As you build your business, you know you want a website that rocks.
You dream of creating a website that captures the magic of you and what you’re all about, while being easy to navigate, robust enough to be informative, and absolutely killer at making sales.
That can seem like a tall order.
If you have been in dreamland, scheming about designing your website more than actually building the thing, you may be suffering from analysis paralysis.
Here are five ways to tell you’re stuck in “analysis paralysis.”
1. You find yourself falling down the rabbit hole.
Researching ideas for your website can feel really productive. As you’re gathering information, your brain gets excited and wants to compare and analyze your options . . . and then compare some more.
But be careful when researching, especially when scrolling through your competitors’ sites.
Exploring can help you see what features you like and pick up on general themes, but at the end of the day, you want to stand out from the pack—not blend in. Stay in tune with yourself so you can make your website reflect your most (professionally) authentic self and showcase what you have to offer.
Remember to not compare your beginning to someone else’s middle. In your research, you’ll find websites to salivate over. Some will be chock-full of content that took months—even years—to create.
Listen, my first website was a one-page brochure site with a tiny circular selfie of me and just a few paragraphs about what I could do. It was pretty unimpressive. But it was a start! And look what I’ve been able to create now, just two years later.
I promise, the websites you are researching all started somewhere, and that’s what you’re doing, too. You’re starting.
2. When every decision makes you want to tear your hair out.
You can give yourself whiplash when you try to make too many decisions at once. Doing that is a quick ride to overwhelm. And if you’re anything like me, overwhelm leads to wanting to give up.
What I suggest (and what I tell my clients) is to constrain yourself to one website decision at a time. Not sure what to write on your About page, let alone how to design it or choose a photo for it?
Focus on just one of those elements before moving on to the next. Choose a photo today. Write some copy tomorrow. Then design the copy next week. You get the gist.
If you’re just getting started, I recommend signing up for the Coach Website Blueprint. You’ll learn about the five web pages every coach website needs and exactly how to structure them. Coaches tell me that the training massively lowers their overwhelm levels!
3. If you’re always looking for a better solution.
When you can’t help but chase after whatever new website platform or email management tool you read about, you may be suffering from a bad case of “shiny object syndrome.”
You can easily convince yourself there’s always a better/smarter/more efficient solution than the one you’ve already picked. But chasing after new ideas can be a time and energy suck. Ultimately, you’re playing a game of distraction.
I suggest tapping into what Jody Moore calls your own “approval power.” Allow yourself to like the choices you’ve already made. Learn to commit to a certain solution and stick with it. Later on, if you really like your reason for changing email softwares or website platforms, you can make the switch. But do it with intention, not because you’re chasing the next best thing or avoiding taking action.
Just like deciding on a niche keeps you from going a million different directions in your business, committing to one plan of action for your website makes the whole process more fun and less stressful. Commitment is freeing!
4. If you find yourself walking on eggshells and fearing failure at every step.
Second-guessing yourself is no fun. Take another tip from my mentor, Jody Moore, and “loosen your grip!” It’s okay to not do everything perfectly, to mess up, or to try something that doesn’t work out.
Let your hair down and allow the process of building your website to be fun! You’re learning new things, growing in your expertise, and forging your business. You’re making positive steps toward your own growth. This work doesn’t need to feel heavy. Sure, you’ll likely make mistakes along the way. But mistakes always make for the best stories anyway.
Websites are dynamic and flexible, and this is an advantage. You’re not setting anything in stone here—you’re simply constructing a framework to build upon. You can always adjust things later if you’re not getting the results you want.
5. When you can’t stop tweaking before launching your site.
I love Jody Moore’s approach to perfection. (Hint: perfection is never the goal.) Jody says that she aims for B- work in all that she does. But, man, I love her B- work!
What if Jody had stopped herself from putting out so much great content because it wasn’t “perfect” in her eyes? We would have all missed out tremendously on such life-changing material. (I’m obviously a big Jody Moore fan.)
I hope you take the same approach on your website. Sure, iterating on content ideas can be beneficial, but don’t be afraid to launch in the meantime! You don’t need to wait until you have ten YouTube videos or 20 blog posts on your site. Post one or two and then go ahead and launch! Just commit to adding to your content consistently as time goes on.
Remember, done (enough) is better than perfect.
I’ve been stuck in analysis paralysis too.
During my first year of business, I felt stuck.
I was building websites, but I was also wringing my hands wondering if I should bundle other services into my offer.
I had noticed that other website agencies offered copywriting, SEO, Google, and Facebook ads as ongoing retainers. So I considered adding those services to my business and in some ways felt like I really should offer them.
But, in the end, I decided to go with my gut.
I stopped asking myself what I “should” do and chose to go with what I wanted to do. I decided I could make a successful business by just building websites. And you know what? I have created a flourishing business. And just as importantly, I LOVE what I do.
Discomfort is part of the process.
When you find yourself spinning your wheels, it can be helpful to recognize what’s holding you back and call it out for what it is. Building a website is like any other major goal we set for ourselves.
As exciting as it is to move toward your business goals, remember that there will be discomfort in the process. Take that as a good thing. You’re growing and understanding yourself more with each step you take to build your website.
I challenge you to take an inventory of how much progress you’ve made on your website.
Write it down.
You may be encouraged by how much you HAVE done. Keep that momentum going.
But, if you find that you want the help of a pro to guide you through, access my free Coach Website Blueprint here. I promise that it will take you out of overwhelm and into progress.
