↓  Free playbook

The Full DIY Guide.
Everything I do, step by step.

Not ready to hire someone? That’s fine. This is the exact process I follow for every client build: audit, plan, design, code, test, launch, maintain. Use it yourself. No email required. No catch. And if you get halfway through and decide you’d rather hand it off, you already know exactly what you’re paying for.

· First published March 10, 2026

Phase 1: See

Audit what you already have

Before you touch a single tool, you need to know where you stand. This is the most skipped step and the one that costs people the most money. Every bad tech decision I’ve seen traces back to someone who started building before they finished looking.

  1. 1.1
    Document your current tools
    Open a blank document and list every tool, platform, and service your business uses. Include the ones you forgot about. Include the ones someone else set up. Include the spreadsheets.
    • Website — where is it hosted? Who has the login? When was it last updated?
    • Domain name — who owns it? Where is it registered? When does it expire?
    • Email — Gmail, Outlook, custom domain? Who manages it?
    • Social media — which platforms, who has access, what’s the posting frequency?
    • Payment processing — Stripe, Square, PayPal, cash only?
    • Scheduling/booking — Calendly, phone calls, pen and paper?
    • Accounting — QuickBooks, spreadsheets, shoebox of receipts?
    • CRM/contacts — where do you keep customer info?
    If you can’t answer these questions for every tool, that’s your first problem. Orphaned accounts with no known login are a security risk and a cost leak.
  2. 1.2
    Map your customer journey
    Trace the path a customer takes from first hearing about you to paying you. Write it out in plain English, not a flowchart. The real journey, not the ideal one.
    • Discovery — how do people find you? Google, referral, social, sign on the road?
    • First contact — what happens when they reach out? Do they call, text, email, fill a form?
    • Quote/estimate — how do you price the work? How fast do you respond?
    • Close — what gets them to say yes? What makes them walk?
    • Delivery — how does the work get done and handed over?
    • Follow-up — do you check in after? Do they come back?
    Where the journey breaks is where you’re losing money. Most businesses lose at follow-up: the lead goes cold because nobody owned the next step.
  3. 1.3
    Identify the handoff failures
    The biggest problems in small business tech are never the tools. They’re the handoffs between tools, between people, and between steps. Look for these specifically:
    • Lead to customer — does every inquiry get a response within 24 hours?
    • Sale to delivery — does what you promised match what gets built?
    • Delivery to feedback — do you learn what worked and what didn’t?
    • Tool to tool — is the same data entered in multiple places?
    • Person to person — when you hand something off, does it actually land?
    Fix the handoffs before you add more tools. A spreadsheet with clean handoffs beats a $500/month platform with broken ones.
  4. 1.4
    Grade your online presence
    Pull up your business on your phone, not your desktop. This is how most customers see you first.
    • Google your business name — what comes up? Is the info correct?
    • Google Business Profile — is it claimed, complete, and showing the right hours?
    • Load your website on mobile — does it look professional? Does it load in under 3 seconds?
    • Try to contact yourself — fill out your own form. Call your own number. Does it work?
    • Check your competitors — Google what your customers Google. Who shows up first?
    If your Google Business Profile isn’t claimed and complete, do that today. It’s free and it’s the single highest-ROI action for local businesses.
Phase 2: Shape

Plan before you build anything

This is where most people go wrong. They skip straight to “I need a website” and start picking colors. The planning phase determines whether your build takes 20 hours or 200.

  1. 2.1
    Define the problem, not the solution
    “I need a website” is a solution. “People can’t find my business online and I’m losing jobs to competitors who show up on Google” is a problem. Start with the problem.
    • Write down the top 3 problems your business has right now
    • For each one, ask: would a website fix this, or is this an operations problem?
    • If a website would help, write down exactly what it needs to DO, not what it needs to LOOK like
    “I need a website” leads to a $5,000 site that sits there. “I need a way for customers to request quotes at 11pm” leads to a form that makes you money.
  2. 2.2
    Choose and secure your domain
    Your domain is your digital address. Get this right because changing it later is painful.
    • Use a real registrar — Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Porkbun. Not GoDaddy (upsell city).
    • Get the .com — your exact business name if possible. Keep it short.
    • Register it yourself — never let a web designer register your domain in their account. YOU own it.
    • Turn on auto-renew — losing a domain because it expired is preventable and devastating.
    • Enable WHOIS privacy — free at most registrars. Keeps your personal info off public databases.
    Whoever controls the domain controls the business online. If your current developer registered it in their account, get it transferred to yours immediately.
  3. 2.3
    Plan your site structure
    Before you write a word of content or pick a single color, map out what pages you need and what each one should accomplish.
    • Home — what you do, who you serve, and one clear next step
    • About — why you, not your competitor. Experience, values, team.
    • Services/Work — what you offer, organized by what customers search for
    • Contact — phone, email, form, address. Make it dead simple.
    • Testimonials or portfolio — proof that you do what you say
    For most local businesses, 3–7 pages is the right starting range. Every additional page needs to earn its spot.
    Write the content for each page BEFORE you start designing. Content dictates design, not the other way around. A beautiful site with weak content loses to an ugly site with clear messaging.
  4. 2.4
    Pick your stack
    This is where the industry makes it complicated on purpose. Here’s the honest breakdown:
    • Squarespace/Wix — fine for businesses under $100K/year that need a brochure site fast. You’ll outgrow it.
    • WordPress — the most flexible option with the most baggage. Good if you’ll maintain it. Bad if you won’t.
    • Custom-coded — what I do. Full control, no monthly platform fees, you own everything. Higher upfront cost, lowest long-term cost.
    • Shopify — if you sell physical products online, start here. Don’t fight it.
    The right answer for 80% of local businesses: start with Squarespace or a simple WordPress theme. Get it live. Then upgrade to custom when the business demands it. A live mediocre site beats a perfect site that never launches.
  5. 2.5
    Choose hosting
    Where your site lives matters for speed, security, and cost.
    • Platform-hosted (Squarespace, Wix) — hosting is included. Simple but locked in.
    • Shared hosting (SiteGround, A2) — cheapest for WordPress. Fine for low-traffic sites.
    • VPS (Linode, DigitalOcean, Vultr) — more control, more responsibility. What I use for clients.
    • Managed WordPress (WP Engine, Kinsta) — WordPress without the server headaches. $30–$100/month.
    If you’re doing this yourself, start with managed hosting. The extra $20/month buys you automatic backups, security updates, and someone to call when things break.
Phase 3: Ship

Build it, test it, launch it

This is the longest phase and where most DIY projects stall. The key is to ship something real as fast as possible, then improve it. A real website that people can visit today is worth more than a perfect one that never launches.

  1. 3.1
    Write your content first
    This is the single most important step and the one everyone tries to skip. Write every word of your site content before you touch a template or tool.
    • Homepage headline — what you do + who you serve, in one sentence
    • About page — your story, your experience, why you care about the work
    • Service descriptions — write them the way your customers talk, not the way you talk
    • Call-to-action text — what do you want them to do? Call? Text? Fill a form?
    • Testimonials — ask 3 happy customers for a short written review. Real names, real words.
    Read every page out loud. If it sounds like a brochure, rewrite it. If it sounds like you explaining your business to a neighbor, you’re close.
  2. 3.2
    Build mobile-first
    Over 60% of your visitors will see your site on a phone first. If it doesn’t look good on mobile, it doesn’t look good.
    • Every page must be usable on a phone without pinching or zooming
    • Buttons and links need to be large enough to tap with a thumb
    • Text must be readable without zooming (minimum 16px body text)
    • Forms must work on mobile. Test them on your actual phone, not a simulator.
    • The phone number should be tappable (use tel: links)
    Open your site on your phone every single time you make a change. This one habit prevents more problems than any testing tool.
  3. 3.3
    Handle the technical basics
    These are non-negotiable. Every site needs them. Skip any of these and you’re building on sand.
    • SSL certificate — the padlock icon. Most hosting includes it free (Let’s Encrypt). No SSL = “Not Secure” warning in Chrome.
    • Backups — automated, off-site, tested. If you can’t restore from a backup in 30 minutes, you don’t have backups.
    • Security updates — if you’re on WordPress, update plugins weekly. Outdated plugins are the #1 way sites get hacked.
    • Contact form — test it yourself. Send a submission. Did it arrive? Where did it go?
    • 404 page — what happens when someone hits a bad link? It should guide them back, not show an error.
    • Favicon — the small icon in browser tabs. Makes you look professional. Takes 5 minutes.
  4. 3.4
    Set up SEO foundations
    SEO is not magic. It’s plumbing. Get the basics right and you’ll outrank most local competitors who didn’t bother.
    • Title tags — every page needs a unique title. Format: “What You Do | Business Name | City”
    • Meta descriptions — write a 150-character summary for each page. This shows up in Google results.
    • Heading structure — one H1 per page (the main topic). H2s for sections. Don’t skip levels.
    • Image alt text — describe every image for screen readers and search engines
    • Google Business Profile — complete every field. Add photos monthly. Respond to every review.
    • Google Search Console — free. Submit your sitemap. Check for errors monthly.
    • Schema markup — LocalBusiness schema tells Google your name, address, phone, hours. Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
    For local businesses, Google Business Profile is more important than your website for getting found. A complete GBP with 10+ reviews will beat a $10,000 website with no GBP every time.
  5. 3.5
    Optimize performance
    Speed is trust. A site that loads in 2 seconds feels professional. A site that loads in 6 seconds feels broken.
    • Compress images — use WebP format. No image on your site should be over 200KB. Tools: Squoosh, TinyPNG.
    • Limit fonts — one or two font families max. Every extra font slows loading.
    • Test with Lighthouse — open Chrome DevTools > Lighthouse tab > run an audit. Aim for 80+ on Performance.
    • Test on slow connections — Chrome DevTools > Network tab > throttle to “Slow 3G.” If it’s painful, fix it.
  6. 3.6
    Pre-launch checklist
    Before you tell anyone the site is live, run through this entire list. Every item. No exceptions.
    • Every link works (no broken links, no placeholder text)
    • Every form submits and you receive the submission
    • Phone number is correct and tappable on mobile
    • Address and hours are correct everywhere they appear
    • Site looks right on iPhone, Android, desktop, and tablet
    • SSL is active (padlock in browser bar)
    • Analytics is installed (Google Analytics or Plausible)
    • Google Search Console is connected and sitemap submitted
    • 404 page exists and is helpful
    • Privacy policy exists (required if you collect any data)
    • Copyright year is current
    • Social media links point to real profiles
    • Page titles and descriptions are set for every page
    • Images have alt text
    • Backup is configured and tested
    I run a 20-agent audit on every site before launch, checking over 100 items across design, UX, content, trust, infrastructure, and accessibility. This checklist is the simplified version. If you want to see the full system, check The Operation.
Phase 4: Grow

Maintain, measure, expand

Launching is not the finish line. A website is a living system. The businesses that treat it like a set-it-and-forget-it brochure are the ones calling me two years later saying “our site is broken and we don’t know why.”

  1. 4.1
    Monthly maintenance routine
    Block 30 minutes on your calendar once a month. Every month. This is not optional.
    • Run all software updates (WordPress, plugins, themes)
    • Verify your backup ran and you can restore from it
    • Check Google Search Console for errors or security warnings
    • Review your analytics: what pages get traffic? Where do people leave?
    • Test your contact form (send yourself a submission)
    • Google your business name and check that info is still correct
    • Check for broken links (use a free tool like Dead Link Checker)
    The businesses that do this monthly never have emergencies. The ones that don’t call me in a panic when their site gets hacked or their domain expires.
  2. 4.2
    Measure what matters
    You don’t need a dashboard with 50 metrics. Track these five and you’ll know if your site is working:
    • Monthly visitors — is traffic going up, down, or sideways?
    • Contact form submissions — how many leads is the site generating?
    • Phone calls from the site — use a tracking number or ask “how did you find us?”
    • Top pages — which pages do people actually look at?
    • Bounce rate on mobile — if people leave immediately on mobile, something’s broken
  3. 4.3
    Know when to add, and when to rebuild
    Not every problem requires a new feature. Sometimes the fix is simpler than you think.
    • Add when one specific capability is missing (online booking, payment form, FAQ page)
    • Optimize when you have the right pages but they’re not converting (rewrite copy, improve CTAs, fix mobile issues)
    • Rebuild when the foundation is rotten (outdated tech, security vulnerabilities, site that can’t be updated without breaking)
    If you’re afraid to touch your own site because it might break, that’s a rebuild signal. A healthy site can absorb changes without falling apart.
  4. 4.4
    Know when to stop doing it yourself
    DIY is the right move when you’re getting started. It stops being the right move when:
    • You’re spending more time on your website than on your actual business
    • You need custom functionality that no template or plugin provides
    • Security or compliance requirements exceed what you can manage
    • Your time is worth more than the cost of hiring someone
    • You’ve been “almost done” for more than 3 months
    If you followed this guide and got through Phase 3, you already know more than most business owners about how websites work. That means when you do hire someone, you’ll know exactly what to ask for and what a fair price looks like.

Why give this away?

Because the case for hiring me isn’t that the work is secret. It’s that the work is hard, it’s detailed, and it takes 20 years of pattern recognition to do it fast and right. Everything on this page is exactly what I do for clients who pay $300 an hour. The difference is that I’ve done it hundreds of times, and I catch the things that aren’t on any checklist. If you can do it yourself, you should. If you get stuck, I’m here.

20+ Years experience
$300/hr When you’re ready
0 Emails required

Ready When You Are

If you followed this guide and built something, send it to me. I’ll tell you what’s working and what I’d fix, no charge. If you got stuck and want to hand it off, we’ll start from where you are, not from scratch. Either way, one conversation, one business day.

Send what you’ve got → See my full process

$300/hr flat · $3,000–$12,000 for most builds · You own everything