There are two types of people in this world. People that like to bake, and people that like to cook.
Okay - so maybe that's a bit dramatic, there are definitely people who do both.
But I bet you that if you really think about it you are nodding your head right now because you know that you prefer one over the other.
Nothing has proven this point to me more than teaching Kyle how to cook over the last couple of months.
Full disclosure he did used to work in a kitchen so he can grill, and prep. That boy can dice so much better than me. And it isn't that he is opposed to cooking, he is just someone who needs a recipe.
I am wholeheartedly convinced that he would be a great baker. He is precise. Will read every step. (He is also the person who will read every single word on a website page, watch every single review, take 30 minutes to read the reviews).
He wants to know exactly how much of each ingredient. He wants to set a timer.
Then there is me. The girl whose mom bought her a set of cookie dough scoops as a joke for Christmas this year - because all of our Christmas cookies were WAY too big.
I never measure. I just eyeball it.
And if you ask I'll say "a zhuzh".
If I do have a recipe. Chances are I am not following it to a T.
And my best dishes come from grabbing whatever I have on hand from the garden and freezer and throwing it together on the spot.
I understand enough of the processes that I just cook without having to think about it.
I determine when something is done based on smell & looking at it.
Hear me out now.
I also think there are two kinds of people - people who prefer writing copy. Vs. people who prefer to design.
Copy is more methodical. There's a science to it. There are frameworks, and you need to combine things in a measured way. Not to mention grammar. Spelling. There are steps to take, templates to use.
Despite following the recipe. You may take them out of the oven and realize - something was still a little off. You forgot to cream the sugar and the butter. Scooped them too big. Didn't bake them for long enough. But then with practice and refinement - if you keep working on that recipe eventually one day - you pull the best chocolate chip cookie you have ever made out of the oven (and yes I am saying this from experience and now I want chocolate chip cookies).
I digress.
Then there are the people that prefer to design. Like cooking. They understand what ingredients work together. How to combine textures, flavors. And you can add things as you go until you get the desired effect.
You understand processes. Like how to make a roux. How to turn that into a gravy, or a béchamel, or a soup.
You can figure out the ingredients you need and go out and get them. But you can also combine what you have on hand and create something that works 9 times out of ten.
You can probably guess - that like cooking, I prefer to design.
And like baking, it isn't that I don't like writing copy, it's not that I can't do it. It just doesn't come natural to me - an Aries sun, like what do you mean I'm supposed to follow your directions 😵💫.
Back to turning my prep cook into my sous chef.
Kyle is a carpenter. Someone who thinks in precise measurements. So when it comes to cooking - I figured out that he needed me to teach him the processes.
How to make a roux.
What a teaspoon of salt looks like so he can eyeball it eventually.
Not only have we started regularly cooking together for the first time in nearly ten years together - but we have also perfected our mac and cheese recipe.
There are tons of copywriting recipes out there to help you "bake" your words.
And there are also tons of great website templates that serve recipes to help you sauté your site.
But today - I'm giving you a crash course in my website process, so you can feel more confident spicing up the site you already have - and throwing the ingredients you already have on hand together (pantry staples if you will) to get dinner on the table even when you're pinched for time.
Step #1 Set up your workspace:
Grabbing your pots and pans, your whisk, favorite wooden spatula, your ingredients.
A peek inside my workspace: I use Adobe XD to design websites, but that by no means you need to go out and spend a boat load of $$ on an Adobe subscription. You can create different folders to get organized for your website, pre-load your colors & fonts into your site builder & make sure everything is defined is a set of brand guidelines (i’ll teach you how to do that + some of the basics to help you design faster & better inside the 2D design 101 Masterclass).
Side note: Think about how annoying it is when your kitchen is disorganized. When you have to un-nest 12 pots and pans to get to the one you want while something else is boiling over on the stove.
Organizing your ingredients and everything you will need to design your site means you can commit more brain power to designing your site & less to looking for that one brand photo somewhere in a folder on your desktop.
Step #2 The Base
Everything you cook has some kind of a base.
Olive oil, celery, carrots, and onion. It’s the start of at least a dozen things.
Your website also has a base and that is the framework. Going from just copy doc to something that formats your copy in its corresponding headings and fonts.
It is the jumping off point for design.
Again, I personally do this in XD - but you can just do it in a Google doc. In fact, that is how most copywriters will deliver your website to you - pre-formatted in a Word doc.
This is also what can make working with predetermined templates hard—if you jump straight from a copy doc to fitting it into a predetermined framework, you are going to have to make a decent amount of manual edits in your site builder to make it work.
Step #4 Combining your ingredients with the base:
Once you have your framework built, then all you have to do is "fill it in". It's almost like having a coloring page and then you get to decide what goes inside the different little pieces.
Again - I am doing all of this work in XD. If you are using a template I would recommend you:
- Edit your template settings so that it pulls your brand colors and fonts in.
- Create your copy framework in a word doc.
- Edit your template to work with the framework.
- Plug in your copy.
- Then customize the site design, add your photos etc.
I do find it is really helpful to zoom out inside your builder and see how all the sections work together!
So you've combined your ingredients to create your site design. But that doesn't mean you are ready to eat/publish.
But this email has already gotten a little longer than I was hoping it would. So stick this baby on simmer - and keep an eye on your inbox.
I'll be back soon to talk about how to get your site from design - to a published user experience.
In the meantime:
If you want to learn what you need in your brand guidelines and design faster on your own — the 2D Design 101 Masterclass walks you through the basics of brand guidelines, design fundamentals, and how to actually organize your ingredients so you're not digging through 47 folders while your site is burning on the stove. [Get the Masterclass→]
If you've already got a site and need strategic eyes on it — a Studio Session is less about pulling apart your website and more about helping you create a strategy for your next era. Whether you need me to help you get your site from DIY to publish-ready and walk through what sections need edits and why — or maybe you're pivoting your brand and need a game plan for what needs to get repositioned and why. You walk away with a clear, prioritized action plan you can implement at your own pace. [Book a Studio Session →]
And if you're reading this whole series thinking "okay can you just do this for my site" — I have two Signature Site spots open right now. You get a site that feels as unmistakably you as your signature - from the recipe & strategy, through design, development, launch, & training. Consider this a 4 course dining experience. From "I cringe when someone asks for my URL" to "here, let me send you the link." [Learn more about The Signature Site →]
