Intro to Your Template
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Welcome!
This is the first lesson in the Learning Lab, and it’s meant to help ease you into customizing your new template. My goal is to reduce any overwhelm and walk you through where to begin, what’s worth focusing on first, and how to approach making changes to your template without it feeling like stressful DIY project.
Let’s get started ♥
Start With Your Written Content First:
Before adjusting layouts or spacing, focus first on what you want to say.
Updating your copy helps anchor the rest of your decisions and prevents unnecessary over-editing later. As you work through each page, ask yourself:
Is it clear who I help?
Is it clear what I offer?
Is it easy to understand what to do next?
Once you know what written copy is going on your website you’ll have a much better idea of what other areas of your template you need to tweak or adjust.
Your Guide for Writing Copy:
If writing your website copy seems like the most overwhelming part of updating your template, I’ve included a step-by-step guide that shows how to use AI to create clear, on-brand content while following the same layout and structure as your template. It’s a great option if you want to keep format changes minimal while still making the content your own!
Choose Images That Match the Mood:
Before a visitor reads a single word, your visuals are already setting the tone. The images you choose communicate your brand’s personality and shape how your site feels. The images included in your template have been carefully curated and can be used as-is, though you may want to add your own imagery to make the site feel more personal.
Before sourcing new images, creating a simple moodboard can help clarify the overall vibe you’re aiming for. Even a small set of reference images can reveal patterns in tone, lighting, composition, and style.
Instead of replacing everything at once, start with key visual areas like your hero image or prominent homepage sections. Once a few aligned images are in place, it’s much easier to see the direction of your site and build from there.
Your Guide for Sourcing Images:
I’ve written a guide with my recommendations and tips for source high-end images for your website that includes free and (affordable) paid recommendations, tips for editing and optimizing your images and hand curated collections of free imagery that you can browse and use!
Make Intentional Layout Adjustments:
This template is designed to be flexible, so you’re absolutely free to make it your own. While each page has been thoughtfully structured to support clarity, flow, and conversion, you’re welcome to remix layouts, adjust sections, and introduce your own design elements if that feels right for you!
If you’re planning to experiment or make larger design changes, a few simple things can make the process smoother:
Duplicate or save sections before making changes so you can explore freely.
Adjust spacing in small increments to see what feels best.
Keep an eye on overall balance as you edit.
And if you don’t feel confident in making big design changes but still want your site to feel more custom to you, small, thoughtful changes can still have a big impact! Little things like adjusting spacing or making small tweaks to layout sections still preserve the overall flow of the design while still making the site feel personal.
Let Repetition Work in Your Favor:
Don’t be afraid to copy and paste sections or layout elements as you build! Consistency and repetition are what help a website feel polished, cohesive and thoughtfully designed.
Reusing similar section layouts or content structures across different pages makes your site easier to navigate and more visually harmonious. That doesn’t mean that you want each page to look identical, but don’t stress about reinventing the wheel and trying to make every section completely unique. Cohesion is what often creates a high-end feel!
Avoid Over-Customizing Too Early:
It’s totally normal to feel the urge to change everything right away, especially when you’re excited to make the site your own. When you’re looking at placeholder content, it can be hard to picture how the finished site will come together.
But before making major layout changes, try using the template as it’s designed and start small by adding in your own fonts, colors, copy, and images first. Once those pieces are in place it gets so much easier to visualize how you want your website to look and make any further changes to your layout and pages from there.
Trust the Process:
You know that phase when you’re reorganizing or deep-cleaning something and it looks worse before it gets better? Customizing your website can feel the same way.
As you start adding your own branding, things can temporarily feel disjointed or unfinished. You might add bold fonts and colors while the placeholder imagery is still soft and neutral, and that contrast can feel messy at first. This stage is completely normal (I still go through it, even with years of website experience) but I promise it doesn’t last! Once your images, copy, and branding are all in place, your site will start to come together in a way that feels much more aligned.
What’s helped me most is thinking of a website as something that evolves over time rather than something that needs to be finished all at once.
It’s okay to:
Launch before everything feels 100% perfect.
Revisit and refine pages over time.
Let your site grow alongside your business.
Try not to put pressure on yourself to get every detail exactly right before you launch. Focus on the essentials first: clear messaging, consistent branding, and an experience that’s easy to navigate. Your template is designed to do most of the heavy lifting for you, and any additional tweaks can be made gradually and intentionally as your business continues to grow and evolve.
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve worked through this guide, you’re ready to start customizing your template!
You can move through the lessons in order for a more guided experience, or jump ahead to the topics that feel most relevant to you right now. Each lesson is designed to stand on its own and support you as you go so there’s no pressure to finish everything at once.
When you’re ready, click Complete & Continue below to move into the first lesson on customizing your template. You can always come back to this guide or revisit any lesson later as your site evolves.