Launch Before You're Ready

A guide for early stage founders to get V1 of your idea off the ground

Started building your business but haven’t launched yet?

Let me guess, perfectionism is holding you back.

You don’t need to wait until you have the perfect brand, flawless copy, or professionally designed website to launch. In fact, if you’re not a little embarrassed by version 1 of your site, you probably didn’t launch early enough.

If you’re an early-stage founder sitting on an idea or half-built site, here’s your reminder: just launch.

Because launching is the only way to find out:

• If anyone wants to buy what you’re selling

• If your messaging makes sense to your ideal clients (ask them!)

• If people are interested enough to sign up to your mailing list

• If your SEO is working and attracting the right searches

• If your site works on different mobiles and screens

• If your backend systems (emails, payments, shipping) are doing what they’re supposed to

You can tweak everything later - your logo, your fonts, your photography, your content, even your entire product offer.

But none of that matters until you get version 1 out into the world.

What to Include in Your V1 Website

All you need to communicate at this stage is:

• What you do

• How you do it

• Who it’s for

• Why someone would want or need it from you specifically

• How to buy or sign up

• How to get in touch

That’s it.

Done and out there is better than something that lives forever in a Google doc or hidden Shopify trial.

Website options

Let’s start by making the website part feel less overwhelming.

What platform should you use?

Use Shopify if:
You’re selling physical or digital products and want built-in e-commerce features, easy checkouts, and plug-and-play shipping and tax settings. The free Shopify templates available are more than enough for launching with a clean, functional and user friendly online store.

Use Squarespace if:
You’re offering services, consulting, digital products, or taking bookings. It’s quick to build, easy to maintain and add to over time, and looks clean out of the box without the need for too much ‘design’.

Use Wordpress or another custom builder if:
You have heavy editorial content needs, or very specific design needs and a developer. Otherwise, skip these for now - they’re not the fastest way to launch and take a bit more effort to maintain.

What should you include on your site?

Start with a simple homepage that clearly says:

• What your business is and who it's for

• What you offer

• Why someone should care

• How to take action (buy, book, contact)

Remember your website is there to help your clients understand how you solve their problems.

It’s not about you - it’s about them.

Then build out these basics:

• Home Page – Your core message. Start here.

• Product/Services Page – Keep it clear. What’s on offer, what’s included and how much is it?

• About Page – Optional, but helpful to build a connection. Share your story, your motivation and your expertise.

• Contact Page – Simple form, email address and social links.

• FAQs or “How It Works” – Helps reduce buyer friction and hesitations.

• Examples - Real life examples of the service/product you’re offering and how you’ve solved your clients problems - even if it’s just one or two examples for now.

• Client Testimonials, Reviews & Success Stories – Start collecting these early to build trust

If you’re selling products, add a Shop Page and link everything to your checkout or cart flow.

UX Tips for Your V1 Website

• Make it mobile-friendly first - most people will view your site on their phone.

• Keep navigation simple: help people understand how you want them to move through your site.

• Use clear, good quality photos. If you don’t have any yet use high quality stock imagery (but not the cheesy ones) or take some snaps on your iphone.

• Use white space and break up your text with clear headings. No one wants to read a wall of words in small fonts.

• Make your CTAs (Buy Now, Book a Call, Sign Up) obvious and repeat them throughout.

Marketing for Early-Stage Startups

You don’t need a full brand strategy, go-to-market plan or social media content calendar to start. But you do need to begin talking to people about what you’re offering.

Brand Basics You Need to Launch

You don’t need the full brand suite. Just nail these:

• Your name

• Your tagline or one-liner

• A few colours and fonts (keep it simple)

• A basic logo or wordmark (Canva works!)

• A tone of voice: are you casual, clever, serious, playful?

• A clear sentence about what you do and who it's for

You can always evolve it later. Right now, it’s about being clear, not clever.

Examples of one-liners:

“I help [WHO] do [WHAT] so they can [RESULT].”
→ Great for service based or personal brands.

“[WHAT] for [WHO].”
→ Clear and concise - for products or niche services.

“[Problem]? [Solution] so you can [Benefit].”
→ Tackles pain points directly and shows value.

“We do [X], so you can [Y].”
→ Highlights your role and the customer's outcome.

“Helping [WHO] [ACHIEVE GOAL] through [METHOD].”
→ Purpose-led and inspirational - perfect for lifestyle or mission-driven brands.

Creative Assets You’ll Need

• Logo (can be basic) - I stongly advise against spending time or money on logos and brand guidelines in the early days before you’ve even tested your offer

• A few decent photos - choose your top 5 favourites, that will do for now

• Social media handles - have you got them saved so someone else doesn’t take them?

• Email sign-up form or basic CRM

• Product or service copy - what’s included, features and benefits, specifications, price

Keep your visuals consistent across your site and socials.

Clean and simple beats fancy and confusing.

SEO Basics

Start building organic traction early - even before your offer is fully dialled.

• Use simple, specific keywords in your page titles and headings

• Structure each page to rank for a high intent keyword or phrase you want to rank for, include it in your URL, H1, H2 and body copy - front load it when possible

• Add a meta description to each page (Shopify and Squarespace make this easy)

• Add descriptive alt text to images, and use key word rich titles to name your images

• Use descriptive URLs (e.g. /about or /ceramic-mugs)

• Make sure your site loads quickly - don’t upload huge images, resize all for web

• Use H1, H2 headers properly to structure your content, this is how you show Google how to move through your site

Get Visible With One Channel

Pick one channel and commit to it. No need to be everywhere.

• Instagram or TikTok - great for product-based or visual brands

• LinkedIn - ideal for B2B or founder-focused services

• Email - perfect for pre-launches, waitlists, or niche audiences

• In-person - test your offer at markets, events, or with your existing network

Show up. Talk to your audience. Learn from their reactions. Iterate.

The Final Push To Launch Your New Idea

When you finally press “Publish” on your new website you don’t need to tell the world just yet, send it to a couple of trusted business friends, advisors or ideal clients.

Get them to comb through to test that the site it working, any mistakes or broken links.

Does the offer make sense?

It’s not meant to be perfect - It’s about testing for early signals of product market fit before investing time and money into your idea.

I’ve helped loads of early-stage founders get their V1 over the line - and the one game-changer in building momentum is taking tangible action and getting over the first hurdle of launching.

You can always:

• Add a blog later

• Update your fonts and colours later

• Get a fancy logo later

• Improve your photos and content later

But first, you need to launch something.

If you’re stuck in the perfectionism loop, consider this your friendly push.

And if you need support getting version 1 off the ground, give me a yell - I’ll help you get it done.