Starting with a website template? What to know before you build

When people ask what you do, you want to send a link to your website. A free template on Squarespace, Wix, or another platform looks like the fastest way there. Pick a design. Swap in your words and photos. Done.

On paper, that’s a smart move. No need to spend big money on a designer before you make any. And it beats building your website with AI. You get a designer-made look, a platform that handles the tech, and editing without code.

But once the site is live, doubts creep in. Things feel off, and you don’t know why.And of course, you want your website to bring in work. So you keep tweaking when you could be serving clients. Sound familiar?

That’s not on you. Builders sell templates as fast and easy, and the gallery shows finished, polished websites. What it doesn’t show: a template handles the easy part and leaves the decisions to you.

Here’s what to know before you build, and what to do about it.

Problem #1: Templates are built for everyone, not for you

A template doesn’t know your offer, your audience, or how your clients decide. Most people pick one for its looks, not its fit.

Sure, you can filter the gallery by niche: coaching, consulting, photography. But “coach” is not a strategy. A leadership coach with a €10,000 program and a relationship coach with a €500 course share the label. That’s where the similarities end. Their visitors need different levels of trust. They take different amounts of time to decide. They feel different risks.

A template can’t account for any of that. It also comes with next steps (sometimes several!): book a call, fill out a form, send an email. So you use what’s there, not what fits your business. Worst case: the steps compete, and confused visitors leave without knowing how to work with you.

And you rarely know why a template has the sections it has. Buying psychology? User research? Or just what looks good in the gallery?

Seeing what fits your business takes experience. In the Website Sprint, we answer those questions together on a Strategy Day. Your business expertise meets my web design experience.

Once the structure fits, the next question is how big your website needs to be.

Problem #2: You’re likely overbuilding your website

Most templates are multi-page websites: Home, About, Services, Blog, Contact, and more. Filling them takes far longer than planned. Halfway through, you cut half the sections. You end up with five short pages. They don’t tell a consistent story. They don’t get anyone to act.

Jen, a circular fashion consultant, had exactly that. I helped her plan the switch to one page:

Stefanie quickly identified areas of improvement, gave clear examples, and provided me with a straightforward outline to transform my multipage site into a streamlined, effective one-page website.

Why are templates so big? Because that’s what sells. Multi-page templates earn their creators more than one-pagers. And many solopreneurs believe one page is never enough, even when they’re just starting out. It’s part of the Big Fancy Website Myth.

Tip #1: start with one page. I did it when I launched my business, and I do it for my clients in the Website Sprint. One page forces you to choose what matters. And it gives your visitors one path to the next step.

Tip #2: use my free Solopreneur Sales Page Blueprint to structure and write your one-pager. Then pick a matching template section for each part, and delete the pages you don’t need. You keep the polished design. Your content comes in the order your visitors need it.

Fewer pages also mean fewer design decisions. Which brings us to the part that looks easiest to change.

Problem #3: Template designs can break once you make them your own

A template looks good because a designer designed it. Fonts, colors, layouts, even the stock photos: all chosen to work together. Change them to make the site your own, and you’ll likely break design rules like visual hierarchy or accessible contrast. Never heard of them? No surprise. Nobody taught you, and your builder won’t either.

So you have two options. Keep the look and blend in with everyone who picked it. Or change it and risk a site that’s harder to use.

Tip #3: mostly stick to the template’s design. If you want to change fonts or colors, here’s how to choose colors and fonts that look professional. And check the contrast of every color you change: low contrast is the most common accessibility error on the web.¹

Rather not worry about any of this? In the Website Sprint, you get a brand made from your personality, built right into your website. That makes it harder to break. The brand guideline is your cheat sheet for things like contrast.

A template gets you live. The next question is how long it keeps up.

Will a template website keep working as your business grows?

For a one-page website at launch, the platform itself is fine. The limits show up as your business grows. A feature you need isn’t there. A tool won’t connect. The next step means a pricier plan. And since your content doesn’t move easily, switching platforms often means a rebuild.

Then there’s the question that matters most: does it bring bookings? If the structure doesn’t fit your business, it won’t, however polished it looks. So your evenings and weekends go into another round of fonts and colors. Your website turns into a second job. And the bookings still don’t come.

Performance can suffer, too. Lilli’s Squarespace site took 11.9 seconds to load. After the move to WordPress: 0.4 seconds. Here’s why easy-to-start platforms get limiting as your business grows.

How does a template compare to the alternatives?

Website templates, custom design, or AI-generated websites: what each option gets you

A template gets you a designer-made look and a platform that handles the tech, fast and at low cost. Custom design gets you a structure and brand built for your business. An AI-generated website sits in between: it adapts to your prompt, but it’s built from the same patterns as everyone else’s.

The question is always who makes the decisions: you, AI, or someone with the experience to make them for your business.

Still weighing whether to build it yourself or pay someone? Here’s what DIY really costs compared to hiring a professional.

More questions about website templates

None of this makes a template the wrong start. Keep it to one page. Change the design with care. Let your words and photo carry it. That’s enough to get you live and your offer out into the world.

And if you’d rather hand the decisions to someone else, there’s another way.

With the Website Sprint, you don’t have to become a web designer

With some professional help, your website stops being a side project. It’s live, and when someone asks what you do, you send the link.

Been tweaking your template for weeks (or months)? The Website Sprint is my done-for-you package for solopreneurs launching their business. In as little as 5 days, you get a one-page website with:

• a structure built around what your business needs
• professional copy written for how visitors decide
• a brand made from your personality, with a guideline for you
• a WordPress site built on strong foundations, so it grows with your business

Bring your template website or draft along. We’ll use it as input on our Strategy Day.

We start with a free 30-minute Clarity Call: no icky sales call, just a conversation to see if we’re a good fit.

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Sources

1. WebAIM Million report ↩︎