Top 3 DIY Web Design Mistakes You Can Avoid

Have you heard this phase "You don't know what you don't know"? I sure have and I've said that many times to the point that I lost count. For the most parts, I really feel that making mistakes here or there can actually be a good thing. But for some mistakes, it's better to be aware what they are and how to avoid them so you can save yourself time, frustrations, tears and money.

1) Select the platform that doesn't fit with your technical background, learning ability and patient level:

I'm staritng my business but wait!!! What platform should I choose to diy my website???? Helppppppppppp!!!!

"Mary and her friends told me that XXXXX is the BEST website platform to build, everything else sucks!"

"Don't pick that drag-and-drop website builder! Oh my lord, its SEO is bad, you won't be able to move it anywhere else in the future, the cost is ridiculous, it's so limiting. NO, NO, NO. Pick this xxxxxx instead."

For most of us, our go-to source for advice could be your family, friends or strangers in your favorite FB groups. Honestly, there is nothing wrong when you ask other people for their experience but keep in mind that there is no one perfect solution that will fit everyone's needs/background. Just like skincare product, asking people with oily skin about what product they use will not suite your skin type.

Check this out if you haven't seen this video about "What important factros to consider before selecting your DIY website platform?"

Everyone is different. Some people do well and have fun learning new technologies while some don't. Some people have more patient than others. Some people have more time to learn and experiment while others are on time crunch and want something simple.

To successfully build your DIY website, it's important to ask yourself how patient you are, do you enjoy learning technologies and are you easily frustrated with tech stuff. Then select a platform.

This one mistake I've seen over and over again is when peole listen to others and choose what they think is best, but does not neccessarily suit their tech/skill level. What happens next is that they get frustrated and overwhlemed with a much bigger learning curve than they had anticipated. The joy and excitement in building your website is quickly diminishing. In short, do your research, understand the pros and cons of each platform, when possible, sign up for a free trial to test out their user interface and play with it.

2) Overthink on how to make your website pretty and perfect:

Most of us get caught up in that "perfecting" phase where we design, we revise, we make changes, then more changes, go back and change some more. Does that sound familiar? Been there, done that.

That cycle never seems to stop for some which delays the launch of your website. At some point, you have to see it as "done is better than perfect". You will never know whether your website is working or not until it goes live. Until your targeted customers/clients see it.

Remember that you can always tweak. Nothing is written in stone. You can make changes and update as you go. Most of all, don't get hung up with your website and forget to focus on the more important areas of your business.

3) Lack an action plan:

What? Buildng a website needs an action plan?? Absolutely! Having a plan or a structure will help you stay on track.

When you build your webite on the fly, it's easy to get carried away and overwhlemed with many different ideas that can take you offtrack. Start with a site map, think about a book. Create your table of content. Think about main topics and pages. Websites like photography and arts are pretty much self-explanatory and will not need long copy writing/content but other website will benefit from having high quality/well-thought content/marketing strategies to get people to take action. Some people experience a brain freeze when creating content for their sites.

Colors: if you don't have your branding colors down yet. This may take a bit extra time to fiddle with the idea. Look up Pinterest for some inspirations or search "color pallete".

Now, let me know which one of these mistakes you have experienced when diyed your website.

The year 2020 isn't over, there's still hope and we can start fresh.

I know it's hard to beleive that your businss will do well the rest of 2020, but there's still hope. Recently, I came acorss a few posts on FB about how the 2020 planner was such a waste of money. I still believe that there's an opportunity to be found in every dire situation and a BIG part has to do with how we think and believe. Every slow, small but consistent step can still make a difference. Even if you don't see an immediate result in your revenue but emotionally you know you've made a progress for yourself.

It isn't going to be an easy road seeing how much damage Covid-19 has done to our economy at every scale from community, state, nation to global market. As a business owner, I'm sure you have this very same question. Is it worth to move forward? Should I still dream, plan and try?

I hope your answer is yes. Perhaps you aren't ready now. Perhaps life throws a lot of challenges at you now to the point that thinking about moving your business forward isn't something you want on your mind. That is okay. Each of us faces different struggles be it financially, emotionally, physically or mentally.

When you're okay and ready to go at it again, please know you can always start over and start fresh. It is never too late.

You may feel discouraged with the thought of "starting over again" becasue it seems like starting from zero when you have come this far. I know for me, I felt discouraged when looking at the situation that way but my mindset shifted significantly when I thought about it differently.

What if we look at this situation as a way to review, reset and reinvent the way we operate our business? Has it been efficient? Has it served us in the way we want?

Could it be done differently? - this question can be a game changer

Many of us may have thought about "trying, testing out something different in our business" but never got the time to do so when we're busy griding and hustling.

For me personally, there have been many things I thought about trying but nothing got done because I never got to set aside the time for it, lacked motivation, didn't know where to start and felt disorganized/overwhelmed.

A few months ago, a good (virtual) friend Kaprice Del Cerro of www.KapriceMarieLLC.com, told me about her vision to create her very own business planner becuase she couldn't find the one that fits her needs. And guess how many planners/notebooks I've bought to date? Probably 7 but I haven't found the one either. Her planner perked my interest of course. Knowing Kaprice, she's a very thorough, systematic and thoughtful busines planner. Her ability to break down big tasks into small, actionable/doable items never ceases to amaze me. I know her planner is worth checking and I had to be one of the people to support her (so no, this isn't a sponsored post). I paid for this planner and it's one of the best $18 I've spent.

What I think is helpful about this planner is that it is the kind of planner that guides you think, plan and be more intentional. For most of us business owners/entrepeneurs, we are always on the go. We think fast, we act fast but sometimes we aren't as intentional as we should be when it comes to planning our hours/days in order to get the most out of it. Especially during these uncertain times, my thoughts are scattered all over the place. Having this kind of structure makes a difference for me and it helps me stay focused and get things I want to finish done.

I made this video to show some key features of the Helluva planner (don't you love the name?) so hopefully it gives you a good glimsp of this awesome planner.

Here's a link to her Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1802965392

Let's start planning the rest of 2020, don't let this pandemic stop us from shining. We can still turn it around and make the second half an amazing year.

Take care and talk to you soon.

Tat from Tatiwa.com

Will your business survive this Covid-19? Here's a story that can boost your mood & mind

If you're like me, you had many exciting and big plans for 2020. You started this year strong, you got the momentum going...but out of nowhere this virus came crushing your big dream(s), business and you feel shattered.

Over the past 2-3 weeks, many of us have been adjusting to this new life/routine. A life at home 24/7, a life with spouse/kid(s), a life filled with fears, uncertainty and financial worries. Staying/working at home has been a blessing/dream comes true for some, but also stressful and difficult for others.

There are days when I lose my motivation and feel down, wonder if my dream of turning this side business into a fulltime business will ever come, wonder if there will be clients who can afford my services seeing how most people will have financial challenges for months to come. 

Should I still keep putting myself out there? It has felt like I am wasting time and efforts putting out content after content on social media and on my website. I keep hearing crickets.

Then my perspectives changed because of this one DIY mask tutorial blog post....

While randomly searching for a DIY mask tutorial, I came across this cute craft website which ranked on the first page of Google wjen I typed in "diy mask pattern". I glanced and saw the date when this person wrote the blog post. It was dated back in 2013. 

That means 7 years later, this DIY mask blog post gets found by more people and gets more traffic than it has been for several years.  

I am almost positive that this person had no idea that one day the world would be searching for her sewing/craft knowledge/talents. Who would have thought that a cloth mask would become one of the most sought after items in 2020.

Who would have thought?? 

That diy mask blog post really made my day. 

Keep putting your big or small, crazy or average ideas out there because you just never know when the world will be looking for it.

If you're looking for a diy mask tutorial, here it is https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/

Get your diy mask pattern and get inspired :) Stay safe, stay healthy and take care.