Hard Refresh - Amplify Your Impact

How to Build Your First Website

So you’re asking yourself, “Can I really build a decent website myself without spending thousands?” Here’s your answer.

Yes—if you’re early in your journey, your site has fewer than five pages, and you’re mostly trying to exist online (rather than scale or convert traffic), DIY is absolutely the right call. You don’t need $5,000. You just need a clear goal, some focused effort, and a mindset shift.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know to build your own first website: what to prioritize, what to avoid, and how to set yourself up for a better website later.

1. Should You DIY Your Website?

DIY makes sense if:

  • Your site will be five pages or fewer
  • You don’t have $5,000 to spend
  • You “just need something online” to prove you exist
  • You’re in an early phase with minimal inbound traffic
  • You have a vision for something bigger but lack time and budget for pro help

If this is you, you’re not building for perfection—you’re building for existence. Your goal right now is to:

  • Create a legitimate presence
  • Make it easy for users to find you
  • Start collecting data that will inform a better version later

2. Before You Dive In: Mindset Matters

Don’t overthink it. The only people who truly care what your site looks like are:

  • You
  • Bitter graphic designers who peaked in the 2000s
  • Your haters

This site isn’t for any of them. It’s not even for you. It’s for your users.

Start calling your visitors “users”—because they’re the ones using your website. That shift alone will help you make better design decisions.

Keep this question front and center: What is the purpose of this website?

3. Choose the Right Platform

Pick a platform that matches your skill level, goals, and future needs. Here are a few options:

  • Shopify – Best for simple product-based businesses
  • Squarespace – Easiest for non-tech folks, especially service providers
  • Wix – Very drag-and-drop, but can get messy fast
  • WordPress – Flexible and powerful, but steeper learning curve
  • Webflow – Great for designers who want control (not beginner-friendly)

AI tools can help, but treat them like interns—not creative directors. They still hallucinate, and they can’t think through accessibility or UX decisions for you.

Look for inspiration on line, peruse themes and templates until you find something you like, and feel free to copy structure you see elsewhere. No one expects you to make a ground-breaking site on your first go.

(Coming soon: A full guide on how to choose the right platform)

4. Nail Your Content Strategy

Your job is to answer your users’ most important questions:

  • What problem do you solve?
  • Why does solving it matter?
  • Who is your target audience, and why?
  • Who else benefits from this solution?

Use testimonials, quotes, or results to show real-world proof.

How to Write Website Copy That Works:

  • Write like you’re answering a question asked to ChatGPT. Be direct.
  • Use real language. Avoid fluff or filler.
  • Every sentence should serve the user.

My pro tip: As you answer the questions above, end each sentence with ‘so that..’ until you arrive at the truest version of how engaging with your brand benefits your clientele.

For example, “Hard Refresh is a digital strategy agency that helps impact brands build and maintain websites so that their marketing teams have a trusted partner to execute the end-of-funnel web-related actions their users take so that their jobs are easier so that they can do more marketing so that their business does better so that the mission of their business goes further.” (hence our slogan being Amplify Your Impact)

Essential Pages to Consider:

  • Home – Big-picture summary
  • About – Who you are, your mission, your values
  • Contact – Make it easy to reach you
  • Services/Products – What you offer, how it works, pricing if possible

Optional: Break out values and team info into separate pages to build trust with future users and AI tools.

5. Technical Must-Haves (Don’t Skip These!)

Here are the foundational items even your first website should include:

  • One H1 per page – That’s your main heading. Don’t use multiple.
  • Alt text for every image – Helps with accessibility and SEO.
  • High-contrast colors – Use a color contrast checker to make sure your text is readable.
  • Clear, bold CTA – Put it top right, above the fold, and at the bottom. Make it obvious what you want users to do.
  • Install analytics – At minimum, Google Analytics or your platform’s native tool. You need data to improve later.

Your future designer will thank you. So will your users.

6. What About SEO?

If you have a physical location, claim your Google Business Profile. That’s the fastest, easiest SEO win.

Beyond that:

  • Search what you think your users will search for. Do you show up?
  • If not, who does? What are they doing differently?
  • Use free tools or SEO-focused GPTs to explore keywords.

More tips:

  • Include your location in your copy.
  • Use clear, relevant page titles (that match what someone might search).
  • Ask friends/family to comment on social posts using keywords (e.g. “best bagels in Seattle”).

7. When Should You Hire a Professional?

When you’ve got $10,000+ set aside specifically for this.

Don’t spend less. There are too many tools out there to justify a $3K build anymore.

Instead, hire a consultant early on to:

  • Validate your direction
  • Help you plan your next steps
  • Avoid costly mistakes

Then, when you’re ready for the next-level website, invest in a team that brings:

  • UX and brand strategy
  • Accessibility and technical execution
  • A long-term digital roadmap
  • Technical skills your business needs and your (much larger now) user base expect

The real value isn’t the site—it’s the strategy behind it.

8. Does Accessibility Really Matter?

YES. Full stop.

If your site isn’t accessible, you’re:

  • Excluding users
  • Missing legal requirements
  • Losing SEO ground

Accessibility isn’t just about doing the right thing (though it is). It’s smart strategy.

Read more: Why accessible sites rank better in AI search

Disabilities can be temporary, situational, or permanent. Build for everyone, always.

9. Final Thought: What Is This Website For?

Every choice you make should come back to this: What is the purpose of this website?

If it’s to:

  • Get people to call you — make that button the biggest.
  • Sell a product — show the product first, not your life story.
  • Establish legitimacy — keep it clean and clear.

Users come first. Then search engines. Then aesthetics.

🔧 30-Minute Action

Block 30 minutes. Sketch out:

  1. Your site’s primary purpose (write one sentence)
  2. Your top 3 user questions (write a bullet point answer for each)
  3. The action you want every visitor to take

That’s your homepage outline.

Need More Help?

If you’re stuck or second-guessing your next step, I offer strategic consulting (but I don’t build DIY sites—that’s below my pay grade).

Learn more or book a session here

You’ve got this. Just start. Iterate later. The best website is the one that exists.