If you've never shipped a site before, the hardest part is knowing the order of operations. Here's the path we'd hand to a friend starting from zero.
1. Decide the one job
Before any design, finish this sentence: "This page exists so a visitor will ___." Book a call, buy a plan, join a list. Everything else serves that one verb.
2. Pick a template that's close
Don't start from a blank canvas. Choose a template whose structure matches your goal — you'll change the words and colors, not the bones.
3. Write before you style
Fill in real copy first. Layout decisions are easy once you know what the page actually says, and impossible before.
4. Make one pass on each breakpoint
- Get it right on desktop.
- Check tablet, fix only what breaks.
- Check mobile, simplify ruthlessly.
5. Publish, then improve
Ship it the same day. A live link you can iterate on in public is worth more than a perfect draft no one has seen.
The first version's only job is to exist. The good version comes from feedback.
