Back in January I gave myself a goal to start designing my new website in February to launch it by the end of the month.
I started designing my website mid-January… but something just didn’t feel right about it. I haven’t had much free time due to work projects coming up. So instead of launching it by the end of February, I held off.
I think for me… a big part of what doesn’t feel right about it, is deciding which direction I want to go with my own brand. Deciding which services I want to keep on… and which services I want to take a break free from. To be perfectly honest, a lot of that is still up in the air. But I did something I encouraged my clients to do… I pushed myself and launched it anyways.
There is something about publishing something on the web that makes it feel so final. So concrete. That every little thing has to be perfect. What I really needed to do with sit down and look at my motives. Was I dragging my feet with this launch for valid reasons or just because hitting the publish button is scary?
I realized… it was 50/50. I do have to look at my services and rewrite a few things. But that could take months. If I decided I no longer wanted to offer services and just use my personal brand to blog… I can change that down the line. But at this moment… the website that I mocked up is better then the website I have live.
My mocked up website communicated what I can do better. It’s not perfect, but I’m going to get it there. What will motivate me to get it there… is to hit publish. So I took a few hours and hammered out some of my major edits and then I launched the website.
A big part of project managing a website design timeline… is distinguishing between Phase 1 and Phase 2 edits and not letting Phase 2 edits stop you from publishing your Phase 1 website. What I mean, is that when you’re working on a website suddenly you’re flooded with ideas. “Do I want to offer this service? Do I want to say this sentence? Well… what if I want to go in this direction?” Those questions can stop you from what you originally set out to do. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t stop and reflect on your company and your brand… you should, but there is a time and place. I’ve seen those questions sideline publishing a website for YEARS. Which is why I force myself to push my personal websites live when “I” think I’m 70% of the way there. Only because I know… I will always have another edit. Here is the things about edits… they can always be made after a website is live.
So hit publish.
P.S. If you want to check out my WordPress Website Design website Click Here.
Tish Briseno 