Stop taking months to build websites

Why do we do this?

So why do we do this? Why do we take so long. Well this can be for a number of reasons. So let's look at each of them individually. Once we identify why we do this. We can figure out how to avoid doing it!

• Too much early motivation

  Yes, you did read that correctly. We can be too motivated in the beginning. But what do I mean by this? Well, when we start a new web project our brains are working at 100 miles an hour. We have lots of ideas. We are constantly thinking about all of these ideas. How we can market the website, different features we want to build, etc.
  Every time we think of a new idea our brains reward us with a little dopamine rush. We then feel like we have achieved something. But the reality is we have achieved nothing. We are tricked into believing that we have been productive. We are then left with a false sense of achievement which slows us down on the actual website build.

• Flit between ideas

  We flit between ideas. So we may start building our website. And we start by building out the navigation bar. But then we have an idea for how we want the contact page to look. So we stop what we are doing with the navigation bar and start on the contact page. And then we have another idea... You get the point.
  We keep on starting new areas of the website but don't prioritise finishing them. So when we eventually do come back to sorting out the navigation bar we have lost motivation. Not only have we lost motivation but we also have to find our bearings again and remember what the plan was. This process is both tiring and time consuming. And a huge reason why it takes you so long to build your websites.

• Looking for perfection

  We are often looking for perfection. When in reality everyone knows that perfection is not possible. Have you ever found yourself randomly adding an animation to your website for no apparent reason? It is this sort of behaviour that is slowing you down.
  The reality is you don't have any website visitors yet. Your website isn't even publicly available. Why are you adding animations? We need to get a basic website up and running before we even thing about adding anything like that. And even then it is unnecessary! (in my opinion).

• Writing website copy as we code

  This is a big one. Writing the copy for your website as you code. This is a slow process. It is difficult to switch between writing code and writing copy. Each time you switch you need to find you feet again. This is a really inefficient way of doing things.
  What happens is you end up writing code really slowly. And writing website copy really slowly. You get the worst of both worlds!

• Designing from scratch

  Designing from scratch can be fine for some. But for most it is a very time consuming process.

Solutions

Luckily for you I have the solutions to these problems. And you will be pleased to hear that they are super easy to implement. Let's take a look at them.

• Write down your idea

  When we are all motivated and excited in the beginning stages. We need to write down our ideas. anything that pops into our minds. Write it down. It doesn't matter how good or bad an idea might be. Just write it down.
  I like to create a new Google Doc for the project. And in the Google Doc I will write down every idea I have related to the website. The reason I do this is it gets the idea out of my brain. I don't have to keep thinking about it. I know it is stored safely. This allows me to et on with actually building the website. Because I know I can look back at my list of ideas at a later date. And implement any ideas that are actually decent.

• Live on day one

  I have a mindset for creating websites. And I like to call this mindset "live on day one". As the name suggests, it means I have to get the website live on day one. I need to get a version of it up on a live server for the world to see. On the first day of building the website. Now this might sound reckless to you. But I will explain why this is such an effective technique.
  When you know your website is live. And that real people are able to view it. It helps you to prioritise what is actually important. Instead of focussing on an animation that makes text appear as you scroll. You realise you need to focus on having a presentable home page with clear and concise text. You realise that the design is not as important as you previously did. You realise that the actual website copy is the most important part of your website.
  With this in mind. When I first start building a website. I know I need to get a basic home page sorted. A basic archive page for blog posts. And a basic blog post template. With these 3 pages sorted I can then start smashing out blog posts. Because, as mentioned previously. The website content is the most important part of the site. This is what is going to bring in clicks to your site. And the clicks are what are going to give you the dopamine reward which will keep you improving the site and creating more content.
  For these reasons, I recommend getting your site live on day one.

• Write content before building website

  This one is self explanatory. But writing your content before coding your website gives you a huge advantage. Doing this means you can focus all of your attention and brain power on one thing at a time. This not only makes you much more efficient. But it also makes the quality of each improve.
  You are no longer switching thought processes and tiring yourself out. This is a far more effective way of doing things when compared to doing both at the same time.

• Use a component library

  If you are designing from scratch. The question I would ask you is, why? There is no need to do this. I recommend you use a component library like Tailwind UI or daisyUI. By doing so you no longer need to think about design. Your design will also look amazing. As it has been done by a professional.
  The speed at which you get your design built will sky rocket when using a component library. Check out my Tailwind UI review and my DaisyUI first impressions for more information on these.

No more excuses

So there you have it. The reasons why you take so long to build simple websites. And what you can do about it. You have no more excuses!

If you want to see how I'm putting this into practice, check out my WaaS Blueprint where I'm building local business websites using this exact approach.