once a quarter), you tackle that list.
It's about learning to be okay with imperfection while knowing you're moving forward.
How I Approach Website Changes
I think about website improvements in two categories: small changes and bigger projects.
Small changes might include adding photos to older blog posts, adding a table of contents, updating my author bio, or formatting my links in a specific way.
These tasks might take 20 minutes per blog post, and I can batch them together. They're the kind of things I notice as I'm working and add to my running task list.
Bigger projects require more thought and planning. For example, I want to remove a service from my website that I no longer wish to offer. That means reformatting my homepage, thinking about what else needs to go in that space, and making sure all the pieces work together.
There are other things I need to get in order before I can make that change. It involves many different things and it’s not something I can complete all at once.
I handle small changes monthly or quarterly during dedicated website maintenance time. Bigger changes happen once or twice a year when I'm ready to tackle more substantial updates.
The Cost of Waiting for Perfect
I've had website design clients in the past who would take forever just to choose a font. They'd want to test 500 fonts before choosing one, and it would make the whole process incredibly long.
It stemmed from a place of perfectionism, and it prevented them from making progress on the things that actually mattered.
Here's what I wish I could tell every creative entrepreneur who's been putting off their website: you need to start now because everything takes time.
SEO takes time.
Building an email list takes time.
Getting people to find you and follow you and sign up for your stuff…it all takes time.
I've worked with creators who had zero email subscribers, yet they wanted to launch immediately. But they hadn't done the foundational work yet.
If you're creating a website, you're doing that foundational work right now.
And here's the thing about foundations, they're okay not being perfect. You build the foundation, put up the walls, and THEN you worry about the decorating.
Letting Go of Perfectionism
You know that feeling when you get a new sketchpad or journal, and you don't want to mess up the first page because then it won't be perfect anymore? Starting a website can feel similar if you let it.
Here's what I suggest: go in and put one thing on your website, even if it looks ugly.
Then, you've done the thing.
You've broken that perfect spell. It can only go up from here.
The truth is, our standard of perfect is not the same as everybody else's standard of perfect.
I've learned this by working with others over the years. I create something and think it looks good, but then someone else looks at it and says, "Nope, that's not the way it needs to be.”
People have different standards.
Your idea of perfect will never be the same as everybody else's idea of perfect.
Once you understand that what's in your head isn't what everyone else is thinking, it becomes easier just to get started.
What "Good Enough" Actually Looks Like
When I think about a simple, functional website for a creative entrepreneur, here's what it needs to include:
A clear headline that tells visitors who you are and what you create. Make sure it’s clear and helpful.
A brief introduction to you that gives people context about your work. A few paragraphs, not your entire life story.
One main call-to-action. Maybe asking people to join your email list or a contact form so they can connect with you about custom work or services.
Basic information about your art, including photographs and links to where people can see and purchase your work.
That's it.
Notice what's NOT on this list: perfect portfolio galleries, detailed service descriptions, complex navigation, pricing information for services you're not ready to offer yet.
All those things might be valuable eventually, but they're not required for a website to be helpful right now.
Learning from Real Feedback
If you haven't actually spoken to your ideal customers or clients yet, you don't really know what they need or want to hear from you. So trying to make your website perfect won’t matter much until you’re a little further along.
Until you get feedback from real people, your website will be imperfect no matter how much you agonize over it.
The more you work with people, talk to them, and encourage them to communicate with you, the more you'll figure out what their needs are and how you can help them.
You achieve this by actually interacting with those people, and you can't do that effectively without a website.
Why Perfect Websites Are Actually a Myth
One of my former coaches had what I can only describe as a "hot mess" website.
Things didn't work correctly, the design was dated, and the user experience was confusing. But you know what? She made thousands and thousands of dollars. Every single month.
Her website wasn't perfect, but it was functional enough to do the job, and she focused her energy on serving her people rather than perfecting her fonts.
Even big corporations with full teams don't have perfect websites.
There are always things that need to be updated, things that are broken, and things that could be better.
The difference is that they don't let the imperfection stop them from moving forward.
The Sustainable Approach to Website Growth
So how do you actually do this without burning yourself out?
First, set a realistic deadline for launching the first version of your site.
I'm talking a couple of weeks, not months. The goal is progress, not perfection.
Second, plan your iterations.
What will you add in three months? Six months? Having a loose roadmap helps you build something that can grow rather than something you'll need to completely rebuild later.
Third, batch your website improvements.
Instead of constantly tweaking, set aside dedicated time (maybe once a month or once a quarter) for "website days" where you focus on updates and improvements from your running list.
Fourth, keep a running list of things you want to improve.
I use a simple Google spreadsheet. When I notice something I want to change or add, I write it down and tackle it during my next website focus time.
Start Where You Are
When you're staring at a blank page, it feels overwhelming. I still experience that, and I've been doing this for over 13 years.
But your website doesn't need to represent every dream you have for your business. It needs to represent where your business actually is right now and provide a foundation that can grow with you.
You don't need detailed descriptions of services you're not ready to offer yet. You don't need a blog if you're not ready to commit to writing regularly.
You need a place where people interested in your work can learn more about you and take the next step to stay connected.
Start there. Build from there.
Let your website grow as your business grows, rather than trying to build the final version before you've even gotten started.
The Foundation is What Matters
The truth is, a simple website that exists is infinitely more valuable than a perfect website that doesn't.
When people search for your name or find you through social media, they can learn about your work. When you meet someone at an art fair or a networking event, you have a place to send them. When you're featured in a blog post or interviewed on a podcast, there's a place for new people to discover you.
All of those opportunities are lost when you don't have any website at all.
My website right now, eight months after launching?
It's still not perfect. There are things I want to change, things I want to add, and things I want to take off.
And that's exactly as it should be. It's growing with me and my business.
Join the Conversation
What's one thing you could include on a simple website that would be helpful for people who are interested in your work? Your foundation doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to exist so you can start building on it, one cozy step at a time.
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