This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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From time to time, we talk about different website platforms. Where should you host your website? Lots of different options for that, depending on your goals, your skill level, your budget perhaps, although these days, most of them are really, really cheap, which is cool. So we talked about WordPress.com, Squarespace, Wix, among others. Others also Shopify, which specializes in e-commerce, although now that I say that, they all kind of do e-commerce now.
It's interesting because a few years ago, it was like, well, here was the platform you got if you wanted to have a blog and here's the one you got if you wanted to specialize in e-commerce and maybe this one's good for artists and so on. And there's still a bit of that, but they all kind of offer some common features these days, which as I said, makes it pretty easy, but then you have the burden of choice, how do I decide, et cetera. So today's listener has a question about one of these platforms that's made by Etsy, actually. So we talk about Etsy a lot, but I don't know if we've ever really talked about pattern by Etsy, at least not often. That is Etsy's version of one of these website platforms that you can pay a monthly fee for, and it allows you to make a pretty simple website without a lot of skill level, and it actually looks pretty good.
So our listener has opened her own Etsy shop and now is thinking ahead, she wants to branch out what's the best way to do that? Should she use that pattern by Etsy platform or should she try something different? How does she make that decision? How might you make that decision? That's what we're gonna talk about.
Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau, that question and my detailed answer is coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi Chris, this is Bethany from Canberra, Australia. I've been listening to the show for the last four years. I love the daily updates and the tips you have for people starting a side hustle.
I've just opened an Etsy shop, monogramming blankets, throws and scarves. I would like to have my own website too. Etsy offers a website platform called Pattern. It looks relatively easy to use, but I wonder if I should use something totally outside of Etsy. Thanks for the show and I look forward to hearing from you.
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Hey Bethany, thank you for listening from Canberra. Thank you for calling as well. They miss Australia so much. I think I say that every single time we have a listener question from your beautiful country, but presumably at some point in the future, I'll be able to visit again. I look forward to it.
So the simple direct and short answer is nothing at all wrong with using Pattern by Etsy or any other of these platforms that I mentioned briefly in the introduction. They are indeed easy to use. Like that's the main benefit. They're easy to use. It's kind of plug and play, nothing at all wrong with that.
Okay, so why would you not want to? I think that's what we wanna focus on here because there are a lot of good reasons why you would. Sometimes people mention the price. They say, oh, like this costs, you know, $15 a month or $20 a month or whatever it is. I think with Pattern at the moment, it's something like 15.
Occasionally there are some other small fees, you know, depending on extra features or how much you use it and so on. I tend to think that these services pay for themselves. You know, if you're going to have a website, if you're going to be selling something, presumably you're gonna make more than $15 a month, right? And if this helps you like reduce some complexity and, you know, therefore make things simple and allow you to get to market and not worry about being a coder and designer and all those other things, then isn't that worth $15 a month? You know, and I'm not even like shilling for them.
I'm just saying like, it's a good thing, right? So I tend to think, you know, that that price is not that big of a deal. Of course, if it is a big deal for someone, there are alternatives. I think Etsy and most of these services will give you a 14 day trial or a 30 day trial so you can kind of see how it feels. The more important reason, especially long-term, like why you might not want to use one of these services forever, is personalization and branding because these sites tend to kind of all look the same.
They have similar functionality and that's because that's what it is. It's a template. It's designed to work for the maximum number of people and therefore it doesn't necessarily help you stand out. So if your goal is to stand out in some way, then it might be more in your interest to steer clear of them, okay? But as mentioned, that comes with a cost as well because, you know, the cost of customization and personalization, both financial and in terms of the learning curve is substantial.
You know, just in my own stuff, like I used to do everything custom. I would never want to use a service, you know, like one of these platforms because I thought, well, you know, that's gonna look like everybody else's. What I discovered is that, you know, even though for a lot of things I do, I want it to be customized and personalized, these are really great solutions for lots of other things. And the downside of that customization and personalization is it has to be maintained. It is gonna be pretty expensive on the front end and it also then has to be maintained and, you know, updated as you go along and such.
So pros and cons to everything, as I try to mention from time to time, but I also try to be direct and say, here's what I think. So I think there's nothing at all wrong with using a platform like this. It's only if you have some other long-term goal that you want to think differently. You can also, you know, use this platform for a while and then change. Like that's totally possible.
Like you own your domain name, you own your website, your intellectual property. So you can absolutely move it from any one of these platforms to any other one or to a site that you build from the ground up. So do what works for you as always. And listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them week by week, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects.
I'm so glad you're out there. Wherever you are in the world, take care of yourself. Do something today to get closer to a goal you believe in. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School.
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