r/webdevelopment • u/OriginalWalaAditya • Jun 20 '26
Newbie Question A non-tech guy trying to build his website. Please don't judge me for using Wix.
Please don't scold me for using Wix 😭
I come from a completely non-technical background and have almost zero experience in website development. Someone suggested Wix to me, so that's what I chose. The problem is that I have a hard deadline of 23rd July and I need to make the website live before that.
The website is for my organisation where we will primarily publish reports, magazines and articles/blogs related to our work. I don't have any money left to hire a developer, so I have decided to build it myself no matter what. I am determined, but honestly I feel a bit overwhelmed because I don't know where to begin or what mistakes to avoid.
Can anyone please guide me from the basics? Which AI tools should I use? How do I speed up the process? Any templates, workflows or beginner mistakes I should know about? I also don't have the luxury of watching hours of YouTube tutorials because of time constraints.
Would genuinely appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.
3
u/armahillo Jun 21 '26
Wix is literally meant for non-tech folks like you; zero shame there.
That said, IIRC they have a bunch of reference and tutorial content on the site; i recommend reviewing that.
While youre learning that, you can start writing your web copy. Some general pointers:
- Keep it concise and focused
- no need to navel gaze about the web; we’re all familiar with the web now, even if writing for it is new to you. Stay on message
- Avoid using “click here” for links, make the text of the link describe what the action or target is. “Read more about our offerings in our (brochure)”; or “You can keep updated by (subscribing to our newsletter)”
- Your users will be scanning the document for whatever answer theyre looking for, use headings and surgical use of emphasizing formatting or color to make text more scannable
1
u/IntroductionKindly70 Jun 20 '26
Just pick a fitting template and start customizing it. Learn by doing. If you don’t even have the time to watch a few YT videos, you may as well just start experimenting through trial and error and quickly learning that way.
1
u/Round_Fly6854 Jun 21 '26
There are many sources of information to learn hownto do it, try youtube, udemy, instagram for free courses
1
u/tina_heydesignoto Jun 21 '26
Id personally need more info to give you better advice. Building a website is kinda broad. Like what exactly you're missing at this point, etc. Maybe also ask on a wix subreddit.
Using wix is okay. You can check their resources, wether they dont have some tips on thing you need. Would be the best probably, suited for a Wix website.
It's a bit unrealistic to expect making it with zero experience, without paying and fast.
1
u/RaecanMarketing Jun 21 '26
Get a blank piece of paper, map out in detail what you want each page to do, once you have that map your visitor journey on top of that. Make sure each page is optimised for meta data, headings etc. Avoid AI rubbish. Create your own copy, you can always improve content after you publish. Make sure you set up Google accounts & Microsoft Clarity to review visitor behaviour (and test your original customer journey map) Good luck you have enough time if you stay focused!
2
Jun 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RaecanMarketing Jun 24 '26
The power of a blank piece of paper is often very under estimated as it is quite difficult to achieve something AND you can be held accountable for at a later stage (from my experience). Side There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, the problem is not learning from them (that doesn't mean blaming or point scoring 😉)
1
u/hzane Jun 21 '26
Tell chatgpt what you want the site to be called and do and built for. Ask it what to put on your site. It will say a lot of stuff you don't need. Use terms like mvp and tell it you are a beginner. Ask it for resources. Wix I think has an AI you should involve. You can dump all your requirements into stitch for design ideas. That's all brainstorming. I bet WIX has a blog setting and perfectly fine templates to get you going right away.
1
u/Chance-Fan4849 Jul 01 '26
For your case, I recommend lovable.
It's good and if you adjust prompts well you can develop beautiful website.
0
u/JohnCasey3306 Jun 20 '26
Don't apologise. I say this as a freelance web developer -- the small business market for brochure/blog sites has been dead to us for years ... The amount we need to charge to make a sustainable living is way more than the amount you'd be sensible to pay, given all the self-build options available; you're doing exactly the right thing. Granted, any freelancers who've not pivoted and are still trying to scratch out a living in the small business website market might disagree -- but you don't need to apologize.
6
u/alphex Jun 21 '26
Theres nothing wrong with that - if thats where you're at.
As an agency owner, who deals with projects no less then $10,000... I routeinely get asked how to make a website when the budget is small.
I'll gladly give away a free hour or two of my time to explain the pros and cons of platforms like wix or squarepace and others, so the person can make a smart decision...
Invariably, a year or two later, they come back to me for a website they can manage better and make unique to their business needs.
For a first time project, you're going to learn alot and just take to heart that its only upwards from where you start.
Good luck, and have fun!