Category: WebsitesCategory: Websites

In last month’s “LET’S BUILD AND HOST A WEB PAGE IN 90 MINUTES” Focus Escape Pod Zoom call, we did what we set out to do: we made a web page, and we got it up on the web (most of us).

We actually had fun on a mid-week Zoom call – just look at what some people said:

“I just impressed my 16 year old!”

“I’m going to experimenting more, I remember how playful this is!”

“Finally I get it!”

“This was awesome!”

So, maybe we’re not replacing our Squarespace or WordPress site next week, but maybe we can think about ditching LinkTree, or make a better looking sales page for our latest offering.

We’ve got confidence now. Maybe we can publish to the web without paying big corporate platforms for hosting some simple HTML pages. And we did it together, as a group, rather than try to figure things out by watching a dozen YouTube videos.

Want to learn with us? We’re doing it again later this month.

Wednesday, April 29 – https://luma.com/v5yvyvi2
Saturday, May 2 – https://luma.com/n73cc7yo

Social media platforms make it easy, right?

Easy to sign up! Easy to find your friends! Easy to post a video! One click purchase!

People LOVE “easy” on the internet.

How are we making it easy for our readers with our newsletters? Our websites? Our booking pages?

How many clicks are required to book you?

How many clicks to pre-order your new album or book?

This from Aral Balkan on Mastodon (via Pixel Envy):

When you post things on Instagram, Facebook, and X, this is what they look like to people who don’t use those platforms.

Take note restaurants and coffee shops and tattoo shops, etc. Folks who don’t use those platforms anymore might not be able to see your hours of business, your location, or your contact info.

A domain name from Hover (affiliate link) + a one page website can cost less than $200 a year, and it’s viewable by anyone with a smart phone.

If you want to get started making a simple landing page, a Linktree clone (like this one), or a portfolio sites, InfinityFree might be good if you’re just getting started.

A website doesn’t need to cost $25/month via Squarespace, or bog you down with admin duties tending to a dozen plugins.

Let your website tell your story. People hate being sold to, but they love buying.

Let people buy in to what you’re doing with your website.

I talk about “having a website” a lot, so I’m often asked, “what’s the ideal creator website service?”

I’m not so sure anymore.

The more I look at platforms like Squarespace, Cargo, Wix, Framer, Weebly, I can’t help but think of the square peg / round hole problem. That there’s no really “one size fits all” solution, and sometimes these “easy” website builders are complex – even to seasoned web professionals.

I started Social Media Escape Club in 2021 here on Substack. It wasn’t until 2025 that I finally landed on WordPress for my website because what I discovered is that I wanted a blog, and I wanted it to work in a familiar way and that was WordPress, the other blog set ups just don’t feel right to me. But I didn’t know in 2021 that I would end up at just “doing a blog.”

So it really helps to nail down what do you need the site to do, and how does it need to feel? Because if you hate using it (like I did with Squarespace), you’ll never use (I didn’t).