Here’s my unpopular opinion: Website building is a grossly oversimplified task. A quick Google search for “how to build a website” will unearth dozens of posts all praising the drag-and-drop, what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) platforms of the world. Authors will claim “it’s as easy as a point and click of the mouse” — and POOF, you have a website.
But if it were really that simple, why would that searched query warrant so much popularity? Why wouldn’t everybody we know already have a personal portfolio online plus a site for their side hustle that passively brings in thousands of dollars in additional income each month?
Circling back to my unpopular opinion: Website builders, including Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress.com, take the technically daunting task of creating a website from scratch and simplify it, yes — but it’s not always 100% pain-free. There will be learning curves and aspects of the interface that don’t make sense right off the bat, and plenty of opportunities for frustration. And I want to walk through those moments — getting everyone safely to the other side — in this post.