My First Website Was Bad. 2.5 Million Families Used It Anyway.

Written and contributed by Ashley Wilson, founder of JAW Analytics and a Kingwood Business Women member

It was 2020. I was pregnant, locked in the house with two babies five and under, and climbing the walls. I needed something new to solve.

Online, all the moms were abuzz about one question: would trick-or-treating even happen that year?

My kids loved to trick-or-treat. This problem had to be solved.

So I built Halloween Map

It was a database anyone could add to, so families knew what to expect before they went trick-or-treating. Social distancing? Candy chute? It was all there.

It was super fun to build. But a great idea nobody knows about doesn't help anyone. I needed to promote it.

So I made business pages, and ultimately a website. I taught myself WordPress to do it. And man, that first website was bad.

But it was live. The project went national and viral, and 2.5 million families used it to enjoy trick-or-treating. I did everything for that project myself, for $500.

That's the lesson I keep coming back to: live beats perfect. A bad website that's up is worth more than a beautiful one that's still on your to-do list.

What's changed since 2020

Since then, I've learned a lot more about websites. And the tools have changed completely.

In 2020, I had to learn a website builder before I could build anything. Today, you describe what you want in plain words. AI builds it. You look at it, ask for changes the way you'd ask a friend, and put it live.

My own website, ashleywilson.ai, is built this way. So is the page you're reading right now.

Here's what that means for you:

• About $50. That's roughly a month of an AI tool, an image tool, free hosting and a domain name.
• Minutes, not hours. The first version of your site can be up before your coffee gets cold.
• No code. If you can describe your business to a customer, you can describe your website to AI.

Give me everything I need in 60 seconds

You don't need much. Take one minute and jot down:

1. Your business name, and your domain if you already own one.
2. Your elevator pitch. What you do and who you do it for, the way you'd say it at a networking event.
3. The one thing you want visitors to do. Call you? Book a time? Buy something? Sign up?
4. Links to anywhere you already are online. Your Facebook page, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Business Profile or an old website. Whatever you've already put out there is a head start.
5. A few photos of your work, your products or your space.

That's it. Those five things are most of a website.

Come build one with me, free

On Tuesday, December 15 at noon, I'm teaching a free one-hour class called Give Yourself the Gift of a New Website. It's live online. I'll build a real website from scratch, step by step, so you can see exactly how it works.

And the first 5 people to sign up get their own website built live, by me, during the class, and the cost is on me. Bring your 60 seconds, and we'll build it together.

Sign up: ashleywilson.ai/masterclass

My first website was bad, and it still reached millions of families. Yours can be live by lunch. I'd love to see some KBW faces there!

Ashley Wilson is the founder of JAW Analytics, where she builds AI tools and automation for small and mid-sized businesses. She lives in Kingwood, serves on the Deerwood Elementary PTA board and is a member of Kingwood Business Women. Find her at ashleywilson.ai.