After years of building websites, fixing broken ones, and politely untangling confusion that could’ve been avoided upfront, I’ve learned something important:
Most website problems start before the website ever gets built.
Early in my career, I thought web design was about clean layouts and good-looking pages. That’s part of it—but that’s not the job.
The job is understanding how a business actually works.
Ask more questions than feels comfortable
If a web designer isn’t asking a lot of questions before building, that’s a red flag.
I need to know how you make money, how people find you, what happens after someone contacts you, and what success looks like for your business. Without that, the site is just guesswork.
And guessing is how you end up rebuilding six months later.
If you’re curious what “good questions” actually look like, this article breaks it down well:
Design without function is decoration
A good-looking website that doesn’t function properly isn’t impressive—it’s ineffective.
Design should support behavior:
- booking
- contacting
- understanding
- trusting
If visitors can’t figure out what to do next, the site failed. Period.
Web design isn’t interior decorating for the internet. It’s problem-solving.
If you’re a solo service provider without a website… that’s a problem
Scrolling LinkedIn and seeing attorneys, consultants, and therapists with no website is wild.
No place to learn about them.
No testimonials.
No explanation of services.
No easy way to book.
That’s not minimalism—that’s missed opportunity.
Your website is the one asset that works for you 24/7. Without it, you’re forcing every potential client into extra steps they didn’t ask for.
And most won’t take them.
A website isn’t optional if you’re serious about growth. It’s infrastructure.
This is just my short list, what else would you say that you’ve learned. Or hell, what else would you say the I need to learn? Let me know, I ain’t scared.
