I have been developing WordPress websites for over 10 years. I have worked with many first-time entrepreneurs who are passionate about their product or service. One thing I have noticed with new entrepreneurs is their obsession with the aesthetics of their website. They want a certain look which most of the time will take a lot of design and dev work. All that effort will cost time and money, which begs the question, is it worth it?
Costs of a custom website
- Time Drain: A bespoke design can take 6–8 weeks; an off-the-shelf theme takes 1–2 days.
- Money Pit: Custom builds often start around $5,000—money you could be spending on customer research.
- Pivot Risk: If your offering changes, you’ll rebuild anyway.
In my experience, I won’t recommend new entrepreneurs to ship the best possible website according to their vision. If you have not achieved product-market fit just yet, then most likely you will have to pivot to whatever the customer wants. This is why it is futile to obsess about how a button should look or how the animation should work.
If you are a new entrepreneur, I highly suggest just shipping a simple website with these 5 points in mind:
Five-point website MVP checklist
- Fast and responsive theme: I recommend Kadence.
- Clear Value Proposition: Short text that tells visitors exactly what you do.
- Single Call-to-Action: “Book a Demo” or “Buy Now”—nothing else.
- 3–5 Key Benefits: Short bullets, easy to scan.
- Contact Form: Even a basic one
When to Level Up
Once you’ve proven demand—consistent revenue, user feedback, and a stable feature set—it’s time to invest in a full redesign. That’s when every pixel and animation can truly add value, rather than distract.