Before You Build a Website, Read This
You’ve got a lot of options.
It’s not a one-size-fits all approach when it comes to deciding on how (or who) to build a website for your business. With new technologies and AI there are now more options than ever. And it can be very overwhelming if you’re new to this.
Here’s what I’ve seen and heard firsthand from working with multiple business owners - either building their first site or moving away from their current one.
My goal is to help simplify the decision and find what’s right for you.
Option 1: Tell AI What to Build
AI website builders continue to grow, and for some people they're a great starting point. You answer a few questions, and within minutes you have something that looks like a website. Fast, affordable, and pretty low barrier to entry.
But here's what I've seen happen:
People get partway through and hit a wall. The AI gave them a foundation, but now they want to adjust the layout, rework the messaging, or make it actually feel like their business — and that's where it gets frustrating – taking much more of their time than anticipated. I've had clients come to me after going this route because they got stuck and just wanted to work through it with an actual person.
And if you’re going the AI route, make sure you're thinking beyond the design — things like SEO/AEO, accessibility, legal pages (yes, even small businesses need them), and privacy controls are easy to overlook but important to get right.
Option 2: Hire a Larger Agency
Working with a full-service agency means you have a team behind you — designers, developers, strategists. For businesses with a lot of complexity, multiple locations, or specific technical requirements, this can absolutely be the right place.
A couple of things to keep in mind if you’re thinking this route. Many agencies build on proprietary platforms, which means your site lives inside their ecosystem. As long as you love them, that's fine. But if you ever want to part ways, switching can be complicated — and you're often locked into a monthly fee regardless of how much support you're actually using. It's worth asking upfront what platform your site will be built on and what happens if the relationship changes down the road.
Option 3: A Boutique Studio
Working with a smaller, more focused studio typically means a more hands-on, collaborative experience. You're not just a number on a dashboard.
And transparently - this is the space I’m in.
I build on Squarespace, which I'd recommend for most service-based small businesses. There's a large community of designers who work on the platform, so you're never locked into working with just one person. Once your site is built, making basic updates — swapping a photo, updating text, adding a new offering — is something most clients can handle on their own without needing to call anyone. And because it's built custom to you and your business, it actually reflects who you are rather than looking like everyone else's site.
That said, if your business has a lot of moving parts — complex integrations, e-commerce at scale — a larger agency might genuinely be the better fit. I always say this upfront rather than oversell when a boutique studio is the right solution.
So what’s right for you? Here’s a few questions to ask yourself:
How much do you want to be involved in the process?
Do you want to be able to make simple updates yourself down the road?
How important is it that your site feels custom to your brand?
Do you have complex technical needs, or are you a service-based business that needs a clean, clear, functional site?
Knowing what you're signing up for at the start makes all the difference. And if you're not sure on the option that’s right for you, I'm always happy to talk it through.
