I recently wrote about pancakes — specifically, my journey to becoming a confident, consistent pancake-maker and pancake-recipe-tweaker, even though I started as a person who couldn’t trust herself to make decent-tasting pancakes at all.
I thought that post was completely non-business related. Hahaha.
Because it turns out that pancakes are a nice metaphor for websites. And I didn’t even realize that until a blog reader pointed it out to me.
Four ways to get yourself some pancakes
Let’s say you have a craving for pancakes. Haven’t we all, at one time or another? There are multiple ways to satisfy this craving, each with its pros and cons. Here, I’ll list a few:
Pancake acquisition method 1: Hire a personal chef
Pros: You will likely get pancakes that are Very Very Good, if not Divinely Perfect. You can describe how you want your pancakes to taste and look, as well as any special requirements you have (organic, gluten-free, whole-grain, special fruit compote on top, etc.) and the chef takes care of all the ingredients and labor. All you have to do is eat!
Cons: Your pancakes will likely be Very Very Expensive. You’ll also have to wait a long time to satisfy your craving, because you have to interview and hire your chef, and you may even have to install special kitchen equipment (did I mention expensive?). If you want to change the recipe, you’ll need to consult with the chef, which takes time and more expense.
Method 1 is like hiring a company to create a unique website for you. If you can afford the time and the expense (including the ongoing expense of having that company on call for changes and updates), you will get a unique and quality result, but chances are that description doesn’t fit you if you’re reading this DIY-focused blog.
Pancake acquisition method 2: Go out to eat
Pros: At a restaurant, you don’t have to do any of the prep, cooking, or cleanup. Just sit back and wait for delicious pancakes to be brought to your table. Far less expensive than Method 1, and quicker, too. Lots of restaurants are out there, so you have lots of choices.
Cons: First you have to get to the restaurant, which takes time and costs money. Restaurant food is usually much more expensive than home-cooked meals because you’re paying for the cooks, dishwashers, waitstaff, etc. Once you choose a restaurant, you’re limited to what’s on the menu, and even the most detailed menus don’t list every single ingredient, so you might end up eating too much sugar or something else you don’t want.
Method 2 is like hiring someone to build a site for you using templates or packages. My WordPress installation packages, for instance, are a bit like items on a restaurant menu — some substitution allowed, but very different from, and much less expensive than, full custom design. Also more expensive than DIY.
Pancake acquisition method 3: Buy a mix
Pros: Very inexpensive, and usually very easy — some mixes are just-add-water. With a mix, you can have pancakes anytime you want, at a moment’s notice.
Cons: You have no control over the ingredients, because they’re already prepackaged into the mix. And that means you have very little control over the flavor as well.
Method 3 is like setting up a blog on Blogger or WordPress.com. It’s cheap (or free), simple, and doesn’t take much time or effort to get started. But your website address, design, and even content are at the mercy of their rules and terms of service, which is not trivial if you want to use your website for business.
Pancake acquisition method 4: Find a recipe and learn to make it work for you
Pros: You have total control over the ingredients and cooking methods, and with practice, making from-scratch pancakes can be just as quick and easy as making them from a mix. You can be proud of cooking pancakes yourself, making conscious choices about all your ingredients, and meeting all your dietary requirements and desires.
Cons: You do have to put some effort into trying recipes, learning what different ingredients do to the final result, and of course you have to spend time doing the actual cooking. A failed batch (or even an okay-tasting batch that wasn’t everything you hoped for) can be frustrating.
Method 4 is like taking your website-building into your own hands. That may sound daunting, but the truth is that it’s never been so easy, or so affordable, to do it yourself. In fact, I have a tool that makes the whole process much easier: A complete guide to building your own website, called Site Setup Kit.
Site Setup Kit is much more than a prefab mix. It’s more like…a grocery bag filled with all the ingredients you’ll need (including some kitchen gadgets), plus multiple illustrated step-by-step recipes for the different types of pancakes you could create with those ingredients.
If you follow the tutorials, you will end up with a unique website. But more importantly, you will end up with the knowledge and skills to manage and tweak that website by yourself.
I partnered with Pamela Wilson of BigBrandSystem.com on this kit, which means that in addition to my tech-to-English translation and tips, the kit includes design advice and tutorials that will save you thousands of dollars while giving you the means to create a completely unique website.
So if this kit looks like what you’ve been waiting for, please check out Site Setup Kit now. We back this product with a cheerful, unconditional, 100% money-back guarantee for 30 days after your purchase, so there’s no risk to you.
For my part, I think Site Setup Kit is even better than finding a recipe and making it work for you. It’s more like having a friend coming over and teaching you how to cook (even to the basics like here is the stove, here is how you turn it on), and they brought a few recipes along you can start with, and if you get stuck when you make your next batch of pancakes, you can email and ask for help. Thank you for creating such a great tool for creating web sites. I’m looking forward to being able to do what I’ve wanted with my web site for such a long time but never knew how.
Many thanks, Darcy, and I’m really glad Site Setup Kit is working out well for you. I’m looking forward to celebrating with you when you launch new site(s)!